Non-oil Activities Reached 50% of Saudi Arabia’s Real GDP in 2023

Non-oil activities in the Kingdom recorded their highest contribution to the Real GDP during the year 2023 at 50%, which is the highest historical level ever reached, based on the Ministry of Economy and Planning’s analysis of data issued by the General Authority for Statistics.

The Kingdom’s non-oil economy reached SAR 1.7 trillion, driven by continued growth in investment, consumption, and exports.

The historic non-oil GDP rate was achieved due to an unprecedented performance in real non-government investment during the last two years with a growth rate of 57%, bringing the value of non-government investments to its highest historical level at SAR 959 billion in 2023.

Furthermore, the arts and entertainment sectors came at the forefront of activities that achieved exceptional growth of 106% during 2021/2022, while other activities grew robustly such as food & accommodation at 77%, and transportation and communications at 29%.

The growth in non-oil activities during the year 2023 was exceptional in the diversity of contribution and growth momentum. Social services, such as health, education, and entertainment, recorded a growth of 10.8%, followed by transportation and communications at 7.3%, and trade, restaurants, and hotels at 7%.

In addition, service exports, represented by the spending of incoming tourists, recorded historic growth rates during the last two years, at 319%, reflecting a clear impact of the Kingdom’s transformation into a global destination for tourism, and entertainment, and advances in economic diversification as growth engines.

This increase reflects the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which is to achieve a prosperous economy by diversifying growth engines, and the Kingdom’s success in implementing the relevant programs and major projects, by opening new sectors that contribute to reaching sustainable and robust economic growth.