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CompareEconomy.com Comparison of world economies

Saudi Arabia

World Rank Saudi Arabia flag svg
Capital
Area
Currency
Riyadh
2,149,690 km 2
Saudi riyal (SAR)

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the second largest country in the Arab World. Most of the Arabian Peninsula is controlled by the nation. Located in Western Asia, Saudi Arabia covers more than 2.15 million square kilometers. As a result, it is also the fifth-largest nation in Asia and 12th-largest in the entire world.

The government is a Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy. It means that the king is the most powerful person. At this moment King Salman governs the nation. In the event of his death, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will take his place.

Economy

At the beginning of 2000’ the nation recorded one of the largest growths in its economy, because the annual growth of Gross Domestic Product peaked at 11% (in 2003). From this moment, the kingdom has been steadily growing. However, the last few years showed that the sudden growth stopped. Nowadays (in 2019) its GDP growth is incredibly low, at the level of 1.3.

It is still quite a large economy in the region. Saudi Arabia has the GDP of $1.6 trillion, which is 25% of the entire GDP of the Arab world, according to data collected in 2019 by the World Bank. It also makes them 14th in the GDP rankings worldwide.

Another important indication of the wealthiness of the country is its GDP per capita (with the PPP factor included). It is at the level of the European Union (even slightly higher), and in 2019 it was estimated to be at around $49,000 per citizen. Unfortunately, the GDP per capita growth has been in a decline for several years now. The latest records show the drop of 1.3% of the growth of GDP per capita.

$285 billion worth of merchandise is being exported from the nation yearly, according to data in 2019. It is 36% of their GDP. In terms of imports of goods and services, it is even lower - $218 billion, which is 27% of their GDP.

Population

As we can guess, almost the entire population of Saudi Arabia is Islam, which is additionally divided onto two different denominations, namely Sunni and Shia. Sunni Muslims account for 70-85% of the Saudi Arabian Citizens, whereas Shia are just 10-15% of the entire population. In terms of numbers, there are roughly 34 million people with a density of 15 citizens per square kilometer.

Gross domestic product (GDP, GDP PPP)

Gross domestic product (GDP)

  • Last
  • Historical chart
#18 (2021)
833,541,236,569 US$

List of countries by GDP

(United States of America (USA))

Gross domestic product growth rate

Gross domestic product per capita

Gross domestic product (PPP)

Gross domestic product (PPP) per capita

International trade (Export, Import)

External balance on goods and services

  • Last
  • Historical chart
#8 (2021)
86,870,240,458 US$

List of countries by external balance on goods and services

(China)

External balance on goods and services (% of GDP)

Exports of goods and services (current US$)

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Imports of goods and services (current US$)

Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Employment by sector, Unemployment

Unemployment (% of total labor force)

  • Last
  • Historical chart
#78 (2021)
6.69 %

List of countries by unemployment

(South Africa)

Employment in agriculture (% of total employment)

Employment in industry (% of total employment)

Employment in services (% of total employment)

Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)