RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's annual real gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a decline of 4.1 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, and this was after making improvements in the last two quarters of the year. According to a statistical report, released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Wednesday, the real GDP witnessed a decrease of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 4.6 percent in the third quarter, and 7 percent in the second quarter. The seasonally adjusted real GDP has achieved a positive growth of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to the third quarter of the same year. This was the second improvement in the Saudi gross domestic product on a quarterly basis, after the third quarter witnessed a 1.8 percent increase, following its decline during the first and second quarters of last year. The real GDP witnessed a decrease of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 while compared to the same period of the previous year and against 4.6 percent in the third quarter of the same year, and 7 percent in the second quarter of the year. The authority said that it would publish details of the GDP, including the oil and non-oil sector, on March 16, 2021. Initial estimates issued by the GASTAT showed that Saudi Arabia's seasonally adjusted GDP, at constant prices, achieved a positive growth of 1.8 percent in the third quarter of 2020, compared to the second quarter of the same year. In a previous report, the authority attributed the increase to an increase in growth of the non-oil sector by 5.7 percent, while the oil sector decreased by 3.6 percent. At the same time, the private sector achieved positive growth of 7.6 percent while the government sector gained positive growth of 1.5 percent, the report pointed out.
