Title: Economy & Global Trade | The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Headings: Economy & Global Trade
About Saudi Arabia
Economy & Global Trade
Building a modern economy
Industrial Cities
Development Plans
Government Support for the Private Sector
Banking
Trade

Content: As the infrastructure was taking shape, the government launched a major effort to expand the industrial base. This was done along two separate, but parallel, courses. One aimed at the expansion of the country's oil industry and the other at establishing a modern non-oil industrial sector. In addition to optimizing revenues from Saudi oil production, the modern oil industry plays an equally important role in the development of the non-oil industrial sector by providing the raw materials and feedstock that facilitates this growth. By 1985, with most of the physical infrastructure in place, attention shifted to diversifying economic sources. The Fourth (1985-89), Fifth (1990-94), Sixth (1995-99) and Seventh (2000-04) Plans all emphasized strengthening the growing private sector and increasing the efficiency of the industrial sector. The Eighth Five-Year Development Plan (2005-09) was devised with a focus on increasing foreign as well as national investment, and on developing human resources. Throughout the course of the development plans, Saudi Arabia's steady but dramatic industrial and economic transformation has been accomplished through the careful guidance and active support of the government. To judge the success of this effort one need only consider that in the 25 years from 1970 to 1995, the non-oil sector's share of GDP increased from 46 percent to just over 70 percent, and that this GDP tripled, to 125.1 billion U.S. dollars, reflecting a growth rate of 8.6 percent in current prices. By 2002, the GDP had reached 186 billion dollars.