ECONOMIC INFORMATION

 

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Population - 22.1m

Population growth - 3.25%

GDP (current US$) - $186.49bn (2001)

GDP per capita - $8,432

GDP per capita on a purchasing price parity basis - $10,250

GDP growth - 0.6% (2002)

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Industrial production growth - 1%

Inflation (12-month average) - -2.4% (2001)

Exports of goods and services as % of GDP - 41.9%

Top 3 export markets - US, Japan, South Korea

Local currency (change vs. US$ Jan 1-Nov 26, 2003) - Riyal (pegged to US$)

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking * - n/a/102

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking ** - n/a/95

Local industries - Crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic

petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics

Languages - Arabic

 

GOVERNANCE

 

World Bank Governance Matters III ***

Political stability - 0.05

Government effectiveness - -0.05

Regulatory quality - 0.08

Rule of law - 0.44

Control of corruption - 0.57

Economic Freedom ranking - 68/165

UN Human Development Index ranking - 73/175

 

FDI INFORMATION

 

Region - Gulf

No.of projects (Jan-Sep 2003) - 46

Market-share of projects in the region - 12.6%

Value of projects relative to GNP - 19.5%

Top 3 destination sectors - Hotels, Tourism & Leisure, Financial Services,

Chemicals

Top 3 source countries - USA, UK, UAE

Top 3 investors - Hilton Hotels, Groupe Casino, Chevron Phillips

 

IPA

 

Name - Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority

Web address - www.sagia.gov.sa

Telephone +966 1 263 5010 Ext. 333

* 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 score given is a deviation from the global mean score of zero. Ranged between –2.5 and +2.5, the higher the score, the better the performance

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