Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has an economy that is largely dependent on oil, with the government maintaining the biggest control over the country 's significant economic activities. Saudi Arabia owns about 16% of the global oil reserves and is the number one exporter of oil (Saudi Arabia, 2013). In addition, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was instrumental in the formation of the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) group, which initially comprised Iraq, Venezuela, Iran, Kuwait and Venezuela (Energy indicators, 2004). Currently, the petroleum industry constitutes about 80% of the country 's budgetary incomes; about 40% of the country 's GDP and 87% of Saudi 's export earnings. Agriculture, in addition to petroleum products, has been a major contributor to the kingdom’s economy since 1970s (Saudi Arabia, 2013). The country has been able to produce enough agricultural products for their consumption as well as surplus for exportation to the GCC member countries.
Saudi 's Pattern of Economic Growth
Initially, Saudi Arabia was largely a subsistence economy, gaining its revenues from subsistence agriculture and sale of natural resources. The Saudi population was highly dependent on subsistence farming and was very poor, given that climatic conditions in Saudi Arabia are not favourable for food production. However, the situation drastically changed when oil was first discovered in 1930 's. Although a highly sought after commodity, oil prices were
What's more, Saudi Arabia political system is very conservative when compared to the United States. For Muslim countries our freedoms can be seen as threatening by those who value that structure. For that reason, not all countries share the same philosophy in regards to their citizens’ right. For example, Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its implementation of Islamic law and its poor human rights record. In the same way the United States has been criticized for being too liberal. Civil liberties safeguard individual liberty and therefore, are valuable to every human being. More importantly, prevent the government from misusing power. Without a doubt, the highest law in the United States is the U.S. Constitution and such is fabricated by some amendments that are known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees that the government can never deprive people in the U.S. of certain fundamental rights. As a result, American citizens are protected by the First Amendment which, reads the following “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacefully assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (“First Amendment").
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the largest arid country (Al-Ibrahim, 1991). The country covers some 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula (Al-Hamzi, 1992). The area of Saudi Arabia is 2.25 million square kilometers, equivalent (1.4) million square miles (Batayneh, 2012). The total number population in Saudi Arabia is 25.7 million (Al-Shayaa et al., 2012). Saudi Arabia climate is broiling in the summer and chilly in the winter, and Saudi Arabia does not have well-defined season. In addition, Saudi Arabia is waterless country, and it does not have rivers or lakes (Al-Shayaa et al., 2012).
Currently Saudi Arabia is one of the leading producers of oil in the world. However, it is losing its foothold on the market. Many countries, like North America, are increasing their oil production and are looking for ways to become less dependent on foreign oil. The increased competition has caused oil prices to decrease. By producing their own oil, countries not only will increase their revenues, but will also reduce their need to rely on foreign oil. By reducing their need foreign an oil a country does not have to worry that their oil supply will be cut off if they go to war.
After World War II, society experienced many changes due to economic growth. The reason for the rise in the economy is "… the developments in technology, methods of production, communication, and transportation..." (Background; lines 1-2). These changes "… led to far more goods and services for many people..." (Background; Lines 10-11).
The Middle East is one of the birthplaces of human kind’s civilization. Since the Ancient Egypt, Sumer, the Arab Empire, Turkey Empire, or even to present day, the Middle East has always been a valuable strategic point for not only because of its geographic location but also it full of petroleum and nature gas. According the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that 66% of the global oil reserves are in the Middle East and only 6% in North America, this makes a lot of powerful countries want to share a pieces of the Middle East, Stephen mentions “Much of the world 's oil wealth exists along the Persian Gulf, with particularly large reserves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
The term globalization can be defined as a process by which societies, regional economies and cultures have been integrated via a global network of transportation, communication and trade. It has both positive and negative impacts in all the areas that it touches on be it economical, social, technology, cultural, political, environment, health or any other. Globalization started to have an impact on businesses world wide in the eighteenth century since that time marks the merging of modernity and globalization. However, in the modern sence, globalization kicked off after the end of Second World War since its during that time that leaders felt the urge to break down the borders
The largest world supplier oil company is Saudi Aramco. It is the most profitable company on the earth. Since it is the most powerful oil company, it has a great impact on the world economy. As a result, a strong international relationship was built with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition, the strong developing of international relationship with other industrial countries resulted in massive contributions to the politics, economy, and many different aspects. In 1933, Saudi government bestowed oil concession to California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Chevron). The main factor for this grant was to explore the oil in the eastern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After discovering a huge amount of oil, part of the
on this years by providing the oil gap cause for the OPEC embargo to those
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative Islamic states. The Islam is the religion that dominates all aspects of the citizen’s lives. The Islamic interpretations effects the politics, economics, businesses, and communications with other nations. For instance, Saudi Arabia and The United States have different views
Governed by a monarchy, Saudi Arabia’s current prosperity can be attributed to the royal family.
This unitary Islamic absolute monarchy “possesses 18 per cent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum” (OPEC, 2015), also is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The oil production is responsible for about 50% of the Gross Domestic Product, and about 85% of export earnings (OPEC). Although it is the world’s greatest exporter, its GDP per capita is only $24,454. Saudi Arabia ranks weakly on the Human Development Index as number 59 of the 182 states in the world, and it is only number 8 between the other MENA countries. Although Saudi Arabia’s elite is very wealthy and large, a great portion of the population barely receives profits from the state's wealth. It is ranked as not free relating to civil liberties and also ranked as suffering hard from corruption. Also, the political parties in Saudi Arabia are banned, and political organizations that oppose may only exist outside the country (Freedom House, 2015). Even before the discovery of oil, the family that was in power depended on the merchants of Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian city, to collect their taxes. When oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia, that is when the country started to develop, just like the United Arab Emirates. It can be said that if a country has strong institutions, stable economy, and a flexible political system, they
OPEC was founded in 1960 with 5 counties and the goals to be a dependable oil market for themselves, and to stimulate economic growth in other countries. Leading up to the 1970’s OPEC’s growth and business was relatively unnoticed until an Iranian revolution and Arab oil embargo pushed oil prices to new levels. Changing consumer opinions about oil and over supply led to a market crash in 1986; but from 1990 through to 2000 prices strengthened from increases in technology and a more global market. In 2008 the stock market crisis rippled through all industries and even caused the oil market to suffer. Oil prices then rebounded and at June 2014 oil prices set a record high. OPEC currently has just under 40% of the market share and
Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy. Shipments of oil account for 87 percent of total exports and for 46 percent of GDP. In recent years, in order to diversify the economy, the government has been investing in telecommunications, petrochemicals, natural gas exploitation and power generation sectors.
The UAE is one of the riches nations in the world as measure by per capita GNP. The economy is primarily based on the oil
Saudi Arabian Oil, also known as Saudi Aramco, is an oil & gas company centered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the world’s most valuable and profitable company with an estimated worth of approximately 10 trillion US dollars, as reported by the Financial Times. The company not only has the largest oil reserves (approximately 260 billion barrels), but also has the largest daily production of oil (reference). The company has become a world leader in hydrocarbon explorations, production, distribution and marketing. With headquarters in Dhahran, the company owns many oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia including Ghawar, world’s largest oil field. Its yearly production reaches 7.9 billion barrels, 1.26x109