S. Arabia's future planned investments

Saudi Arabia's development during the past four decades has been characterized by three features:

* The extent and degree of enormous economic and physical change.

* The high degree of social and economic stability and cultural integrity in the midst of this change.

* The progressively increasing role of the private sector in the material development.

On the 23rd of September each year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrates the anniversary of its unification by King Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Saud, who unified segmented regions and peoples into one nation in September 1932, upholding the Islamic law -- The Shari'a -- as its constitution.

Today, the Kingdom has a population of 16.9 million and a land area of nearly 2.6 million square kilometers.

Saudi Arabia has 25 percent of the world's known oil reserves and a thriving downstream petrochemical industry.

The private industrial sector is growing steadily and contributes over 16 percent to the GDP. There are 3,123 factories in the Kingdom, financed at US$66 billion.

Saudi Arabia is self-sufficient in wheat and produces substantial quantities of meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables. In addition to 185 dams, the Kingdom is world's biggest desalinated water producer, having 25 desalination plants producing 573 million gallons per day.

Saudi Arabia has considerable human resources, with over 4.6 million students in the current academic year. All citizens enjoy the right to free education, health care and social security, with 45,035 beds in 3,411 public and private centers staffed by 30,281 doctors.

The Real Estate Development Fund has provided easy-term loans amounting to $34 billion, funding high-quality housing for 573,000 households.

Saudi Arabia is a generous donor of foreign aid and the Saudi Fund for Development has financed over 330 projects in more than 70 countries.

For further information regarding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, please contact The Ministry of Information, Foreign Information Department, PO Box 570, Riyadh 11161, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.