ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population: 22.5m

Population growth: 2.89%

Population density (people per sq. km): 10

UN Human Development Index ranking: 77/177

Gross national income (current US$): $186.8bn (2002)

Gross national income per capita: $8,530

PPP Gross national income: $281.3bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $12,850

GDP growth: 7.2% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 5.1%, Industry: 51.37%, Services: 43.52%

Inflation (12-month average): 1.81 (2002)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 19.58%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 62.7% (1.0%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 40.8%

Top 3 export markets: US, Japan, South Korea ,

Local industries: Crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertiliser, plastics

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking *: n/a/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking **: n/a/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: n/a/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 71/145

Languages : Arabic (official)

FDI INFORMATION

Region: Gulf

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 62

Market-share of projects in the region: 13.7%

Value of projects relative to GDP: 24.6%

Top 3 destination sectors: IT & software, energy, textiles

Top 3 business functions: Sales marketing & support, retail, manufacturing

Top 3 source countries: US, UK, UAE

Top 3 investors: Sumitomo Chemical, Royal Dutch Shell, Acetex

IPA

Name: Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority

Web address: www.sagia.gov.sa

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations