RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, driven primarily by non-oil activities, according to estimates released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Non-oil activities added 1.7 percentage points to overall GDP expansion, while oil activities contributed 0.8 points. Government activities and net taxes on products contributed 0.3 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.
GASTAT reported that both oil and non-oil activities grew by 2.9 percent year-on-year during the quarter, while government activities grew by 1.5 percent.
The economic sectors of finance, insurance, and business services recorded the highest annual growth rate at 5.4 percent, followed by manufacturing activities excluding oil refining, which grew by 4 percent.
Crude oil and natural gas activities increased by 3.6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2025.
As for expenditures, government final consumption expenditure rose by 11.3 percent year-on-year, while private final consumption expenditure increased by 5.3 percent. Gross fixed capital formation grew by 3.9 percent during the period.
That GASTAT numbers also showed that on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, real GDP declined by 1.2 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, largely due to a 6.8 percent decline in oil activities.
Source: Saudi Gazette