According to data from the General Authority for Statistics, despite a decline in the oil sector, Saudi Arabia’s economy grew 1.3% in 2024 thanks to an increase in non-oil activities.
The GDP grew 4.5% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2024, the highest quarterly increase in two years. This growth was fuelled by a 3.4% increase in oil activities and a 4.7% increase in non-oil activities.
However, compared to the third quarter, the oil sector’s output decreased by 0.5%.
The real GDP forecasts released by GASTAT in January 2025, which predicted 4.4% annual growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, are consistent with these numbers.
In the three months preceding December 2024, the Kingdom’s non-oil activities grew 4.6% year over year, according to flash estimates at the time, which reflected continued efforts at economic diversification.
The industries with the biggest annual growth in economic activity were wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels, which increased 6.4%. Financial services, insurance, and business services came in second and third, respectively, at 5.7%.
Activities related to electricity, gas, and water rose 4.5%, while transportation, storage, and communication, as well as other mining and quarrying operations, increased 4.9%. Activities involving natural gas and crude oil fell 6.4%.
In 2024, Saudi Arabia’s GDP was SR4.07 trillion (USD 1.09 trillion) at current prices. Of this, 22.3% came from crude oil and natural gas, 16.2% from government activities, and 10.3% came from wholesale and retail trade, dining establishments, and lodging.
Real estate activities accounted for 6.5%, while manufacturing, excluding petroleum refining, made up 9.1%.
Among economic activities, petroleum refining grew the most in the fourth quarter, rising 15% year over year despite a 2.2% quarter-over-quarter decline. While other mining and quarrying operations increased 7.3% year over year and 3.4% quarter over quarter, electricity, gas, and water activities grew 7.4% annually and 2.7% quarterly.