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Saudi Arabia
Changing Structure of the Economy
Measuring the changing structure of the economy was difficult
because of the lack of consistent data on the GDP structure (see
table 5, Appendix). After the 1986 price crash and the shift from
the use of the hijra (see Glossary) calendar as the basis
for government fiscal year accounting, national accounts data
were revised and were generally not comparable to pre-1984 data.
Moreover, the base year used was extremely important: if the base
year were 1980, when oil prices were at peak levels, the nonoil
sector in 1986 accounted for 50 percent of real GDP; if the 1970
base year were used, nonoil GDP was closer to 75 percent of total
output.
Since 1984 the relative share of nonoil GDP has fallen from 75.8
percent of overall real GDP (in 1970 prices) to 67.4 percent in
1990 (the latest year for which data were available in 1992).
This fall in nonoil GDP share resulted from the steady growth
in crude oil production, increases in gas output, and higher refinery
throughput, which rose prior to the sharp increase in oil output
in late 1990. In the nonoil sector, the agricultural sector has
grown most during this period. Accounting for 7.5 percent of nonoil
output in 1984, this sector had risen to more than 14.7 percent
in 1990. The utilities sector has also gained, growing from 2.5
percent of nonoil production in 1984 to 4.6 percent in 1990. In
contrast, manufacturing has remained relatively stable, rising
from 8.1 percent of nonoil GDP in 1984 to 9.0 percent in 1990.
In contrast, construction fell from 14.3 percent of nonoil GDP
in 1984 to 9.2 percent in 1990. Services, comprising trade, transport,
and social services, fell from more than 66.8 percent to 62.4
percent in the same period.
Data as of December 1992
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