Saudi GDP grows 2.5% in Q3 2018

Saudi Arabia’s economy grew at its fastest rate since early 2016 in the third quarter of 2018, boosted by a strong performance by the oil sector, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.5 percent from a year earlier to SAR 653.7 billion, accelerating from the second quarter's growth of 1.6 percent.

The growth was boosted by higher oil output, as the oil sector expanded 3.7 percent from a year ago in the third quarter, after 1.3 percent in the second.

Growth in the non-oil sector rose to 2 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 359.9 billion in Q3 2018.

Meanwhile, the oil sector’s GDP accelerated 3.6 percent YoY to SAR 289.9 billion in Q3. The sector accounted for 44.3 percent of total GDP during the quarter, compared to 43.8 percent in the same period last year.

*Initial data.