Riyadh – Mubasher: The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Saudi Arabia shrank 3% during the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 when compared to the same period last year, dragged by a plunge of 11.7% in the oil sector, according to official figures.
The Kingdom’s non-oil sector meanwhile grew 2.9% in Q1-21, the private sector rose 4.4%, while the government sector edged down 0.4%, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).
Economic growth was the highest in oil refining activities with an annual rise of 21.2%, while the crude petroleum and natural gas recorded the largest decline of 14.1%.
On a quarterly basis, the GDP in the first three months of 2021 went down 0.5%, compared to Q4-20. GaStat attributed the monthly decrease in GDP to an 8.7% drop in the oil sector.
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector witnessed a quarterly positive growth of 4.9% in Q1-21 compared to Q4-20 due to a growth of 6.3% and 1.7% in the private and government sectors, respectively.
All economic activities recorded positive growth quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), except for the petroleum refining as well as crude oil and natural gas activities, which witnessed a negative growth of 9.9% and 8.7%, respectively.
At current prices, Saudi Arabia’s GDP amounted to SAR 706.41 billion in Q1-21, with the private sector accounting for 51.7% of GDP, followed by the government and oil sectors with 23.6% and 24.7%, respectively.
The crude petroleum and natural gas’ contribution to the Saudi GDP rose to 20.3% in Q1-21 from 19.9% in Q4-20, while the government services’ share of GDP declined to 20.1% last quarter from 21.7% in Q4-20.
Imports recorded the highest annual positive growth rate of 8.8% in Q1-21, while exports registered the highest negative growth of 9.5%.
QoQ, international trade showed “a remarkable pick-up” in the January-March 2021 period, with imports of goods and services increasing 9.1%, while the exports grew 1.9%.
Saudi Arabia’s GDP per capita at current prices totalled SAR 19,895 in Q1-21, down by 0.43% from the same quarter in 2020, yet higher by 0.44% when compared to Q4-20.
