The General Authority for Statistics issued Monday through its official website www.stats.gov.sa the flash estimates of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the second quarter of 2021. According to these flash estimates, the GDP of Saudi Arabia recorded a positive growth rate for the first time since the start of COVID-19 pandemic by (1.5%) in Q2/2021, compared to Q2 2020. This positive growth rate was due to the increase in non-oil activities in the same period by (10.1%) in addition to the increase in government activities by (0.7%). Seasonally adjusted real GDP recorded a positive growth rate of (1.1%) in Q2/2021, compared to the previous quarter (Q1 2021), while the seasonally adjusted real GDP of the non-oil activities recorded a positive growth of 1.3% in the same quarter. The flash estimates of the quarterly GDP is the estimation process of the quarterly national accounts performed shortly after the end of the reference quarter. It is published after 40 days from the end of the reference quarter, when data for that quarter is still incomplete. It is the same estimates that are made in the quarterly national accounts, but adopt simplified assumptions about the extrapolation of some indicators (monthly or quarterly) and many indicators are used related to production, expenditures, income, price and foreign trade. Flash estimates of quarterly GDP relate to the entire national economy and it is presented without any details of economic sectors and activities. Decision-makers, academics, and researchers who want to obtain a long-term future view of the GDP data of the economic activities use the flash estimates. In addition, international organizations use the seasonally adjusted data to make economic comparisons between countries of the world. The General Authority for Statistics is the official and only statistical reference for statistical data and information in Saudi Arabia. It implements all statistical work, technical supervision of the statistical sector, design and implementation of field surveys, conduct of statistical studies and research, data and information analysis. The Authority also handles all work of documenting and preserving information and statistical data, which cover all aspects of life in Saudi Arabia from its multiple sources. Moreover, it is responsible of the codification of these data and information, its classification, its analysis, and the extraction of its statistical indicators. — SPA
