The Development in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Development in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example It also experience major government controls over various economical activities. The growth rate of the country since 2000 has been varying with the highest being in 2004. The country is ranked as the largest exporter of petroleum in the world and has a very important role to play in Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Currently, the country is focusing on encouraging the private sector to invest in the country in order to create more employment opportunities for the local citizens in order to reduce the unemployment rate in the country that currently stands at 10.9%. Some of the effort by the government to attract more investors in the country is through improving service provision in telecommunication sector, natural gas exploration and other power generation measures. These measures are aimed at provision of a serene enviroment for transacting busineses. One of the challenging issues that affects Saudi economy is a high population of people who are illeterate. Th is has given way for the foreignors who retrieve countrys wealth and send back to their country. The government is therefore, aiming at improving education levels in the country through setting up various education institutions in the country.(Trading economics 2012) Population The population in Saudi Arabia stands at 26.1 million people as per July 2011 statistics. 20.5% of this population is Saudis while 5.6million of the total population are composed of foreign nationals. Annual growth rate in the country stands at 1.536% as per 2011. Major ethnic groups in the country comprise of Arabs 90% (of native population), afro- Asian (10% of native population). The main official language is Arabic while the literacy levels stands at approximately 78.8% with male comprising of 84.7 and female 70.8%. The workforce in the country comprise of 7.3 million with 80% of this number being foreigners. Industries hold 21.4 % of the population with services which include government holding 71.9% and agriculture on the other hand supporting 6.7% of the population (US department of state, 2012). Wealth indicators in Saudi Arabia Middle East countries are one of the driest countries in the world. As a result the country spends much of its revenues in importing food from other agricultural viable countries. In measuring the level of wealth, the main wealth indicator is food security. Food security in Saudi Arabia is measured using three key indicators. They include food aid as a proportion of overall domestic consumption, imports as a proportion of total consumption and lastly the income levels of the population in the country (Wilson & Bruins 2008, p.52). On the household levels, the mostly used indicators include: land ownership, vehicle ownership, type of the house, ability of the citizens to save their money and average earning per household. This gives the government a data that is used to gauge the public wealth status an aspect that is used in resource distribution (Wilson & Bruins 2008). Most significant industries in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is the world leading oil exporting countries. As a result the country’s main industries are oil related. These industries include crude oil production industries, petroleum refining industries and petrochemical industries. The three industries are the major contributors to Saudi Arabia economic growth. In addition, the country is one of the leading dates exporters making the sector play an