Saudi Arabia-Economic and political outline

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Published: 06 Oct 2008 17:34:31 PST

Economic indicators

GDP Indicators	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (billions USD)	250.673	315.758	349.138	374.457	407.033
GDP (constant prices, annual % change)	5.3	6.1	4.3	4.1	4.3
GDP per capita (USD)	11126.522	13657.947	14733.457	15416.476	16348.929
General government balance (in % of GDP)
Inflation rate (%)	0.4	0.7	2.2	3	3
Unemployment rate (% of the labor force)	5.2	5.2
Current Account (billions USD)	5.2	5.2
Current Account (in % of GDP)	51.995	90.11	95.514	83.122	81.807

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database

Note: (e) Estimated data

Breakdown of economic activity by sector	Agriculture	Industry	Services
Value added (annual % change)	1.768659	6.173851	4.744231
Value added (in % of GDP)		58.91	37.12
Employment by sector(in % of total employment)	4.7%	21%	74.2%

Source: - last available data.

Foreign trade indicators	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Imports of goods (millions USD)	29624.27	33867.73	41050.4	51327.02
Exports of goods (millions USD)	72464.27	93244.1	125997.6	174635
Imports of services (millions USD)	19979.73	20857.41	25695.68	27947.43
Exports of services (millions USD)	5176.933	5712.8	5851.734	5916.409
Imports of goods and services (annual % change)	0.8298222	11.52003
Exports of goods and services (annual % change)	-7.177909	19.9578
Trade Balance (millions USD)	42840	59376.37	84947.2	123308
Current Account (millions USD)	11873.09	28047.95	51925.98	87131.46
Foreign trade (in % of GDP)	64.95409	70.23282	77.53656	87.07032	70.23282
Imports of goods and services (in % of GDP)	23.77625	24.11477	24.86871	26.3892
Exports of goods and services (in % of GDP)	41.17785	46.11805	52.66785	60.68112

Source:

To see more products: More imports (Intracen Data)
More exports (Intracen Data)

Economic Organizations: Central Department of Statistics and Information
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA)
Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)
Ministries: Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Economy and Planning
Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources
Online newspapers: List of Saudi Newspapers
List of Arabic newspapers
Search Engines: Saudi info
Saudisearch
Saudi on line
Economic portals: Economy watch

Executive Power: King is both the chief of the state and head of the government. The monarch is hereditary. Council of Ministers (cabinet) is appointed by the monarch and includes many royal family members. The Council of Ministers has both legislative and executive powers, subject to King's approval.
Legislative Power: There is no elected legislature in Saudi Arabia. A Consultative Council was appointed in August 1993 which has 120 members and a chairman appointed by the King for four-year terms. This Council has limited powers and does not affect decision making or power structures in a meaningful way. The people of Saudi Arabia enjoy very limited political rights, almost equal to nothing.
Main political parties: No political parties are allowed in Saudi Arabia. However, a party called Green Party of Saudi Arabia, which promotes the values of the worldwide Green movement, exists as an illegal organization. The first Saudi Arabian municipal elections were held in the year 2005.
Current political leaders: King and Prime Minister: ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since August 2005) - hereditary.
Heir Apparent: Crown Prince SULTAN bin Abd al- Aziz Al Saud - half brother of the King.
Next election dates: Not Applicable