São Paulo – The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Saudi Arabia grew 5.94% in the first quarter of this year as against the same period in 2011, according to figures disclosed by the Saudi Central Department of Statistics published by local newspaper Arab News. The figures, according to the daily paper, take into consideration inflation.
A report by the organisations shows that in nominal values, not discounting inflation, that is, the country’s economy grew 15.96%, from 528.002 billion Saudi rials (US$ 140.8 billion at current exchange rates) to 612.295 billion (US$ 163.2 billion).
In real terms, discounting inflation, the public sector GDP rose 4.24%, while the private sector GDP rose by 6.33%. The oil sector alone, the most important in the country, grew 7.17%.
According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures, the economy of Saudi Arabia grew 7.1% in 2011 and should expand 6% in 2012.
For comparison purposes, the IMF forecasts growth of 3% for Brazil this year. In the first quarter, the economy of Brazil grew by 0.8% as against the same period in 2011 and 0.2% over the result for the last three months of 2011, according to the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
*Translated by Mark Ament
