The General Authority for Statistics revealed that the Saudi economy contracted by 3.3 percent during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the Kingdom's non-oil economy grew by 3.3 percent for the first time since the first quarter of 2020. Government services also witnessed a growth of 0.3 percent during the same period.
The GDP was affected by a 12 percent decline in crude oil production, against the backdrop of the current production cuts agreed upon between OPEC and other oil producers since May 2020. According to the estimates of the General Authority for Statistics, the Kingdom's real GDP, seasonally adjusted, witnessed a slight decrease, close to zero, by 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. This slight negative growth is due to the decline in oil activities by 1.5 percent as a result of the additional cuts in crude oil production that began last February. While both non-oil activities and government services activities achieved positive growth of 0.4 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively.
According to the International Monetary Fund's projections, GDP in Saudi Arabia will grow by 2.1 percent by the end of this year and 4.8 percent next year, compared to a previous estimate of the fund at 4 percent.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net, Edited)
