Saudi Arabia's Economic Growth Stays Near Decade-High as Oil Powers Rebound
- Preliminary estimates show quarterly non-oil growth at 5%
- Non-oil growth momentum may have slowed coming into 2022
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Saudi Arabia’s economy expanded 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2021, maintaining the fastest pace of annual growth in almost a decade as high oil prices boost the kingdom’s income and drive its recovery from the shock of the pandemic.
Non-oil gross domestic product -- the engine of job creation -- gained 5% while the oil economy grew 10.8%, according to preliminary estimates released by the General Authority for Statistics on Thursday. Growth for the full year of 2021 was 3.3%, the authority said, slightly better than Saudi officials’ predictions of 2.9% growth.