Spurred by rapid population growth and mounting public and private investment, Jeddah – Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city – is on the rise. Since the early 1990s the population of its urban area has more than doubled, reaching 4.1m residents as of the end of 2015. While this growth has slowed somewhat over the past half decade, from a high of 3.4% in 2011 to 2.6% in 2015, rising economic...
Saudi Arabia Economy
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Chapter | Makkah & Medina from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2016
As home to the world’s most important Islamic sites – including the Masjid Al Haram, or Grand Mosque, which houses the Kaaba – the holy cities of Makkah and Medina are at the centre of religious life for the world’s 1.2bn-strong Muslim population. Located near Jeddah, in western Saudi Arabia, each year the two cities attract millions of religious visitors performing the annual pilgrimages of...
2016 witnessed the launch of the Kingdom’s historic Vision 2030 and the accompanying National Transformation Programme, both of which call for a major overhaul of the state’s economic apparatus and envision a more open market framework and more dynamic, private sector-led growth moving ahead.
Reforms aimed at opening up Saudi Arabia to investment and encouraging private sector participation are moving forward, even as further details of the Kingdom’s long-term National Transformation Plan (NTP) have yet to be released.
Economic update | Saudi Arabia Year in Review 2015
24 Dec 2015
Falling oil revenues and an expanding budget deficit were the hallmarks of Saudi Arabia’s economic activity in 2015, as heavy investment in development projects widened the Kingdom’s spending gap.
The Guide contains listings of some of the leading hotels and resorts in Saudi Arabia, contacts for important government offices and services, and useful information for first-time visitors.