Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product is expected to grow at 9.9 percent this year, registering the highest growth among the Group of 20 countries, according to an economic outlook report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 

In the ‘OECD Global Economic Prospects 2022’, the intergovernmental body said the Kingdom’s GDP is expected to grow by 6 percent in 2023. 

The OECD noted that Saudi Arabia’s accelerating economic growth comes at a time when the global economy is facing multifarious challenges. This includes the persistence of inflation for a longer period than expected, along with geopolitical tensions like the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Saudi Press Agency reported. 

Due to these challenges, OECD also lowered its expectations for the global economy’s performance in 2023 from 2.8 percent to 2.2 percent. 

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund also echoed similar views on Saudi Arabia’s economic growth, as the US-based financial agency also projected the Kingdom to be the fastest-growing economy among the G20 nations in 2022 at 7.6 percent. 

The forecast for Saudi Arabia is in contrast with the IMF’s earlier expectations released in January 2022, when it said that the Kingdom’s GDP will witness a growth rate of 4.8 percent.

For the year 2023, the IMF kept its forecast for the Kingdom’s economic growth at 3.7 percent. 

Meanwhile, the World Bank also projected Saudi Arabia’s economic growth to accelerate to 8.3 percent in 2022. 

In its report released earlier in October, the World Bank noted that the Kingdom’s economic growth will moderate to 3.7 and 2.3 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively. 

According to the World Bank report, the oil sector will be driving Saudi Arabia’s economic growth as the output is estimated to grow by 15.5 percent in 2022. It also added that the non-oil sector is expected to continue its growth trajectory estimated at 4.3 percent this year.

“The Saudi Arabian economy is on an accelerated growth path in 2022; driven by higher oil and non-oil activities as the oil sector strengthens and pandemic pressures fade,” wrote the World Bank in the report.