Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product expanded 1.66% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, easing from a 3.59% advance in the previous period. Net foreign demand contributed positively to growth, as exports climbed 5.1% (vs 12.4% in Q4) and imports went up at a softer 1.0% (vs 0.1%). At the same time, both government expenditure (1.5% vs -15.6%) and gross fixed capital formation (3.7% vs -4.8%) rebounded while household consumption surged 4.8%, higher than a 0.1% gain in Q4. On the production side, output slowed mainly for mining & quarrying (1.0% vs 6.4%); utilities (1.1% vs 2.4%) and agriculture, forestry & fishing (0.7% vs 0.8%). Also, manufacturing activity showed no growth in Q1, after increasing 3.5% in the prior period. By contrast, output rose faster for wholesale & retail trade (1.9% vs 0.8%); transport, storage & information and communication (4.9% vs 3.6%) and finance, insurance, real estate & business services (4.9% vs 3.5%). GDP Annual Growth Rate in Saudi Arabia averaged 4.03 percent from 1969 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 24.20 percent in the fourth quarter of 1973 and a record low of -20.70 percent in the fourth quarter of 1982.
GDP Annual Growth Rate in Saudi Arabia is expected to be 1.40 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate GDP Annual Growth Rate in Saudi Arabia to stand at 2.30 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Saudi Arabia GDP Annual Growth Rate is projected to trend around 3.00 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.