ABSTRACT

Much of the coverage of Saudi Arabia's economy in the Western media - and even more in scholarly studies - takes a very gloomy view. In terms of conventional measures such as per capita GDP, the country's economic development might appear to be going backwards. Per capita GDP amounted to 8,480 dollars in 2001 according to World Bank estimates, less than half the 1970s level. The kingdom's increasing population is portrayed as a troublesome burden and the economy viewed as on the brink of collapse, with future revenue from oil being problematic. Critics of government policy stress the continuing reliance on expatriate labour, as local manpower still seems unable to run the economy.