Saudi Arabia is a key economic power in the international market because of its large reserves of oil and the dependence that the rest of the world has on oil. A key member of OPEC, Saudi Arabia influences both the price and production levels of oil and uses its key position for political as well as economic strategy. However, the nation is also dependent on its trading partners to provide it with much of the goods that it cannot produce internally, and its heavy reliance on the United States has resulted in an odd strategic alliance between the two nations. This research considers the current economic position of Saudi Arabia relative to other Middle Eastern countries as well as its own performance, and what is likely to occur in the nation's economy in the future.
Saudi Arabia has one of the strongest economies in the Middle East, due in large part to its significant oil reserves. In 2000, Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product (GDP) stood at US$168.8 billion, second only to Turkey's for the region (Turkey's GDP was more than US$187.4 billion during the same year). Due to population differences, Saudi Arabia outpaced Turkey in terms of per capita GDP, with 2000 per capita GDP of US$7,621 compared to Turkey's US$2,797. However, if per capita GDP is used as a rough approximation of the standard of living of a particular country, both Turkey and Saudi Arabia are well behind several Middle Eastern neighbors. Qatar's 2000 per capita GDP stood at US$28,369 while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had a per capita GDP of US$19,581. Kuwait had per capita GDP of US$17,138 and Bahrain's per capita income stood at US$9,809. None of these other nations, however, had aggregate GDP in excess of US$61 billion, and the high per capita GDP figures are due to low populations in these nations, which often exhibit even less non-oil economic activity than Saudi Arabia ("Databank," 2001, p. 32).
While absolute GDP is important, the rate of GDP g...