Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economy grew by 3.8 per cent during the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same quarter of 2022.
The growth of non-oil activities by 5.4 per cent led the Saudi economy to grow in the first quarter of 2023, according to data issued by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Thursday.
Oil activities in the Kingdom grew by 1.4 per cent and government service activity was up by 4.9 per cent.
The economy’s growth figures in the first quarter indicate a slight decline compared to the 3.9 per cent growth rate announced by the authority in May.
International Monetary Fund says the Saudi economy grew 8.7 per cent in 2022, but expects the kingdom’s GDP growth to drop to 3.1 per cent this year.
The Kingdom, which is the largest oil exporter in the world, seeks to diversify its economy to reduce dependence on oil revenues and increase the contribution of the non-oil sector to the gross domestic product, as part of its Vision 2030.
