Saudi Arabia Builds World's Largest Hotel: Abraj Kudai

Saudi Arabia Builds World's Largest Hotel: Abraj Kudai

Saudi Arabia Builds World's Largest Hotel: Abraj Kudai

Saudi Arabia Builds World's Largest Hotel: Abraj Kudai

Saudi Arabia's command economy is petroleum-based; roughly 75% of budget revenues and 90% of export earnings come from the oil industry. It is strongly dependent on foreign workers with about 80% of those employed in the private sector being non-Saudi.^[229][230] Among the challenges to Saudi economy include halting or reversing the decline in per capita income, improving education to prepare youth for the workforce and providing them with employment, diversifying the economy, stimulating the private sector and housing construction, diminishing corruption and inequality.

The oil industry comprises about 45% of Saudi Arabia's nominal gross domestic product, compared with 40% from the private sector (see below). Saudi Arabia officially has about 260 billion barrels (4.1×10¹⁰ m³) of oil reserves, comprising about one-fifth of the world's proven total petroleum reserves.^[231]

In the 1990s, Saudi Arabia experienced a significant contraction of oil revenues combined with a high rate of population growth. Per capita income fell from a high of $11,700 at the height of the oil boom in 1981 to $6,300 in 1998.^[232] Taking into account the impact of the real oil price changes on the Kingdom's real gross domestic income, the real command-basis GDP was computed to be 330.381 billion 1999 USD in 2010.^[233] Increases in oil prices in the aughts^{[peacock term]} helped boost per capita GDP to $17,000 in 2007 dollars (about $7,400 adjusted for inflation),^[234] but have declined since oil price drop in mid-2014