Saudi Q3 GDP growth revised down to 4.8%

Saudi Arabia has slightly revised down its estimate for GDP growth in the third quarter, putting the economy behind its most optimistic forecasts for 2025.

Real GDP increased by 4.8 percent year on year in Q3, according to a document issued by the General Authority for Statistics on Monday. Seasonally adjusted real GDP was up 1.4 percent on the previous quarter.

At the end of October, GAStat published a flash estimate of 5 percent real GDP growth.

The revised third-quarter figure was higher than the 4.5 percent recorded for the second quarter. The increase was driven by non-oil activities, which grew by 4.3 percent and now make up the largest segment of the economy. 

Oil activities grew by 8.3 percent, driven by a 12 percent increase in petroleum refining.

It stands Saudi Arabia in good stead to realise the 4.4 percent growth forecast issued by the Ministry of Finance, which also predicts growth hitting 4.6 percent next year.

However, it puts the estimate of 5.1 percent growth for this year, which was floated by economy minister Faisal Alibrahim at the Future Investment Initiative conference in October, further out of reach.

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