Non-oil activities in Saudi Arabia grew from the beginning of the year to the end of the third quarter by 5.9% to record the highest growth rate in almost 10 years, according to the Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, Faisal Al-Ibrahim.
Al-Ibrahim added at the Saudi Budget Forum 2023 on Sunday that the growth of non-oil activities comes directly from the government's support to increase the contribution of the private sector to the Kingdom's gross product, noting that Vision 2030 aims to increase the private sector's contribution to the economy to 65% by 2030 compared to 43% currently.
The Saudi Minister of Economy said that the growth rate of private sector investment was 27% in the third quarter of this year, focusing on industrial and mining sectors.
Non-oil activities grew by 6% during the third quarter of this year, year-on-year, above estimates of 5.6%.
Saudi Arabia's economy grew in the third quarter on a quarterly basis by 2.1% compared to the second quarter of 2022, with oil activities rising 4.5%, while non-oil activities fell 0.5%.
Saudi Arabia's real GDP in the third quarter of this year recorded 723.6 billion riyals (US $192 billion), a growth of 8.8%, compared to the same period last year, exceeding estimates indicating growth of 8.6%.
