Saudi Arabia, the fastest growing economy in the Middle East
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia implements a liberal economic policy. It is located in the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia, bordering the Persian Gulf on the east and the Red Sea on the west. It borders Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar and other countries. Saudi Arabia has a total land area of 2.25 million square kilometers, a total population of 34.81 million, a per capita density of 16.2 people/square kilometers, and a total coastline of 2,448 kilometers. Saudi Arabia is basically a plateau, with plains in the west, mountains and plains in the east, and deserts in the north and south. The Greater Nefd Desert is in the north of Saudi Arabia, and the Rub al-Khali desert is in the south of Saudi Arabia. The Arab Empire was founded in the 7th century by the successors of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. At its height in the 8th century, it spanned Europe, Asia and Africa. It declined in the 11th century and came under Ottoman rule in the 16th century. The British invaded in the 19th century, when the Hejaz and Nejd were divided into two parts. In 1924, Sheikh Abdullah Aziz Ibn Saud of Nejd annexed the Hejaz and proclaimed himself king the following year. After years of war, finally unified the Arabian Peninsula, in September 23, 1932 declared the establishment of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this day was set as Saudi National Day.
Saudi Arabia is a veritable oil kingdom. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated seawater, accounting for about 21 percent of the world’s total. Saudi Arabia has a liberal economic policy. Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and is a holy place for Muslims to perform the hajj.
Saudi Arabia has a well-developed financial system and a relatively developed tourism industry. The Saudi government has encouraged private sector development to reduce the economy’s dependence on oil exports and provide more jobs for a fast-growing population. Saudi Arabia also uses large numbers of foreign workers. The economic development focuses on industry, and the petroleum and petrochemical industries are the lifeblood of the national economy and the main economic source.
Known as the “oil kingdom”, Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest oil reserves, production and sales. In 1984, proven oil reserves stood at 50 billion tons and natural gas reserves at 3,488.5 billion cubic meters. Oil revenue is the country’s main economic source. In 1981, oil production reached 490 million tons and revenue was $103.2 billion. Since 1983, due to the decline in oil prices, production and income have been sharply reduced. In 1985, production was 165 million tons and revenue was 34 billion dollars. The huge oil income made Saudi Arabia transform from the traditional backward agricultural and animal husbandry economy to the economic structure based on the oil industry rapidly, and by the 1970s it had become one of the countries with the highest per capita national income in the world. In 1984, the GDP was about 109 billion US dollars and the per capita income was 30,000 US dollars. The Saudi government has used its oil revenues to create a huge economic development program. The Saudi government implements the policy of economic diversification, focusing on the development of modern industries and basic industries, in order to gradually change the situation of relying solely on oil revenue and establish a modern and diversified national economic system.
Saudi Arabia has the second largest reserves of proven oil in the world after Canada (24% of the world’s explored oil), is the world’s largest oil exporter, and is a leading member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The oil industry accounts for about 75% of the country’s income, 40% of GDP and 90% of export earnings. About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Saudi Arabia was a prime mover when OPEC and other oil exporting countries raised oil prices in 1999, during which OPEC members succeeded in reducing production to push oil prices to their highest levels since the 1991 Gulf War.
The oil industry is a mainstay of the Saudi economy. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has benefited from the rise in international oil prices, its oil export income is rich, and its economy has maintained rapid growth. However, the recent low international oil prices have increased downward pressure on Saudi Arabia’s economy. In 2016, Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Plan 2020 were put forward in order to move away from a high dependence on the oil industry and promote a diversified development strategy. In December 2005, Saudi Arabia formally joined the World Trade Organization.
The Saudi government is increasingly encouraging private sector development to reduce the country’s dependence on oil exports and provide more jobs for a fast-growing population. Water shortages and a rapidly growing population could limit the country’s goal of achieving agricultural self-sufficiency.
Saudi Arabia also uses large numbers of migrant workers. According to Philippine government statistics, Saudi Arabia is the largest employment destination for overseas Filipinos.
About 390,000 people in Saudi Arabia are nomadic herders, herding camels, sheep, goats and horses. About 390,000 people are employed in agriculture, and less than one percent of the country’s land is cultivated, scattered in various oases. Agricultural products include dates, wheat, barley, vegetables and fruits. Industry has petroleum refining, petrochemical, steel, textile, cement and other sectors. The country’s political and economic center of gravity is Riyadh and Kazakhstan. The Hejaz is the second center of gravity, with the administrative center of Jeddah and the holy sites of Islam, Mecca and Medina, and is accelerating the construction of a petrochemical industry along the Red Sea coast. There are highways and long-distance oil pipes and liquefied gas pipes between the two core areas. The main export is petroleum and its products, accounting for 90% of the export value, but also exported dates, animal products; The main inputs are grain, sugar, tea and textiles. From Dhahran to Saida in Lebanon, the longest oil pipeline in the Middle East (1,770 kilometers long) has been built, as well as oil and liquefied gas pipelines from the East coast to the West Coast. Shahpur Port is the old name of “Khomeini port”.
In many people’s impression, Saudi Arabia is a barren desert country, but in fact, Saudi Arabia has a lot of landforms, such as beautiful oases, pristine beaches, magnificent valleys and so on. The entire land area is nearly 2.5 million square kilometers, with a population of 35 million.
The Rub al Khali Desert is the largest flowing desert in the world. The Al Jouf region, in the northernmost part of Saudi Arabia, has a desert climate, with cold winters and temperatures that can reach zero degrees Celsius. The landscape is spectacular, with mountains, valleys and the NafudDesert, as well as archaeological sites and landmarks spanning a long historical period from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age to the present day.
Located in the ancient city of Dumat al-Jandal in Juf, Qasr Marid, which dates back to 1 AD, was the seat of power in various periods of history, and can be seen from the castle. Adjacent to it is the Umar Mosque, built in the 16th century and named for the second caliph in Islamic history, Umar Bin Al Khatab, who was assassinated in Duma Zanda on his way to Jerusalem. The city is also home to the Juve Museum, which was built in 1416 and houses many historical artifacts, photographs and paintings.
Jabal Sawda in Asir National Park, near Abha, is home to one of Saudi Arabia’s strangest landmarks, the Green Mountain (Jebel Thera). It is the highest peak in southern Abha and is illuminated by green neon lights at night, casting a warm emerald green glow across the city. The best way to reach the summit is by cable car, which has a Lebanese restaurant and cafe on a terrace with great views over the city.
The hanging village of Habalah is another stunning tourist attraction in Asir. Rows of sandstone houses on the edge of steep cliffs were built 400 years ago by the Qahtan tribe. The first people who lived here used ropes attached to iron ropes to make their daily journeys. Visitors can now take a cable car to the village, climb to the summit and be greeted by Catan men wearing traditional garlands. They can view the elaborate carvings on the porches of the village houses and look down on the terraces that line the cliffs.
In Vision 2030, the Saudi authorities hope that tourism will become one of the pillar industries of the future, creating more jobs through tourism and contributing 15% of GDP to the Saudi economy. In recent years, ambitious tourism investment projects have been underway in Saudi Arabia, including Neom, Qiddiya, The Red Sea and Amaala, to further enrich future tourism resources.
By Zhiyuan Tan
