Kingdom’s economy grows for sixth quarter in a row

8.6% increase in real GDP and budget surplus of $40bn supply double economic boost

Saudi Arabia’s economic policies were handed a double boost on Monday as the Kingdom revealed both a budget surplus of SR149.6 billion ($40 billion) and an 8.6 percent growth in real gross domestic product.

Figures released by the Ministry of Finance showed revenues in the first nine months of 2022 amounted to SR950.2 billion, and expenditure was SR800.7 billion.

The news of the surplus — higher than a previously forecast SR90 billion — came as the General Authority for Statistics confirmed the Kingdom registered its sixth consecutive quarter of economic growth in a row in the three months to the end of September.

The growth was slower than the previous quarter, when it was 12.2 percent, but still 8.6 percent up on the same period of 2021.

Oil revenues fell by 8.5 percent to come in at SR229.02 billion, but this still represented a 55 percent jump on an annual basis. Non-oil revenues fell by 39 percent in the third quarter, on a quarterly basis, to SR72.8 billion, and 24 percent on an annual basis.

Oil extraction accounted for 46 percent of Saudi Arabia’s GDP in the third quarter of this year, with the data showing that the services sector was responsible for 36 percent of Saudi Arabia’s wealth.

Government services amounted to 13 percent, wholesale and retail trade and restaurants and hotels both stood at 8 percent, and financing, insurance and real estate accounted for 7.9 percent of the country’s GDP.

The data from the statistics authority showed that manufacturing stood at 10 percent, construction and electricity, gas and water distribution stood at 6 percent each, and agriculture, forestry and fishing totaled 2 percent of GDP.

For next year, total revenues are expected to reach about SR1.12 trillion in 2023, while reaching about 1.21 trillion in 2025, according to the Ministry of Finance’s preliminary statement of the state’s general budget for the year 2023.