Economic, social achievements in S. Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed tangible development achievements that have contributed to the realization of significant qualitative transformations in the country's economic and social spheres.

The Kingdom has accomplished the following achievements during the period from 1969 to 1998.

In the domain of economic growth and social stability, the annual growth rate of real GDP reached 4.34 percent, while the real average annual growth rate of achievements during the period from 1970 to 1998 has been characterized by a gradual decline in the inflation rate, which did not exceed 2 percent from 1984 to 1995, and 1.2 percent from 1995 to 1998.

As for the field of raising the standard of living and improving the quality of life, the number of physicians in the Kingdom increased from 1,172 to 30,281 physicians, while the number of hospital beds rose from 9,039 to 45,032 beds. The easy- term loans provided by the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF), which amounted to SR 124 billion, have contributed to the provision of high-quality housing for about 573,000 households.

The accomplishments in the domain of human resources development include the establishment of eight universities, 35 girl colleges, 12 technical colleges, 68 technical education institutes and vocational training centers and 3,112 secondary schools. Total enrollment at the Kingdom's educational institutions increased from about 600,000 to 4,748,000 students.

In the field of diversifying the economic base, the non-oil GDP increased by more than five times. The number of operating factories in the Kingdom rose from 199 factories with a total investment of SR 2.8 billion to 3,112 factories with a total investment of SR 230 billion.

Concerning the development of infrastructure, the Kingdom presently enjoys a high-standard road network linking all cities and most villages, with a total length of 45,400 km. The rated capacity of water desalination plants has increased from 19,400 cubic meters per day to about 2.2 million cubic meters per day.

The following is a list of what Saudi Arabia achieved in 1998:

1. Producing factories -- 3,123

2. Investment of producing factories -- SR 230 billion

3. Generated electricity power -- 107.4 million mwh

4. Supply of desalinated water -- 2.2 million cubic meters

5. Working telephone lines -- 2.16 million

6. Schools and colleges -- 22,678

7. Students -- 4.6 million

8. Public and private health centers -- 3,411

9. Length of road network -- 45,200 kilometers