The NBP’s growth rate jumped from 61.5 percent in 2009, a report carried by the SPA said. Najran and Asir came second and third with their growth rate improving from 55.5 percent to 59.5 percent and 48 percent to 51.3 percent respectively.

The report noted a substantial improvement in drinking water supply in Madinah, Tabuk, the Northern Borders, Jazan, Najran and Baha.

“The road sector also witnessed growth in most provinces, especially in Tabuk, Al-Jouf, Jazan and Baha,” the report said.

It didn’t show any big change in the number of hospital beds, although the number of beds per 1,000 people rose from 2.17 beds in 2009 to 2.25 in 2010.

The teacher-student ratio, which was 10.6 students for each teacher in 2009, dropped to 10.5 students in 2010.

The Kingdom’s gross domestic product rose by 4.64 percent from SR836.9 billion in 2009 to SR875.8 billion in 2010. The nonoil sector achieved a growth rate of 5.29 percent in 2010, much more than the target of 4 percent set for the first year of the Ninth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2014).

The private sector recovered from the global financial crisis as a result of the strong performance of sectors such as construction, trade, hotels, transport and communication, achieving a growth rate of 5.28 percent against a target rate of 5.25 percent.

Petrochemical industries showed a growth of 4.3 percent in 2010, below the target rate of 5.2 percent as a result of global financial depression.