Saudi Non-Oil Activity Grows 0.6% in Q2 2026

Saudi Arabia's non-oil economy continued to expand in the second quarter of 2026, with non-oil activities growing 0.6% year-on-year and government activities rising 0.9% over the same period,

Overall real GDP contracted 4.8% year-on-year in the quarter, driven mainly by a sharp 24.7% decline in oil activities. Despite that drop, the continued growth in non-oil and government sectors underscored the economy's ongoing diversification away from crude.

Non-oil activities contributed about 0.4 percentage points to overall real GDP growth, while government activities added roughly 0.1 percentage points during the quarter. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, non-oil activities eased 0.5% while government activities edged up 0.2%.

Why it matters

The 0.6% year-on-year expansion in non-oil activity marked a slowdown from the stronger 2.9% growth recorded in the first quarter of 2026. Non-oil sectors — which include retail, services, construction and manufacturing — are closely watched as indicators of everyday economic momentum for residents and businesses across the Kingdom.

For households and companies in cities such as the Riyadh and Jeddah, non-oil performance reflects broader activity in jobs, consumer spending, and private-sector demand. The figures highlight the continued push to build economic sources beyond oil, even as lower crude output weighed on the headline GDP number for the quarter.

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