Saudi GDP contracts 4.7% in Q2 as oil activity falls 24.8%

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 4.7% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, driven by a 24.8% decline in oil activities, according to estimates released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

Non-oil and government activities each grew by 0.9% year-on-year, partially offsetting the decline in the oil sector.

Oil activities contributed a negative 5.4 percentage points to annual real GDP growth, while non-oil activities contributed 0.6 percentage points. Government activities and net taxes on products each added 0.1 percentage points.

Community, social and personal services recorded the strongest annual growth among the activities highlighted, rising 4.1%. Finance, insurance and business services grew 3.3%, while agriculture, forestry and fishing increased 2.6%.

On a quarterly basis, the three activities expanded by 0.6%, 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

Seasonally adjusted real GDP declined by 4.8% compared with the first quarter of 2026. Oil activities fell 21.6% and non-oil activities declined 0.4%, while government activities grew 0.2%.

On the expenditure side, government final consumption increased by 5% year-on-year, gross fixed capital formation rose 2.7% and private final consumption grew 0.8%.

Compared with the previous quarter, government final consumption declined 2%, gross fixed capital formation fell 1.4% and private final consumption increased 1%.

Exports declined by 24.6% year-on-year and 24% quarter-on-quarter, while imports fell by 14.8% and 5.5%, respectively.

GASTAT calculates annual growth rates using non-seasonally adjusted data compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Quarterly growth rates are calculated using seasonally adjusted data compared with the preceding quarter.