Saudi Arabia's economy grew at its fastest pace in the third quarter of 2018, since 2016, boosted by the expansion of the oil sector, whereas non-oil economy growth remained weak, revealed data from the Saudi Arabia's General Statistics Authority (GSA).
GDP grew by 2.5 percent in the same period of 2018, from 2017, while it grew by 1.6 percent during the second quarter of 2018.
Saudi’s economy has been negatively affected in recent years by low oil prices and Government austerity measures to contain the huge budget deficit. The kingdom's GDP contracted for the first time last year since the global financial crisis about 10 years ago.
GDP growth accelerated significantly in the third quarter of 2018 thanks to higher oil production at 3.7 percent from a year ago, against 1.3 percent in the second quarter. In contrast, growth in the non-oil sector slowed slightly from 2.4 percent to 2.1 percent, as a result of jobs creation and Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its economy.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
