“There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of

God”

30 Years of Change

General StatsTotal Area: 1,960,582 sq km (all Land), about one-fifth the size of the United StatesClimate: harsh, dry with great temperature extremes, mostly uninhabited, sandy desert Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper Arable Land: 1.67% versus US at near 18%Population: 27,019,731 including 5,576,076 non-nationals Median Age: 21.4 years versus US at 36.5 years

GovernmentConventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaGovernment Type: MonarchyConstitution: governed according to Shari'a law; the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was introduced in 1993 Administrative Divisions: 13 provinces - Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah, 'Asir, Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk

Shari’a Lawa) Any predetermined payment over and above the actual amount of principal is prohibited. b) The lender must share in the profits or losses arising out of the enterprise for which the money was lent. c) Making money from money is not Islamically acceptable. d) Gharar (Uncertainty, Risk or Speculation) is also prohibited. e) Investments should only support practices or products that are not forbidden

Economic OverviewOil Based Economy: 25% of the world’s Oil reserves, 75% of Budget revenues, 45% of the GDP, 90% of Export EarningsWTO: Joined in 2005Unemployment: 13% male only (local bank estimate; some estimates range as high as 25%)

Political EnvironmentPolitical stability = Medium

“continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil…remained a source of tension…”“…first major terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia in several years…”

 Extent of government promotion of IT = High

“…largest of its kind in the Middle East, with an average growth rate of 15 per cent per annum”

Political Environment (continued)

Open to IT diffusion (few trade barriers to IT diffusion)= High

Liberal policy of IT ownership (vs. Regulation/restriction of IT ownership) = High

 Legal protection for international software copyrights & trade secrets = Medium

“A new Saudi Arabia Copyright Law, which expressly protects computer software, became effective on March 14, 2004. ““Nine out of ten software packages used by government organizations in Saudi Arabia are pirated…”“Saudi Arabia currently remains on the Special 301 Watch List.”

Education SystemLiteracy = Medium

Saudi population: 78.8%“To seek knowledge is a sacred duty, it is obligatory on every Muslim, male and female. The first word revealed of the Qur’an was ‘Iqra’ READ! “

IT Literacy = LowLess than 1 in 10Major push to increase numbers

Language / CultureExtent of knowledge of English = Low

“Arabic is the basic means of communication” “…fear of (English) upstaging Arabic…”“language is not taught in the primary school”

Extent of set of written symbols in native language = High

Arabic is the 6th most common native language, English is 4th

Hofstede Hofstede MAS (52 versus 62) = Medium

“… women in the Arab World are limited in their rights, it may be due more to Muslim religion rather than a cultural paradigm.”

Hofstede UAI (68 versus 46) = High“…highly rule-oriented with laws, rules, regulations, and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty…”

Hofstede PDI (80 versus 40) = High“…have an expectation and acceptance that leaders will separate themselves from the group…“

Hofstede (IND) (38 versus 91) = Low“..a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', that being a family, extended family, or extended relationships..”

IT Diffusion / Telecommunications

Extent of phones per capita (ratio) = Low0.155 (1992)

Extent of computers per capita (ratio) = Low0.022 (1992) 0.1367 (2002)

Extent of TV per capita (ratio) = Medium0.305 (1992)

Extent of IT usage (ratio) = Low0.26 (1992)

Extent of Internet Connections (ratio) = Low0.0646 (2002)

Infrastructure Support for EDI = High

“…transform its relatively undeveloped, oil-based economy into that of a modern industrial state…”

Availability of digital networks = Medium“Fewer than one in 1,000 Saudis has access to the Internet, and then only for official purposes. “ (1998)

Availability of ISDN/fiber = Medium“…GulfNet regional network has been operational for more than ten years, and LANs are in wide use, there is little in the way of inter-network connectivity, and little awareness of the potential uses of wide-area networking. “ (1998)

Computer Industry Extent of native software industry = Low

Strong resale and custom application designVery little original programming

Extent of native hardware industry = Low

Economy Quality of physical infrastructure = High

“…established for most of its inhabitants world-class infrastructural and social services.” “Having invested about one trillion U.S. dollars in developing its social and economic structure…”

Extent of privatization = MediumGDP per capita = Medium

$12,900 (2005 est.) 74th in the world Extent of joint ventures with international firms = HighExtent of foreign direct investment = LowExistence/strength of its stock market with respect to world marketplace = Medium

“The Saudi Stock Market, operated and managed by Tadawul, now ranks 9th among the world's major emerging stock markets by market capitalization.”

Digital Access Scale Scale of 0 to 1 – a (2003) index, which measures the overall ability of individuals in a country to access and use new ICTs.

Sweden ranks with 0.85 (high)United States ranks with 0.78 (high)United Arab Emirates ranks with 0.64 (upper)Turkey ranks with a 0.48 (medium)Saudi Arabia ranks a 0.44 (medium)China ranks ranks a 0.43 (medium)

Conclusion Oil MoneyIslamic Law30 Years of ChangePolitical InstabilityThe Future