Saudi economy grew 0.3% in 2019, below expectations: official data

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s economy grew 0.3% in 2019, less than expected, because of a 3.6% drop in the oil sector, official data showed on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia had officially forecast gross domestic product growth of 0.9% in 2019.

Despite the slower overall GDP growth, real economic growth in the non-oil sector increased by 3.3% last year, data from the General Authority for Statistics showed.

(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Susan Fenton)