The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) announced the implementation of a comprehensive update to Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in line with the Kingdom’s efforts to enhance economic transparency, improve the quality and statistical data reliability, and accurately measure national economic indicators that support development goals and align with international best practices.
GASTAT explained that the updated results showed a 14.1% increase in GDP estimates for 2023, equivalent to an additional SAR 566 billion compared to previously published results, bringing the updated GDP total to SAR 4.5 trillion. The comprehensive update also revealed a higher relative contribution of the non-oil economy, reaching 53.2%, an increase of 5.7 percentage points from earlier estimates, driven largely by the increased economic activity of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The update further indicated significant growth in several economic sectors, including a 61% increase in construction activity, a 29.8% rise in wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels, and a 25.6% increase in transportation, storage, and communications, in addition to growth across various other sectors.
This update is part of GASTAT’s ongoing efforts to provide more comprehensive, up-to-date, accurate, and high-quality statistical data that serves decision-makers, policymakers, investors, researchers, and stakeholders at the local, regional, and international levels. Over the past period, GASTAT has implemented several enhancements to national accounts statistics, most notably the adoption of the chain-linked methodology. This globally recognized approach is used to estimate real GDP growth rates based on the weights and prices of the year preceding the measurement year, in accordance with the recommendations of the System of National Accounts (SNA) manual.
At the beginning of 2024, GASTAT launched the comprehensive GDP update project through a series of statistical surveys aimed at collecting detailed and wide-ranging data for the year 2023. Key surveys included the comprehensive economic survey, the household income and expenditure survey, and the comprehensive agricultural survey, in addition to an expanded use of administrative data sources. These inputs were used to develop more detailed supply and use tables and to produce accurate GDP estimates using the production, income, and expenditure approaches. The update also provided detailed data covering 134 economic activities, compared to 85 in the previous classification.
GASTAT affirmed that this update aligns with globally recognized statistical practices, helping to deliver a more accurate and up-to-date representation of the national economy. It captures significant structural shifts, enhances the precision of economic indicators, and boosts the credibility and international alignment of national data. GASTAT also emphasized that without regular updates, the data may fail to reflect the ongoing transformation of Saudi Arabia’s economic structure, particularly in light of the rapid expansion of the non-oil sector since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030. The revised GDP data is now accessible through GASTAT’s official e-portal.

GASTAT's President, Dr. Fahad Aldossari, received today at GASTAT headquarters in Riyadh an official delegation from the UAE’s FCSC, headed by Ms. Hanan AHLI, Director of the Center.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Aldossari welcomed the visiting delegation, stressing the depth of the brotherly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and the importance of bilateral cooperation between the two statistical agencies in the two brotherly countries to support the march of statistical work and develop national capabilities to achieve the goals of sustainable development and the ambitious vision of the two countries.
An expanded meeting was also held between the two sides, during which some topics of common interest in the fields of statistical work were discussed, most notably: exchanging experiences in developing modern statistical methodologies, enhancing integration in collecting and analyzing statistical data, developing mechanisms for producing strategic indicators to support decision-making, reviewing best practices in making open data available and ensuring its quality, and discussing future cooperation opportunities in statistical innovation and modern analytical techniques such as artificial intelligence and big data analysis. The two sides also reviewed the most prominent national achievements made by the Kingdom and the UAE in the field of official data development and the efforts made to improve data quality and expand the use of statistics to support development plans and national visions.
At the end of the meeting, GASTAT's President expressed his appreciation for the visit of the UAE delegation, pointing out the importance of enhancing statistical cooperation between the two countries through practical initiatives that contribute to the exchange of knowledge and expertise, enhance GCC statistical integration, and support building an advanced knowledge economy based on accurate and reliable data. The two sides also affirmed their commitment to continue joint work to explore new areas of statistical cooperation to enhance the position of the two countries in the regional and international arena.

                                    
GASTAT’s President, Dr. Fahad Aldossari, held a series of bilateral meetings with several heads and directors of international organizations and statistical centers during the Saudi Statistics Forum. The forum was hosted in Riyadh from April 27-28, 2025.
These meetings involved discussions on areas of bilateral cooperation, exploring opportunities for integration and the exchange of expertise in developing statistical work, and examining ways to expand partnerships with leading statistical entities at both regional and international levels. The aim was to enhance data quality and contribute to the development of statistical products and indicators that support decision-making.
The meetings included discussions with: Dr. Johannes Jutting, Executive Head of PARIS21; Dr. Ola Awad, President of PCBS; Dr. Steve Macfeely, OECD Chief Statistician; Professor Xuming He, President of ISI; Mr. Mohamed Bin Ahmed Al Obaidly, Director-General of the National Statistics Center of Qatar; Intisar Abdullah Al Wahaibi, Director General of the GCC Statistical Centre;   Dr. Diaa Awad Kazem, President of the Statistics and Geospatial Information Authority in Iraq; Dr. Khalifa Al-Barwani, Chief Executive Officer at National Centre for Statistics and Information in Oman; Ms. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK, Director General of SESRIC; Mr. Rafeal Diaz, Senior Statistician at ILO; and Dr. Ziad Abdullah, Director General of the Arab Institute for Training and Statistical Research.

During the meetings, Dr. Fahad Aldossari emphasized GASTAT's commitment to strengthening its international and regional partnerships to develop methodologies, enhance the efficiency of statistical systems, expand the scope of open data, and keep pace with global technological advancements in the field of statistics and analysis.

The Saudi Statistics Forum is a significant national platform for activating statistical cooperation, promoting capacity building, and transferring knowledge. It was held with the participation of prominent statistical leaders, decision-makers, and local and international experts, and was attended by over 300 participants from various entities related to statistical work.
 

The Saudi Statistics Forum concluded its work on its last day with three-panel sessions that addressed some key topics and themes in the statistical sector, with the participation of some representatives of international organizations, local and international experts, and decision-makers.
On the second and final day, a panel discussion entitled “Modern Methods of Innovation and Statistical Development” was held in which participants talked about the role of innovative technologies in changing and modernizing the way data is produced, collected, and analyzed across various fields; employing remote sensing techniques and satellite images in geographical and agricultural statistics; using statistical methods to analyze future trends and forecasts; raising awareness of the automation of statistical processes; and the role of statistical innovation in increasing the level of confidence in official statistics.
The fourth-panel discussion was devoted to the topic: “The Role of The Private Sector in Producing Statistical Data” in which some specialists in the statistical sector discussed the role of the private sector in supporting and producing statistical data and integration between statistical institutions and data users, in addition to the importance of the contribution of private sector components from private companies and institutions in providing data and producing statistics related to the private sector or the national development scope in general, and the challenges it faces in producing and providing high-quality data, the importance of big data and statistical analysis innovations in improving the quality of economic estimates and indicators and opportunities to enhance partnership with the private sector.
The last session reviewed “Enhancing the Relationship between Statistical Agencies and Data Beneficiaries” and discussed ways to enhance the relationship between statistical offices and users by facilitating access to data and indicators of statistical products and providing them in multiple formats and various services and emphasizing the continuous work to develop the level of relationship and communication by offering platforms capable of presenting data in a safe manner and various digital formats supported by graphs, tables, and explanatory designs according to the best local and international practices, standards, and technologies.