"Noticeable" improvement was made in performance indicators of the Kingdom's economy since the beginning of 2023, overcoming obstacles and challenges facing, amid regional and global turmoil, official figures showed.

According to the latest and key economic indicators monitored by "Petra" for various periods of 2023, the Kingdom’s gross domestic product at current and constant market prices grew by 2.6% during the second quarter of 2023, compared to the same period last year.

Agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing sector achieved the highest growth rate during this period at 8.2%, followed by the transportation, storage, and communications sector at a 5.2% rate, then the extractive industries sector at a 4.3% rate, and finally came manufacturing industries sector, which grew by 3.7%, the data revealed.

Additionally, the Kingdom's trade balance deficit dropped by 11.0% from the beginning of 2023 until end of last September, to reach JD7.078 billion, compared to JD7.957 billion for the same period last year, statistics showed.

The value of national exports went down by 2.0% until end of last September 2023, reaching JD6.272 billion, compared to JD6.402 billion for the same period last year.

On the other hand, the value of the Kingdom’s imports plummeted by 7.0% from the beginning of 2023 until the end of last September, reaching JD13.842 billion, compared to JD14.890 billion for the same period last year.

Moreover, unemployment rate in the Kingdom decreased during the third quarter of 2023 by 0.8%, compared to the third quarter last year, and the rate remained stable to record 22.3%, compared to the second quarter of 2023.

During the past ten months of 2023, figures showed the Kingdom's tourism income grew by 34.7%, compared to the same period last year, recording $6.4 billion, driven by an increase in the number of tourists, which reached 5,560 million guests, marking a growth rate of 34%.

The value of the Kingdom's foreign reserves amounted to about $17.4 billion, which covers the Kingdom's imports of goods and services for 7.6 months, which tops the generally accepted international standard for three months.