Source : The World Factbook 2002  

     This information was last updated on 9 December 2002

 

To review last updated (on 19 December, 2006)

 

 

  

Economy

   Saudi Arabia

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Economy - overview:

DefinitionField Listing
This is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world (26% of the proved reserves), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 25% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 4 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and service sectors. Riyadh expects to have a budget deficit in 2002, in part because of increased spending for education and other social programs. The government in 1999 announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies, which follows the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications company. The government is expected to continue calling for private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Shortages of water and rapid population growth will constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products.

GDP:

DefinitionField Listing
purchasing power parity - $241 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

DefinitionField Listing
1.6% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita:

DefinitionField Listing
purchasing power parity - $10,600 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

DefinitionField Listing
agriculture: 7%
industry: 48%
services: 45% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:

DefinitionField Listing
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

DefinitionField Listing
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

DefinitionField Listing
1.7% (2001)

Labor force:

DefinitionField Listing
7 million
note: 35% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

DefinitionField Listing
agriculture 12%, industry 25%, services 63% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:

DefinitionField Listing
NA%

Budget:

DefinitionField Listing
revenues: $42 billion
expenditures: $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)

Industries:

DefinitionField Listing
crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics

Industrial production growth rate:

DefinitionField Listing
1% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:

DefinitionField Listing
123.5 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source:

DefinitionField Listing
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:

DefinitionField Listing
114.855 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports:

DefinitionField Listing
0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports:

DefinitionField Listing
0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products:

DefinitionField Listing
wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus; mutton, chickens, eggs, milk

Exports:

DefinitionField Listing
$66.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Exports - commodities:

DefinitionField Listing
petroleum and petroleum products 90%

Exports - partners:

DefinitionField Listing
US 17.4%, Japan 17.3%, South Korea 11.7%, Singapore 5.3%, India (2000)

Imports:

DefinitionField Listing
$29.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports - commodities:

DefinitionField Listing
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles

Imports - partners:

DefinitionField Listing
US 21.1%, Japan 9.4%, Germany 7.4%, UK 7.3% (2000)

Debt - external:

DefinitionField Listing
$23.8 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - donor:

DefinitionField Listing
pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon; since 1993, Saudi Arabia has committed $208 million for assistance to the Palestinians; pledged $240 million to development in Afghanistan

Currency:

DefinitionField Listing
Saudi riyal (SAR)

Currency code:

DefinitionField Listing
SAR

Exchange rates:

DefinitionField Listing
Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.7450 (fixed rate since June 1986)

Fiscal year:

DefinitionField Listing
calendar year

 

  

Communications

   Saudi Arabia

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Telephones - main lines in use:

DefinitionField Listing
3.1 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

DefinitionField Listing
1 million
note: in 1998, the government contracted for the installation of 575,000 additional Group Speciale Mobile (GSM) cellular telephone lines over 15 months to raise the total number of subscribers to more than one million; Riyadh planned to further expand the GSM system in 1999 by adding an additional one million lines (1998)

Telephone system:

DefinitionField Listing
general assessment: modern system
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable systems
international: microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan; submarine cable to Djibouti, Egypt and Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations:

DefinitionField Listing
AM 43, FM 31, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:

DefinitionField Listing
6.25 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

DefinitionField Listing
117 (1997)

Televisions:

DefinitionField Listing
5.1 million (1997)

Internet country code:

DefinitionField Listing
.sa

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

DefinitionField Listing
42 (2001)

Internet users:

DefinitionField Listing
570,000 (2001)

 

This information was last updated on 9 December 2002