Country Profile

2015 has been a momentous year for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The accession of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in April, which saw a reordering of the country’s line of succession and brought a reshuffle of the main cabinet positions, indicates a leadership with its sights firmly set on the future. In 2014 the Kingdom had a population of 30.77m, up 2.59% on the previous year. Hydrocarbons continue to provide the bulk of state revenues, with the country home to 15.7% of global reserves. Even so, the economy has undergone major diversification efforts in recent years, and non-oil sector growth now outstrips oil sector growth. Further afield, the Kingdom has been benefitting from an increase in ties between the GCC and Asia, and investment opportunities across Africa are on the rise.

This chapter contains a viewpoint from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the two Holy Mosques; and interviews with Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor, Riyadh Region, and Chairman, Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA); and Abdalla Salem El-Badri, Secretary-General, OPEC.