Sixth (1995-99) and Seventh (2000-04) Plans all emphasized strengthening the growing private sector and increasing the efficiency of the industrial sector. The Eighth Five-Year Development Plan (2005-10) was devised with a focus on increasing foreign as well as national investment, and on developing human resources.

Throughout the course of the development plans, Saudi Arabia's steady but dramatic industrial and economic transformation has been accomplished through the careful guidance and active support of the government.

Saudi development has been balanced and all encompassing and is guided by the teachings and values of Islam. Thus, the Kingdom has been able to balance advances in material comfort and economic efficiency with the constancy of religious, spiritual and moral values.

DIVERSIFICATION OF THE PRODUCTIVE BASE OF THE ECONOMY

After a historic surge in national capital from oil income over a period of years, Saudi Arabia took precautions to expand its economic base to minimize its reliance on this resource as a sole supply of government revenue. Over the past three decades, the non-oil sector of the Saudi economy has grown from 35 percent to more than 60 percent of the total GDP. The Kingdom recognizes the necessity of non-petroleum income and therefore has invested in petrochemicals, mineral resources, construction materials, pharmaceuticals and banks.

The private sector is playing an increasingly larger role in the Saudi economy – as now it accounts for 48 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The sector is expected to continue growing, especially as Saudi Arabia opens its doors further to foreign investment.

In December 2005, Saudi Arabia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), a significant development that gives Saudi products greater access to global markets, creates jobs and encourages foreign investment.

THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

Saudi manufactured goods, in particular petrochemicals, are now marketed in 90 countries, while the Kingdom has achieved self sufficiency in many of the goods that the country used to import. In 2009 there were 4513 factories in the Kingdom capitalised at more than SR 394 billion. Back in 1975, the figures were 472 factories with a total capital of SR 9.9 billion. An increase equal to 9.5 times in industrial activity and an increase equal to 40 times in investment.

The growth rate of industrial activity amounted to 8.9 percent during 2008; the contribution of the sector to GDP was 8.3 percent. The major sectors that have contributed to the non-oil industrial development of the Kingdom include: Petrochemicals, Plastics and Chemical Products, Machinery and Equipment, Building Material Products and Food Products.

ENERGY

The Kingdom possesses a quarter of the world’s proven oil reserves, and is the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil. Saudi Arabia continues to invest in the energy sector. In September 2006, the Kingdom announced plans for $70 billion in oil and gas programs over five years.

OIL

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil, and has one quarter of the world’s known oil reserves i.e. more than 260 billion barrels. Most are located in the Eastern Province, including the largest onshore field in Ghawar and the largest offshore field at Safaniya in the Arabian Gulf. In 2008 the Kindom raised its oil production by 4.6 percent to 9.2 million barrels of oil per day, and there are plans to increase production to around 12 million barrels per day.  As the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil, Saudi Arabia plays a unique role in the global energy industry. Its policies on the production and export of oil, natural gas and petroleum products have a major impact on the energy market, as well as the global economy. Mindful of this responsibility, Saudi Arabia is committed to ensuring stability of supplies and prices.

ELECTRICITY

The Kingdom's total electricity generating capacity in 2000 was 22060 MW and in 2009 it has reached to 38681 MW: an increase of 75% in nine years. Similarly the number of subscribers have increased from 3,622 thousand in 2000 to 5,702 thousand in 2009: and increase of 57% in nine years.

Saudi Arabia has a massive electricity distribution network that extends to cities, towns and villages across the country.  The distribution network consists of 39793 KM of transmission lines, 345420 KM of distribution lines and service connections.

GAS

Saudi Arabia possesses vast reserves of natural gas – dissolved, associated and non-associated – which it uses as an environmentally friendly energy source for urban and industrial use. Exploration of the Kingdom’s natural gas resources remains ongoing. Major deposits have been discovered in the Eastern Province near Abqaiq and southwest of the Ghawar oil field.

THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

The Kingdom has achieved self-sufficiency in the production of table eggs, fresh milk, wheat and dates in addition to satisfying a great part of its needs of fruits, vegetables and meat including fish. In 2008 the agriculture sector grew by 2.2 percent and the agricultural GDP amounted to SR 41.1 billion, accounting for 6.0 percent of the non-oil GDP and 2.3 percent of overall GDP.

Cultivated area has increased from 600 thousand hectares in 1980 to 972 thousand hectares in 2008. The Kingdom has aimed its policy at reducing water-intensive crops, particularly grain and fodder. Grain production decreased to 2438 thousand tons in 2008, accounting for 25 percent of total agricultural production. The meat production (red meat poultry and fish) was 709 thousand tons and dairy production was 1690 thousand tons in 2008. In 2008, the Kingdom produced more than 2696 thousand tons of vegetables and more than 1616 thousand tons of fruits including 983 thousand tons of dates. In 2008 the capacity of storage silos reached 2520 thousand tons, while the production capacity of flour mills rose to 8784 tons of wheat daily.

DEVELOPMENT OF WATER

RESOURCES

The construction of 258 dams up to the end of 2008, scattered throughout the country with a storage capacity of 907.8 million cubic metres, has been an important element in the Kingdom's water development programme. The Kingdom produces about 30% of the world desalinated water. The power generating capacity of some water desalination plants has been a useful contributor to the national grid. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of desalinated water over the world which has thirty desalination plants spread on the east and west coasts. The production of these plants in 2008 amounted to 1103.3 million cubic meters and 20 million megawatts per hour of electricity.

CREDIT FUNDS

The setting up of several lending institutions and banks to provide liquid funds for Saudi citizens has been an important factor in driving the country's development in many fields. For instance, the Real Estate Development Fund; lent about SR 141.6 billion up to end of 2008, making possible the construction of more than 550,000 housing units. Similarly, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund provided a total of about SR 47.5 billion to 1447 industrial projects and 11 electricity companies. While the Agricultural Development Bank furnished loans to farmers and agribusinesses totalling SR 40.6 billion helping to increase the area of land under the plough, and the establishment of more than 2677 projects producing vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy products. The Public Investment Fund lent companies and national corporations about SR 59.4 billion, while the Saudi Credit & Saving Bank provided loans totalling SR 19.8 billion to help citizens with low income meet expenses such as marriage, medical treatment, house renovation or the pursuit of creative endeavours. This is in addition to specialised loans to hotels, private hospitals, bakeries, building contractors and the press totalling SR 6.6 billion.

TRANSPORT

The transport and communications sector is one of the pillars of economic and social development in the Kingdom. All towns and villages in Saudi Arabia are now connected to a comprehensive network of roads and highways built to the highest international standards. Total length of roads up to the end of 2009 amounted to 54.97 thousand km, of which 14.9 thousand km were main roads, 9.4 thousand km secondary roads and 30.5 thousand km feeder roads.

 

Air Travel: The Kingdom has three international airports: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dhahran and the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia’s national airline, Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) has a fleet of around 140 aircraft with flights to cities within Saudi Arabia and around the world. The National Air Service Co. (NAS) and Sama Airlines Limited (Sama) were granted licenses by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) as national carriers at the end of 2006. The two carriers operate domestic and international flights. Total number of passengers who traveled by air during 2008 amounted to 42 million.

Marine transport has seen comparable development.

Total cargo shipped from and to the Kingdom during 2008 amounted to 158.9 million tons (excluding crude oil). There are now 114 Saudi companies in this field, while the number of quays in the Kingdom's eight main ports on the shores of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf has risen to 182.

It was the Founder of the Kingdom King Abdulaziz who in October 1951 inaugurated the railway line linking the capital Riyadh with the Eastern Region. Since then, several improvements have been carried out on the line and in 1985 another more direct line was laid reducing the distance between Riyadh and Dammam from 562 kilometres to 450 kilometres, and cutting travel time from seven to four hours. The Two Holy Mosques (Makkah –Al-Madinah) electrical express train is an essential part of the railway network expansion programme in the Kingdom. It will provide safe and fast service for passenger transport. The project will connect Makkah, Jeddah, Rabigh and Al-Madinah together by a railway network with a total length of 450 km. Its experimental operation is due on 1/11/2012.

 

The contribution of transport, communications and storage activity to GDP (in real terms) during 2008 is estimated to have risen to SR 55,655 million; contributing to 6.5 percent of GDP (in real terms).

 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

 

The Kingdom has witnessed rapid advancements in the field of telecommunications. There are 1,000 telephone circuits with direct access to 152 countries. At the end of 2008, the number of fixed phone lines exceeded 4.1 million and the number of mobile subscribers was 35.9 million. The mobile phone penetration ratio is 144 percent and expansion and upgrading of the network is under way.  Broadband subscribers went up from 35 thousand in 2005 to more than 1.33 million at the end of 2008. Internet users grew to about 7.7 million with penetration ratio of 31 percent of the total population at the end of 2008. Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is currently implementing a Universal Service Fund to provide voice and Internet coverage to the whole of the country.

 

THE MEDIA

 

Saudi Arabia's policy on information and the media is guided by the teachings of Islam and is generally supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Information. The Saudi media steer a balanced course anchored on realism and objectivity. The Kingdom's radio networks broadcast from a number of stations throughout the country. These are: the General Programme; the Second Programme; Holy Qur'an Station; the Call of Islam from Makkah Al-Mukarramah. Religious programmes in many languages are broadcasted to Muslims throughout the world.

There are four Saudi television channels available across the Kingdom. Channel One is an Arabic language station and Channel Two is in English. The English Channel provides full-length films, short features and programs from European and American television sources. Channel Three is a sports channel. Saudi Channel Four is an all-news satellite channel which was inaugurated in January 2004.

Several Arabic and English dailies are published in the Kingdom.The two English language newspapers are Arab News, and Saudi Gazette. A wide range of American and European newspapers, magazines and books are also available in bookshops and newsstands.

 

EDUCATION

 

Today, Saudi Arabia’s public education system includes 11 universities, with more planned; some 25,000 schools; and a large number of colleges and other institutions. The system is open to all citizens, and provides students with free education, books and health services. The government allocates over 25% of the total budget to education including vocational training, and spends around 13.17 billion U.S. dollars on primary education and research.

Over the last twenty five years the number of students have multiplied seven folds, with an annual increase of some 7.9%, while the level of illiteracy has been brought down to 12.57% for males and 24.22% for females in 1997.

The number of schools of all types in the Kingdom numbered 3283 in 1970. The count for 2007 reached 25,473 schools. There are now about 4.6 million students in various stages of education in the country, more than four million of whom are in general education, with a gender split of 52.3% male and 47.7% female.

Total number of students (male and female) registered in higher education institutions in the academic year 2008 stood at 659.9 thousand. The breakdown of students (males and females) by academic levels was as follows: 2,523 students at the doctorate level, 12,122 at the master level, 3,210 at the higher diploma level, 592.4 thousand at the bachelor level and 49.7 thousand at the intermediate diploma level. The number of students and trainees at the colleges and institutes of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) stood at 83.3 thousand in the academic year 2008.

 

 

HEALTH SERVICES

 

Health services in Saudi Arabia are as highly developed as in any advanced country. Hospitals, clinics and health centres are spread throughout the country and are available free to citizens and foreign residents alike. There are three levels of health care in the Kingdom: primary health care centres; general hospitals; and specialised hospitals to which difficult cases are referred.

 In 2008 the number of hospitals in the Kingdom has risen to 387, of which 255 are operated by the Ministry of Health, 39 are run by other government entities and the 123 run by private sector. Primary healthcare can boast 1925 health care centres within the Ministry of Health and 1152 private dispensaries. Total beds in the Kingdom's hospitals amounted to 53.5 thousand. The number of physicians went up to 47.9 thousand; distributed as follows: 47.3 percent in the Ministry of Health's hospitals, 22.6 percent in other government entities' hospitals and 30.1 percent in the private sector's hospital.

 

So the statistics continue: 53.5 thousand hospital beds, 47.9 thousand doctors, 93.7 thousand nurses; 51.2 thousand medical support staff; the number of beds and physicians per one thousand persons stood at 2.2 and 2.1 respectively.

 

 

SOCIAL SECU RITY

The Social Security Agency plays a prominent role in extending help to poor Saudis and satisfying their needs. Assistance given by the Agency is divided into: assistance to partially or completely disabled persons, orphans, needy women, families of prisoners, people afflicted with disasters and families without breadwinners. The Social Security budget has been subject to constant upward reviews, rising to SR 10.8 billion and benefiting 758,208 beneficiaries during 2007. Payments are made through 76 offices serving all regions of the Kingdom.

 

SOCIAL INSURANCE

 

The General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) administers the Kingdom's social security system. A system designed to ensure regular income to every worker in case of retirement, disability or occupational accident. The system covered a total of more than 12.2 million workers, 4 million of whom are at work in about 192,685 establishments to the end of 2008. From the inception of the scheme in 1973 to the end of fiscal year 2008, the organisation has paid out about SR 16.5 billion; SR 15.5 billion was paid out in pensions, while payments for occupational accidents amounted to about SR 1 billion.

 

 

YOUTH WELFARE AND SPORTS

 

The notable achievements of Saudi sports and the discernible healthy state of Saudi youth, is a reflection of the Kingdom's total commitment to youth welfare. These achievements justify the great efforts of the General Presidency for Youth Welfare, which is entrusted with the task of developing the country's sport, cultural and art potential. Saudis often return home from regional and international sport competitions and cultural exhibitions, laden with honours.

Both traditional and modern sports are popular in Saudi Arabia. The people of the Arabian Peninsula have enjoyed sports for thousands of years, including horse and camel racing, falconry and hunting with hounds. Today, modern sports are also popular – especially soccer.  A special effort has been made to encourage sports and make them accessible to the public. Hundreds of facilities have been established throughout the Kingdom so that all Saudis can exercise regularly or enjoy popular spectator sports.

 

 

 

A PROFILE

 

Area     

2,240,000 sq km

Population          27.14 million (2010 CDSI census)

Saudis: 18.70 million (69 %)

Non-Saudis:  8.4 million (31 %)

Capital  Riyadh

Main Cities          Riyadh

(The Capital)

Makkah

(The most sacred place to Muslims, and their praying direction)

Al Madinah

(Second most sacred place)

Jeddah

(Saudi capital of business, an important

port ,and a major gateway to pilgrims) .

Dammam

(Capital of Eastern region, well-off oil, and an important port) .

Dhahran

( A military city , the location of Saudi Aramco`s

headquarter which the largest oil company in the world .

ArAr

(Capital of Northern region)

Location               Saudi Arabia is located in the southwest Asia, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa; extending from the Red Sea in the west to the Arabian Gulf in the east; bordered on the north by Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait, on the south, by Yemen and Oman, and on the east by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

Climate Continental weather

Summer : very hot

Winter : Cold

Flag and Emblem

                The flag of Saudi Arabia has a green background featuring a white inscription above a white horizontal sword (the tip of the sword points to the hoist side of the flag). The text is known as Sahada or the Islamic statement of faith, "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet.".

The Saudi Arabian Official Emblem is a date palm, representing vitality and growth, and two crossed swords, symbolizing justice and strength.

 

 

Government and Judicial System              The constitution of Saudi Arabia is Quran and Sunnah,

all legislative regulations have been derived from these

two sources. The regime in Saudi Arabia is a (monarchy system).

The King and the Council of Ministers form the executive and the legislative authority. The State Consultative council has the mission of giving its opinion on any general issue submitted to the council by the prime minister.

Religion                The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy in which Islam is the official religion.

Language             Arabic; English widely spoken in urban areas.

Currency              Saudi Riyal (SR) pegged to U.S. dollar ($1=SR3.745)

National Day      September 23, commemorating the foundation of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

Telecom               Country code 966; area codes Riyadh - 1, Jeddah/Makkah/Taif - 2, Dammam/Dhahran - 3, Madinah/Tabuk/Yanbu - 4. Internet Code: sa

Timing   Greenwich Mean Time plus three (GMT+3)

Calendar              Saudi Arabia follows the Muslims Hijra calendar, which is the day when Prophet Mohammad (Peace be Upon him) migrated from Makkah to Al Madinah.

Weekends          Thursday – Friday

Business Hours Government offices Saturday through Wednesday from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm; private businesses from 8:00 am to noon and 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm; general banking from 8:00 am until noon and from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm and markets and shops from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm

Official Holidays                Eid Al Fitter : 25th Ramadan to 5th Shawwal

Eid Al Adha : 5th Thi Alhijja to 15 Thi Alhijja

Affiliations          Founding member of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), United Nations, League of Arab States, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); member of many international organizations, including the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization (WTO); and signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Measurements and Weights      Weights: Ton – Kilogram

Measurements: Meter – kilometer – centimeter