General IndicatorsCapital: Riyadh, 4.725 million (2013)Area: 2,149,690 Square KilometersPopulation: 26,939,583 (2013)
Population Growth Rate: 1.51% (2013)Population Density: 12/km2
Total Dependency Ratio: 46.9 % (2013)
Economic IndicatorsGDP (PPP): $921.7 billion (2012)Per Capita GDP (PPP): $31,800 (2012)Distribution of GDP: Agriculture 1.9%, Industry 64.8%, Service.33.3%. (2012)
GDP-Real growth rate: 6.8% (2012)
Urban Population: 82.5% (2012)Labour force participation rate (Ratio of female to male shares): 0.239 (2011)Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Ranking (and score): 82 (50) (2012)Debt level: 11.5% of GDP (2012)
Analysis section:GDP per Capita is the total value of all goods and services produced by a country. Purchasing Power Parity is the rate at which the currency of one country has to be converted to the currency of another in order to purchase the same amount of goods or services. Saudi Arabia has a per Capita GDP (PPP) of $31,800 (2012). This is relatively high and indicates high productivity and standard of living. The availability of oil has largely contributed to the high per capita GDP. As the country diversifies its economic activities into the services sector, the per Capita GDP is expected to growth further in the long run.
Social IndicatorsHuman Development Index (HDI) Ranking (and value): 57 (.782) (2012).Gender Inequality Index (GII) Value: .682 (2012)Infant Mortality Rate: 15.08/1,000 (2012)Life Expectancy: 74.58 years (Males, 72.58 years; Female 76.68 years) (2012)Literacy: 87.2% (90.8% Male and 82.2% Female) (2011)Religions: Muslim (official) 100%Ethnic Groups: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Language: Arabic (official)
Analysis section:Human Development Index is a measure of human development that combine indicators of life expectancy, income and educational attainment to develop a score of between 0 and 1. Saudi Arabia has a HDI index of 0.782 (2012). This is a high score which indicates that in the short term, the country has a favorable life expectancy, heath system; education system and income are generally favorable. An improvement of the HDI in the long term will indicate further improvement of the quality of life in Saudi Arabia. Political IndicatorsFreedom House Rating (Freedom in the World Report): Not Free; Political Rights 7, Civil Liberties 7, Freedom Rating 7. (2012)Corruption Perception Index (CPI) Ranking (and score): 66 (44) (2012)Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders) Ranking (and index score): 163 (56.88) (2012)Shares in Parliament, female-male ratio: .001 (2012)Date of State Formation: Unified in 1932System Type: Absolute Monarchy.Constitution: Islamic law; Government run under the royal decree of 1992.
Legal System: ShariaAdministration: Unitary SystemExecutive: The executive is headed by the Monarch
Chief of state: King and Prime Minister Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (1 August 2005 to present); Heir Apparent Crown Prince Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud.
Head of government: King and Prime Minister Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (1 August 2005 to present); Deputy Prime Minister Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (19 June 2012 to present); Second Deputy Prime Minister Muqrin bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (February 2013 to present)
Cabinet: The monarch appoints a Council of Ministers every four years comprised mainly of royalty (The World Factbook CIA 1).
Elections: None. The country is an absolute monarchy whose throne is hereditary. A royal decree in October 2006 created an Allegiance Commission comprised of Saudi princes who will be responsible for the selection of future Saudi kings. The system takes effect after King Abdallah’s successor becomes king (The World Factbook CIA 1).
Legislature: Unicameral. Majlis al-Shura. This is a Consultative Council comprised of 150 members and headed by a chairman. They are appointed by the King and serve a term of four years (The World Factbook CIA 1).
Party Structure: None
Judiciary: Comprised of the High Court and other subordinate courts. The High court has 3-judge panels for small cases and 5-judge panels for big cases that involve major punishments. Judges are appointed by royal decree after the Supreme Judiciary Council recommends them. Subordinate courts are comprised of the Courts of Appeals, first-degree courts and the Labour Court (The World Factbook CIA 1).
Head of state: King and Prime Minister Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (1 August 2005 to present)
Head of government: King and Prime Minister Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (1 August 2005 to present)
Analysis section:Freedom House Rating is a comparative assessment of a nation’s civil liberties and political rights. Saudi Arabia ranks poorly in this assessment. The poor ranking can be attributed to its strict authoritarian laws that limit the fundamental freedoms of its people. The nation lags behind in political reforms due to its status as an absolute monarchy. The attempts to increase political power for the people have not yielded much. The government’s control over the media also limits freedom of expression further contributing to this low rating (Freedom House 1). Overall, the Saudi political system is conservative and has no electoral system.
ConclusionSaudi Arabia is well developed economically and ranks favorably among other nations on the GDP scale. The per capita income is high implying a middle income country form of lifestyle. Literacy levels are also high at 82.5% (The World Factbook CIA 1). On political and civil liberties, the country rates poorly among other nations. Its restrictions on civil liberties, political activity and media freedom indicate a highly conservative system.
Works Cited
Freedom House. Saudi Arabia, 15 May. 2012. Web. 05 Nov 2013.
Index Mundi. Saudi Arabia Economic Profile, 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 Nov 2013.
International Human Development Indicators. Saudi Arabia, 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 Nov 2013.
The World Factbook. CIA. Saudi Arabia, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 05 Nov 2013.
Transparency International. Corruption Perceptions Index 2012: Saudi Arabia, 23 Oct. 2012.
Web. 05 Novt 2013.
Yale University Environmental Performance Index. Saudi Arabia, 26 July. 2012. Web. 05 Nov
2013.
