Saudi Arabia

ALTHOUGH SAUDI Arabia occupies the first rank among oil-exporting countries in the world, it announced in February 2003 a timed plan to fight poverty and established a fund to help Saudis in need. This perspective of setting a national plan for eradicating poverty came after an unprecedented visit by the crown prince in November 2002 to poor quarters in the capital, Riyadh, where the people live in bad conditions. He has appointed a director general for the work team to draw a national strategy to fight poverty in Saudi Arabia, according to a proposal by the minister of labor and social affairs. There are no figures on the number of poor in the kingdom, only information that there are Saudi families living below the poverty line among the population of 23.3 million. There is no mechanism in Saudi Arabia for doing surveys on poverty rates. For example, the World Bank, which collects figures, cannot collect statistics that spell out inequality and poverty in Saudi Arabia.

The implementation of the national plan for fighting poverty is based on cooperation between the state and the private sector. Charitable organizations in various parts of the kingdom are expected to play an active role in the fight against poverty, as they provide assistance to the poor through donations and free facilities. The national plan also depends on drawing lessons from poverty-eradication campaigns in some developing countries, such as Malaysia, Argentina, Tunisia, and Yemen, and some developed countries, such as Ireland. In addition, the wealthy people of Saudi Arabia were called to do more for the poor, which is the Saudi way of addressing urgent social issues.

From its side, the government has sanctioned SR100 million (around $26.6 million) to implement the national strategy to fight poverty and set up a special fund to assist the poor. The national plan is long-term; it will take 30 years to bring poverty to internationally acceptable levels in the kingdom. The kingdom's perspective is that it is impossible to eradicate poverty by 100 percent; the government is trying to bring it down to the internationally accepted level of 2.5 percent of the population within a period of 30 years.

Unemployment, unofficially estimated at 25 percent by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is the main reason for poverty in the kingdom. Thus poor men and women are to be given training so they can earn a salary. According to the CIA, “The government is encouraging private sector growth to lessen the king-dom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Priorities for government spending in the short term include additional funds for education and for the water and sewage systems. Economic reforms proceed cautiously because of deep-rooted political and social conservatism.”

Human Development Index Rank: 77

Human Poverty Index Rank: 32