RIYADH: The real gross domestic product of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council region reached $466.2 billion by the end of the first quarter of this year, marking a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent, according to a report.
Non-oil activities accounted for 73.2 percent of the GCC’s real GDP by the end of the first quarter of 2025, while oil activities held the remaining 26.8 percent share, news agency WAM reported, citing data from the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, or GCC-Stat.
The rise in non-oil activities aligns with the economic diversification efforts of countries in the region including Saudi Arabia, where governments are focussing on industries like business and tourism to reduce dependence on crude revenues.
In October, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics reported that the Kingdom’s GDP expanded by 5 percent in the third quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2024, driven by gains in both oil and non-oil sectors.
“The latest statistics released by the Statistical Center of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf showed that real GDP of the GCC countries reached $466.2 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2025, up from $451.9 billion in the same period of 2023, marking a growth rate of 3.1 percent,” said the report.
