The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Assignment Example

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Introduction. Saudi Arabia, popularly referred to as the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, covers an area of approximately 2million square kilometers. This makes it one of the largest Arab states in Asia. It closely follows Algeria, the largest Arab state in the world, by size. It is surrounded by several States which include; Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Yemen. It also has access to the Persian Gulf as well as the Red Sea (The World Fact Book, 2013). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Abdul – Aziz bin Saudi. It is largely an Islamic state that implies strict sharia laws, since it is considered as the birth place and origin of the religion of Islam. Its system of administration is monarchy based and this continues to be so since its establishment and foundation. The Kingdom generates most of its wealth through oil exploration in the Eastern provinces of the state. So large are the oil reserves that it has been categorized as having the second largest oil reserves in the world. Its government, therefore, relies mostly on revenue generated from oil exports to fund development activities in the Kingdom. Such massive income from oil exports have enabled its government to transform the desert city into a modern economy flooded with modern architecture and infrastructure, using the latest technology available. Estimated population of the country. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an estimated population of approximately 28 million. Out of this figure, approximately 17 million are citizens of the Kingdom, while 9 million are registered expatriates. The remaining 2 million are illegal immigrants living in the kingdom (The World Fact Book, 2013). Age Structure The age structure of a given population plays an important role in determining the most important socioeconomic aspects in development. For instance, a nation that constitutes majority of young population needs to consider investing in education facilities such as schools and colleges. Another importance for age structure is to help predict the political situation in the future. For example, high population of youthful citizen without employment may result to civil unrest in the country. The age structure of Saudi Arabia, therefore, is diversified in nature. The population between the ages of 0 to 14 years constitutes 28.8% of the total population with 3,913,775 being males and 3,727,767 being females. 19.8% of the population is between the ages of 15 to 24 years with 2,811,407 being males and 2,439,978 being females. Ages between 25 to 54 years command the majority population gathering 44.2% of the total population. Out of this percentage, 6,769,529 are male while 4,971,415 are female. The male population of age group 55 to 64 years constitutes 604,722 while the females are 494,497 of their total 4.1% population. The lowest number of population is between the ages of 65 years and above who constitute 3% of the population with 416,673 males and 384,742 females (The World Fact Book, 2013). Median Age of Population The median age of a population refers to the age which divides a population into two groups between the older populations versus the younger population. It therefore gives a summary of the distribution of age in a given population. The median age of the population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is 25.7 years. Out of this, the male median is 26.7 years while the female median is 24.4 years. Globally, the lowest median age is approximately 15 years while the highest being 49 years (The World Fact Book, 2013). Sex Ratio This refers to the ratio between males and females in a population. The current sex ratio in Saudi Arabia currently between males and females at birth is 1:05. Those below the age of 15 to 0 years have a sex ratio of 1:05 in males and females respectively. Those above 15 years to 64 years have a sex ratio of 1:29 between males and females respectively. The sex ratio of those above the age of 65 years is 1:08 in males and females respectively. Overall, the general sex ratio of the total population is 1:21 in males and females respectively. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the global sex ratio is at 107 men to 100 women (The World Fact Book, 2013). Population Growth Rate It refers to the yearly percentage change in the general population as a result of increased of reduced births over deaths as well as the balance of migrants leaving and entering a country. Its importance is that it is used to determine how punishing it would be for a country to change its socioeconomic needs depending as a result of the population growth rate. Increased population growth rate translates to increased manpower and therefore better economic development in a country with a stable economy. The current population growth rate of Saudi Arabia stands at 1,523% (The World Fact Book, 2013). Total Fertility Rate it refers to the average children a woman can bear in their child bearing years. Total fertility rate often measures the fertility of a woman rather than their crude birth rate because if measures the number of births per woman. Its relevance is that it is used to determine the population changes in a given nation. On average, a fertility rate of two children per woman is considered stable while more than two is unstable. This means that higher fertility rates may result to difficulties in sustaining families and generally the whole population. Fertility rates below two children could mean increasing numbers of the older population as well decreasing population size. The current Total Fertility rate of Saudi Arabia is 2.26 children born per woman. Globally, the Total fertility rates are on a decline especially in the first world nations (The World Fact Book, 2013). Life Expectancy at Birth Life expectancy refers to the average years persons born in the same year would live considering if the death rate of such groups of people is constant. It is therefore used to gauge the standard of living in a particular country. It is also useful in measuring actuarial estimates on return of investment ploughed in human labor or capital. The current Life expectancy of the total population in Saudi Arabia is 74.35 years. In males, the total life expectancy is 72.37 years while in females it is 76.42 years (The World Fact Book, 2013). Birth Rate Birth rate refers to the average deaths per year in numbers per 1000 number of population at middle of the year, also known as the crude birth rate. Birth rates directly impacts in a country’s development since it determines the kind of socioeconomic infrastructure to put in place to sustain the population. Increased birth rate raises the needs of the nation to cater for the growing population. The current birth rate in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is 19.9 births per every 1000 population. Death Rate This refers to the average yearly death in numbers per 1000 number of population at the middle of the year. It is also referred to as the crude death rate. Though it is an estimate of the mortality in a given country, the death rate affects the prevailing growth in population. It is greatly affected by the distribution of age and many nations will portray an increase in death rate despite the decline in mortality across all ages. Saudi Arabia, therefore, has a death rate of 3.32 deaths per every 1000 population (The World Fact Book, 2013). Infant Mortality Rate It is an indicator used to gauge the health situation in a country. Infant mortality, therefore, refers to the total number of infant deaths below the age of one year in a particular year per every 1000 live births during the same year. The total infant mortality in Saudi Arabia is 15.61 deaths per every 1000 live births. In males, the infant mortality rate is 17.92 deaths per 1000 live births while in females it is 13.19 deaths per 1000 live births (The World Fact Book, 2013). Drinking Water Source Saudi Arabia is located in one of the driest parts of the continent, with no perennial rivers flowing. Their main source of water, therefore, comes from four unique sources. These are; none- renewable groundwater, renewable ground water from shallow aquifers, surface water and desalinated water. However, these sources of water are limited in capacity. The nation’s drinking water is got from desalination plants which supplies close to half of the population’s drinking water needs. This water is mostly got along the coast lines, in surface water near the southwest region and in ground water all over the kingdom. The capital city, however, gets its supply of desalinated water from the Persian Gulf which is pumped through a distance of approximately 470 kilometers to the capital city (The World Fact Book, 2013). Top 3 major diseases in the country Just like many other countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is plagued with a number of diseases other nations are suffering from. These may include cancer, liver disease, tuberculosis and many others. However, the top three most prevalent diseases affecting the population are coronary Heart Disease, Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus (The World Fact Book, 2013). These are lifestyle diseases that are caused by unhealthy eating habits as well as lack of adequate physical exercises. Economy The economy of Saudi Arabia is dependent on oil. The kingdom has the second largest oil reserves making it one of the leading exporters of the precious ‘black gold’. The government has a strong grasp over the control of major economic activities in the kingdom. The oil industry contributes roughly 92% of the total revenue generated by the Saudi government. The private sector contributes approximately 40% of the Gross Domestic Product. However, the government is making strides in encouraging private sector investment so as to reduce dependency on its oil wealth. With the large revenues received from the oil industry, the government has been able to provide sufficient infrastructure in training and education and better salaries for government workers (The World Fact Book, 2013). GDP per capita & by composition per sector Gross domestic Product refers to the total value of commodities produced by a country within a particular period of time. These goods are valued using the current market prices. The Gross Domestic Product per capita for Saudi Arabia is 26, 700 dollars. Per sector, the composition of the GDP is as follows; the Agricultural sector contributes 2% of the total GDP. Both the Industry sectors as well as the services sector contribute 66.9% and 31.1% respectively to the overall Gross Domestic Product (The World Fact Book, 2013). Population below poverty Approximately a quarter of the population in Saudi Arabia live below the poverty level. This has been attributed to the prevailing rules of private property and kingdoms which prevent others from acquiring wealth. Additionally, the population of the oil rich nation has been steadily rising over the past few decades, therefore, putting strain on the available programs put in place to help the poor in the population (The World Fact Book, 2013). Reference The World Fact Book, (2013, March 27). Retrieved April 8, 2013, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2012.html Read More