RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The gross domestic product of the Kingdom exceeded US$1 trillion which displays strong progress towards meeting its Vision 2030 targets, a report revealed.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector is leading in growth for 2023, having accelerated to 5.8 percent year-on-year (yoy) in Q2 2023 and is standing 13.9 percent higher than in 2019, PricewaterhouseCoopers inaugural Saudi Economy Watch report said.
In contrast, growth in the non-oil government sector slowed to 3.8 percent year-on-year (while the oil sector contracted by -4.3 percent year-on-year) due to production cuts.
The report reviews the Kingdom’s ongoing performance across several economic targets at the midpoint towards achieving Vision 2030’s transformative impact on society and the economy.
This positive outcome is attributed to strong investment from the private and public sectors, non-oil revenue growth, ongoing diversification, and economic resilience efforts.
Female workforce participation surged to 36 percent in Q1 2023, already ahead of the 2030 target of 30 percent, supported by social liberalization and Saudization policies.
Homeownership among Saudi nationals expanded from a baseline of 47 percent to 67 percent – scoring higher than the US and France.
These strong results can be attributed to a range of initiatives to boost the supply of affordable homes, including a tax on undeveloped urban land and improved access to finance, with the 2030 target of 70 percent now close to being achieved.
Riyadh AlNajjar, Middle East Chairman of the Board and KSA Senior Partner, said, “The Kingdom as a whole is making good progress towards achieving Vision 2030, with areas of focus including non-oil diversification, improving infrastructure, advancing digitalization, fostering a competitive business environment and ensuring good jobs for its citizens through nationalization targets.”