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Non-oil activities in Saudi Arabia contributed 50% to GDP during 2023--a record level--according to government data.
The kingdom's non-oil economy reached 1.7 trillion riyals ($453 billion), driven by continued growth in investment, consumption, and exports, a statement from the Economy and Planning said on Thursday citing data issued by the General Authority for Statistics.
The rise in non-oil GDP rate was driven by higher real non-government investment during the last two years which grew at 57%, bringing the value of investments to SAR959 billion in 2023.
Within the non-oil economy, 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%.
Real service exports, mainly fueled by tourist spending, soared three-fold over the past two years, the statement said.
The rise in non-oil economic activity is in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, a programme that seeks to diversify the growth engines of its economy.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
