RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s GDP grew 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, driven by expansion across all major economic sectors, according to flash estimates by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Non-oil activities recorded a 2.8% increase, emerging as the main driver of overall growth, while oil activities rose by 2.3% and government activities expanded by 1.5% compared to the same period last year.
The non-oil sector contributed 1.7% points to total GDP growth, accounting for the largest share, followed by oil activities at 0.7 percentage points, government activities at 0.3 percentage points, and net taxes on products contributing 0.2 percentage points.
On a quarterly basis, however, seasonally adjusted real GDP declined by 1.5% in Q1 2026 compared to the previous quarter, reflecting short-term volatility in economic activity.
The decline was primarily driven by a 7.2% contraction in oil activities, while government activities grew by 0.8% and non-oil activities saw a modest increase of 0.2% over the same period.
Oil activities were the main contributor to the quarterly decline, -1.7 percentage points from GDP, while non-oil and government activities each added 0.1 percentage points, partially offsetting the drop.
Source: Saudi Gazette