Saudi Arabia celebrates its foundation anniversary
Saudi Arabia, Politics, 9/23/1999

Saudi Arabia today celebrates its national day which falls September 23, the day when it was established by the late King Abdul Aziz al-Saud, who united the different parts of the country and declared it united as one state in 1932 and had the Islamic Sharia as its constitution.

During the rule of King Abdul Aziz al-Saud, who died in 1953, foundations of security and stability were established and the basis for reforms and development were initiated. His children who assumed power later on developed the kingdom and continued the march of building up and development.

The kingdom has witnessed a vast upsurge that covered all walks of life. It has enjoyed a remarkable Arab and international position, a strong economy and has, in addition, invested its oil revenues, its main national wealth, in building up, construction and modernization.

Under the reign of the present King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, a qualitative turning point took place in national policy, especially after the king released four new laws: the constituent law for ruling, the law of the Shoura council, the law pertaining to districts and the Cabinet law. Through these four laws the organizational and executive authorities have become of limited duration, renewed every four years to benefit from young national capabilities.

Saudi Arabia has successfully carried out five development plans which laid the foundations for comprehensive development in the economic, industrial, services, educational, cultural, media and health fields. This march of development was characterized by comprehensiveness and balance, and it is embarked in the meantime on its sixth five-year plan 1995 - 2001 on the same traditions.

According to national figures the non-oil GNP in Saudi Arabia increased fourfold between the years 1970 and 1995. Annual growth average increased 6%. The average contribution of non-oil sectors to the GNP is 67%, and the annual growth average of the added value on relay industries is 7.4%.

The value of non-oil commodity exports reached 15.4 billion riyals (US $4.1 billion). The volume of annual investment of the private sector reached 46 billion riyals (US $12.26 billion), and the contribution of this sector to the GNP reached 45%, while the total GNP recorded positive growth for the fourth successive year and reached in 1997 some 7.1% in current prices. The GNP was estimated at 547 billion riyals (US $145.86 billion), and the private sector's contribution to the GNP is 34% in current prices, representing an increase of 4.1%.

In 1997, the Saudi trade balance recorded a positive increase which reached 8% while the current account has realized a surplus of 870 million riyals in the same year and the Saudi commodities had access to 120 countries all over the world.

In 1995, Saudi Arabia scored position 26 in the list of major commodity-exporting states, especially petrochemicals, due to the increase of the industrial sector whose contribution to the GNP increased to 12.3% in 1996, while the value of industrial exports reached 23 billion riyals in 1997.

Saudi Arabia has also realized self-sufficiency in several agricultural commodities and has become an exporting and importing state after being an importing state, especially of wheat, dairy, poultry and palms. In 1992, Saudi Arabia's wheat production reached 4.2 million tons, and the agricultural sector's growth reached 8.4%. Its contribution to the GNP reached almost 32.3 billion riyals and in 1997, Saudi Arabia won the gold medal from the Food and Agriculture Organization in appreciation for its efforts in achieving agricultural development.

Saudi Arabia is considered one of the world's greatest producer of desalinized water. Its production capacity is 2 million cubic meters per day and 3,600 megawatts of electricity through operating 25 water desalinization stations in some 15 coastal stations. Its water represents 30% of the total desalinized amounts of water in the world.

Saudi Arabia's industrial and agricultural development was in line with similar advancements in the sectors of education, services, health, culture, information, communications and in developing the movement of air and sea transport and other services. The number of schools in Saudi Arabia increased to 23,000 in which some 4.5 million students of both sexes are enrolled.

Another 300,000 male and female students are also enrolled in universities and colleges with a special priority given to female learning and education. Furthermore cultural establishments have been built, including libraries, specialized research facilities and cultural clubs, which play their due role in disseminating the writings of Arab and Saudi men of letters, alike. The number of Saudi dailies increased to 12 dailies while there are four weeklies and monthly and bimonthly magazines.

In 1996 the number of hospitals in Saudi Arabia reached 290, of which 176 are run by the government. Added to all these are backing provided by the government in the areas of social insurance, social care, local community development, promotion of sport and tourist firms as well as expanding the courtyard of Mecca mosque and that of the al-Madina al-Mounawara mosque. The courtyard of the Mecca mosque can contain now some 773,000 men of religion on average days and almost one million people who perform their prayers in al-Haj seasons and the feasts.

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