Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded an annual growth rate of 0.3% last year, as shown by preliminary estimates by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).
Growth in 2019 mainly originated from the expansion of the wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels sector by 6.3%.
Finance, insurance, and business services recorded an 8% growth, while transport, storage, and communication increased by 5.6%.
GaStat further noted that the Saudi GDP at current prices amounted to SAR 2.97 trillion last year, up by 0.8% from 2018.
Meanwhile, real economic growth in the non-oil sector increased by 3.3%, mainly driven by expansion in the private sector by 3.8%, as the Saudi oil GDP declined by 3.6% in 2019.
The kingdom’s economy recorded a growth rate of 2.4% in 2018.
Crude oil and natural gas accounted for 27.4% of the Saudi GDP, followed by government services with 19.4%; wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels with 10%; and manufacturing, excluding oil refining, with 9%.
