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Contrary to previous measurement formats, the new format for measuring the GII shows depicts

signs of loss in human development due to inequalities between male and female achievements in the three main dimensions; reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Reproductive health takes into consideration maternal mortality and adolescent fertility rate;

empowerment considers share of parliamentary seats held by each gender and attainment of secondary and higher education by each gender; and finally, economic activity is determined by the labour market participation rate for each gender (see Figure 7).

Figure 6. KSA Age-Gender Population 2013

Source: World Bank DataBank (2013)

Figure 7. KSA relative Gender Inequality Index (2012)

Source: WHO (2013)

GII

value

GII

Rank

Maternal

mortality

ratio

Adolesce

nt fertility

rate

Female

seats in

parliame

nt (%)

Female Male Female Male

Saudi Arabia 0.682 145 24 22.1 0.1 50.3 57.9 17.7 74.1

Syrian Arab

Republic0.551 118 70 36.5 12 27.4 38.2 13.1 71.6

Iraq 0.557 120 63 85.9 25.2 22 42.7 14.5 69.3

Arab States 0.555 — 176 39.2 13 31.8 44.7 22.8 74.1

High HDI 0.376 — 47 45.9 18.5 62.9 65.2 46.8 75.3

Population with at

least secondary

education (%)

Labour force

participation rate

(%)

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Human Development Index

The Human Development Report values and ranks Human Development Index (HDI) for 187 countries and other UN-recognized territories. It may be inappropriate to compare former

reports to current reports and rankings due to fundamental changes in data and methods for calculating the index and rankings. The new HDI estimations permit the assessment of progress in a country based on three main criteria of human development which are:

1. A long and healthy life 2. Access to knowledge 3. A decent standard of living

Among 187 countries, KSA placed 57 with HDI value of 0.782. This rating is considered as part of the high development category. KSA HDI increased from 0.575 to 0.782 at an annual rate of

1% from 1980-2012. A closer look at the KSA HDI shows that life expectancy increased by 11.9%, average years of schooling also increased by 3.6 years, whilst expected years of

schooling increased by 8.3 years over the period. The GNI per capita reduced 34% between the years of 1980 and 2012 as per WHO estimations; it reached $21,955 in 1985 and reports $22,616 in 2012 from $21,812 recorded in 2011 according to WHO sources and estimates. However actual growths in GDP (PPP) per capita according to IMF projections are much higher (see Figure 9). Figure 8 above illustrates KSA HDI trends based on consistent time series data.

4.0 KSA Economic Overview KSA is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita rankings of

the richest countries on the globe. The country is ranked 28th according to 2013 projections by the IMF. Many countries have maintained their ranks with a sturdy increase in GDP (PPP) per capita (IMF projections, 2013); however, KSA has moved ahead of countries like Bahamas, New

Zealand, Spain, Bahrain, Slovenia, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Italy and other countries by springing from $25,938.31 in 2009 to $32,469.34 in 2013. These countries were ranked higher than KSA prior to 2009 but a 25.2% increase in per capita over the 5 year period placed KSA ahead of its counterparts.

Figure 8. KSA HDI Trends based on consistent time series data 2012

Source: WHO (2013)

Life expectancy

at birth

Expected years of

schooling

Mean years of

schooling

GNI per capita

(2005 PPP$)HDI value

1980 62.2 6 4.2 34,014 0.575

1985 65.9 7.3 4.8 21,955 0.61

1990 68.6 8.7 5.5 20,617 0.653

1995 70.2 10.1 6 19,789 0.685

2000 71.3 11.5 6.6 20,369 0.717

2005 72.5 12.8 7.2 20,780 0.748

2010 73.7 14.3 7.8 20,858 0.777

2011 73.9 14.3 7.8 21,812 0.78

2012 74.1 14.3 7.8 22,616 0.782

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KSA recorded a reduced growth during the world economic crisis as opposed to other developed countries (Figure 10). Future growth projections are positioned at an average of 4.29% over the next five years. KSA contributes 1% of the Global GDP; an economy powered by its mass oil reserves making it the highest oil producing country. 2013 GDP (PPP) in comparison to the US,

UK, France Japan, Spain, and other countries in the GCC and Arabs region is illustrated in

Figure 11. KSA is one of the richest countries with room for growth and expansion. The country presents a platform for significant investment absorption. Oil and non-oil share of GDP indicates that about 20% of GDP emanates from oil alone. Figure 12 presents quite a sizeable portion of GDP contribution from oil among the GCC countries.

Figure 9. KSA GDP(PPP) and GDP (PPP) per capita 1990 - 2013 a. GDP (PPP) per capita

b. GDP (PPP) in billions USD

Source: World Bank DataBank (2013)

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Figure 10. KSA GDP(PPP) and GDP (PPP) per capita 1990 – 2013 (US&KSA)

Source: Gulf Writers

Figure 11. GDP (PPP) comparison (Current US$ billions)

Source: Gulf Writers

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Manufacturing accounts for merely 9% of total GDP across the region with extreme dependence on oil revenue in countries like KSA, Qatar and Kuwait. Bahrain is less dependent on oil due to

its small reserves substituting its GDP with 92% non-oil sector. Currently, KSA obtains about 21% of its GDP from oil exploration. The share of non-oil in the entire region GDP has moved from 54% in 1990 to about 72 in 2010. A non-oil private sector GDP as a percentage of non-oil GDP shows a highly active non-oil private sector above 80% in non-oil GDP of UAE and Bahrain.

Private sector contributes about 70% of non-oil GDP in KSA. The KSA private sector continues to expand rapidly over recent periods following considerable attempts by the government to promote the sector. The main problem with the private sector as with the other countries in the GCC is that, it is mainly made up of expatriates. There is extreme dependence on expats for economic development in the entire region (Figure 12).

Figure 12. non-oil private GDP as percentage of non-oil GDP

Source: Gulf Writers

Figure 13. Public and Private Sector Employment by Nationality (%)

a. Public Sector b. Private Sector

Source: Gulf Writers