Saudi Arabia’s Economy Contracts by 7% YoY in 2Q 2020 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
October 01, 2020
Email Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 7.0% year-over-year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q 2020), according to a statement released by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), Saudi Arabia’s official statistics agency.
The economic decline was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic curbing global crude demand as well as measures to contain the pandemic, which reduced domestic demand, media reported. According to GaStat, the non-oil sector GDP was the hardest hit in 2Q 2020, contracting by 8.2% YoY, while the oil sector GDP declined by 5.3% YoY. Meanwhile, the private sector and the government sector recorded GDP declines of 10.1% YoY and 3.5% YoY respectively in 2Q 2020.
