Saudi Arabia's non-oil economy grew by 4.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, beating the July estimate of 4.4%.
According to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), this is the highest growth rate in a year, up from 3.4% in the first quarter of 2024 and 4.2% and 3.2% in the last two quarters of 2023.
The IMF forecasts that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP growth will stay strong.
Its latest report says that smart economic policies, transformative reforms, and increased investment have driven this growth, pushing employment above pre-COVID levels. Continuing these efforts is key to maintaining growth and diversifying the economy.
The IMF also predicts that reform momentum will rise in 2025 with more investment, especially from the Public Investment Fund, which plans to boost its annual investments from $40 billion to $70 billion.
This is in preparation for major events like the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, the 2029 Winter Asian Games, and Expo 2030. Full execution of the national investment strategy could push non-oil GDP growth to 8%.
Saudi authorities project non-oil growth to stay at 4% in 2024 and are confident that Vision 2030 will help sustain this growth long-term.
The General Authority for Statistics reported a 0.3% decline in real GDP in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, better than the 0.4% drop expected.
Compared to the first quarter of 2024, seasonally adjusted real GDP grew by 1.4%. Non-oil sectors grew 4.9% year-on-year and 2.1% quarter-on-quarter.
Oil sector activity fell 8.9% year-on-year, slightly worse than the July estimate of 8.5%, but rose 0.9% quarter-on-quarter.
Government activities grew 3.6% year-on-year and 2.3% quarter-on-quarter.
