Saudi GDP exceeds SR 2.2 trillion

Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product exceeded SR 2.2 trillion in 2011, registering a growth rate of 31 percent in current prices, compared to the previous year, the General Statistics Department reported yesterday. “During the same year, the private sector GDP grew by 14.7 percent,” the department said in a report released on the National Day. Nonoil exports rose 31 percent to SR 176 billion, which accounted for eight percent of the GDP, the report added. The Kingdom’s total exports in 2011 amounted to more than SR 1.41 trillion, the department said while highlighting Saudi Arabia’s remarkable economic progress. The number of working Saudis within the age limit of 15-65 would reach 61.2 percent by the end of this year, against 47 percent in 1992, the report pointed out. Saudis within the age group of 20-40 would reach 66.4 percent of the total national workforce this year, it added. The report highlighted the Kingdom’s unprecedented progress under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, making Saudi Arabia a member of G20 and a leading player on the world stage. According to preliminary reports, the Kingdom’s GDP grew 5.94 percent in the first quarter of 2012. “Preliminary information shows GDP in the first quarter of 2012 grew by 15.96 percent in current prices with its value reaching SR 612.295 billion against SR 528.002 billion during the same period in 2011,” the report said, adding the growth was 5.94 percent in real prices. The public sector GDP rose by 0.17 percent to SR 89.198 billion in current prices compared to SR 89.048 billion last year, the quarterly report said. In real prices it rose by 4.24 percent. The private sector GDP grew by 10.52 percent in the first quarter with a value of SR 162.77 billion compared to SR 147.28 billion the previous year. In real prices, the growth was 6.33 percent. The oil sector showed a record growth rate of 23.73 percent in current prices with a value of SR 356.51 billion compared to SR 288.13 billion the previous year, but in real prices the growth was 7.17 percent, the department pointed out. From arabnews