RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product grew by 8.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, according to official data released by the General Authority for Statistics. This is the sixth quarter of economic growth in a row, but marks a slower rate than the previous three months, which saw a rate of 12.2 percent. According to the report, the Kingdom’s GDP growth is driven by a 14.5 percent increase in oil activities in the third quarter compared to the same period of 2021. The GASTAT report further pointed out that non-oil activities in the Kingdom grew by 5.6 percent and government services activities rose by 2.4 percent in the third quarter. The report added that real GDP increased by 2.6 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter of this year, while oil activities grew by 5.8 percent, government services activities by 1.1 percent and non-oil activities by 0.2 percent, during the same period. Oil extraction accounted for 46 percent of Saudi Arabia’s GDP in the third quarter of this year, with the data showing that the services sector was responsible for 36 percent of Saudi Arabia’s wealth. Government services amounted to 13 percent, wholesale and retail trade and restaurants and hotels both stood at 8 percent, whereas financing, insurance and real estate accounted for 7.9 percent of the country’s GDP. The data from GASTAT showed that manufacturing stood at 10 percent, construction and electricity, gas and water distribution stood at 6 percent each, and agriculture, forestry and fishing totaled 2 percent of GDP.