section_path: Impact by region or country/Middle East/Saudi Arabia
section_name: Saudi Arabia
paragraph_text: Saudi Arabia
  
  The Saudi economy was severely challenged from 2019 to 2020, and the global COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated its effects on major economic indicators. Unemployment in Saudi Arabia increased during this period. The unemployment rate in 2019 Q3 was around 12% for Saudi nationals, which went up to 15.4% in the second quarter of 2020. The pandemic, together with economic slowdowns especially in tourism, hospitality, and retail, brought about job losses, particularly among the younger generation of workers. In November 2019 Saudi Arabia inflation rate was -0.8%. Then in November of 2020 the inflation rate increased to 5.7%. During the pandemic the inflation grew about 4.9%. The country contracted by not producing and selling oil and products that people did not want to use during the pandemic. Saudi Arabia GDP for 2020 was $734.27B, a 12.44% decline from 2019 which was $838.56B. GDP growth rate in 2019 Q4 was 0.9% and in 2020 Q4 the GDP grew to 1.5% which is an expansion to the economy GDP. Overall, the Saudi Arabian economy had a turbulent year, with high unemployment, and significant GDP contraction amidst the global health crisis.