Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product expanded by 12.2% in the second quarter compared with the same period of 2021, new data revealed on Wednesday, as the Kingdom continues to see growth from high oil prices that is now spreading to the private sector.
GDP overall grew a revised 12.2% from a year earlier, the fastest since 2011 and up from 9.9% in the first three months, the General Authority for Statistics said on Wednesday. That compares with an 11.8% rate reported in July for the second quarter.
The non-oil economy, which has been prioritized as key for job creation in Saudi Arabia, expanded 8.2%, “far exceeding the agency’s initial estimate for an increase of 5.4%. Oil GDP grew nearly 23%, a slight downgrade from July’s figures,” Bloomberg reports.
As Bloomberg adds, Saudi Arabia is now on track “to be this year’s fastest-growing economy in the Group of 20, propelled largely by increases in its crude output and higher energy prices. The boom is now spreading beyond the oil industry, with the government starting to raise spending in the first half of the year thanks a massive budget surplus.”
