Economy

While hydrocarbons continue to form the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s revenues, the government has placed an increasing emphasis on economic diversification in recent times. Indeed the Kingdom’s economic growth is now being driven primarily by the non-oil sector, which expanded at a rate of 5% in the decade to 2014. Although low oil prices and the government’s commitment to maintaining spending...

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...

Thanks to lower oil prices and improving conditions in its major export markets, Morocco’s trade deficit in 2014 shrank by 6.2% over the previous year and looks set to perform even better in 2015. Levels of foreign direct investment, especially from France, have grown substantially in recent years, boosted by investor incentives and good infrastructure, though they could be higher still if...

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