Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 1.4 percent during the first quarter of 2024, higher than the growth of 0.9 percent seen in the G20, according to the latest Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data.
In its latest “G20 GDP Growth – First Quarter of 2024” report, the OECD revealed that growth in Saudi Arabia’s GDP recovered following a contraction of 0.6 percent in Q4 2023. In the G20, the GDP grew from 0.7 percent in the previous quarter.
China and India drive G20 growth
The OECD said that the stronger economic performance of the G20 area was mainly due to growth in China and India in Q1 2024. Both countries in addition to Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Korea and Indonesia recorded higher GDP growth than the G20 as a whole.
Türkiye recorded the highest growth at 2.4 percent, then came India at 1.9 percent, China at 1.6 percent, Saudi Arabia at 1.4 percent, Korea at 1.3 percent and Indonesia at 1.2 percent.
In addition, the GDP growth rate increased in China, Korea and Türkiye in Q1 compared with Q4, but fell slightly in India and Indonesia.
Read | UAE GDP growth to climb to 3.9 percent in 2024: Central Bank
Weaker growth in other G20 countries
In addition to highlighting the GDP growth in Saudi Arabia and other countries, the report revealed that the remaining G20 countries experienced weaker growth than the G20 as a whole.
Notably, the United States saw a slowdown, with GDP growth dropping to 0.3 percent in Q1 from 0.8 percent in Q4 2023. Japan’s economy contracted by 0.5 percent, while South Africa experienced a contraction of 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Germany recovered in Q1 after contractions in Q4 with growth reaching 0.8 percent, 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
In addition, the economies of Canada, Mexico and the European Union grew by 0.4 percent, 0.3 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, in Q1 after zero growth in Q4.
Year-on-year, GDP in the G20 area grew by 3.3 percent in Q1 2024, similar to the previous quarter’s annual growth. Among G20 economies, India recorded the highest year-on-year growth of 8.4 percent. Then came Türkiye at 7.4 percent while Saudi Arabia saw the largest annual GDP decline of 1.5 percent.
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