The Wikipedia gives the GDP of the KSA as being USD 8,000 in 2003. This is in the same ballpark as Greece.
OK, now this week’s Economist says that the Kingdom pumps 11 million barrels a day.
The average price per barrel this year was USD57
This gives us 627 million dollars per day in income.
The population of Saudi Arabia is about 16 million Saudis (Plus eight million expats.)
16 goes into 627 39 times.
That is to say 39 million dollars per day per Saudi if someone went nuts and split it all evenly.
39 times 365 equals 14 billion dollars per Saudi per year.
I presume I am placing a decimal point in the wrong place? In any case, how do we get from 14 billion per person (Cheech: “Billion? Million? 14 something man”) to only 8,000 per person?
Nope, 39 dollars only. 16 million goes to 627 million just 39 and not 39 million times.
So the correct figure is 14 000 dollars per capita then. I don’t know where the discrepancy comes from (part of it might be product of the most recent times of high oil prices, as wiki data is from 2003), but at least it’s not as big as you calculated.
True, this is partly because KSA’s GDP fluctuates greatly depending on the oil markets (and what happens when the oil reserves are eventually finished is anybody’s guess). It used to be more wealthy, and most people still have that idea. Still relying on wikipedia information:
However it seems that the rising price of oil is, indeed, growing the Saudi economy fast. The economy of SA article notes that GDP per capita was 12 000 dollars already in 2004, and this year’s figures will no doubt be higher. So it appears there wasn’t any discrepancy after all. (Although that figure seems to be adjusted for purchasing power parity; real figure might be lower.)
I am humble. And, further I am humbled. Sometimes I just know I am making a math mistake and yet some sort of preconceived mistake will reassert itself when I do a quick recalculation to check my work.
I don’t know which is better or fairer measure of these two, but to my understanfing it’s usually safe to assume that a simple figure stating “GDP” refers to nominal gross domestic product.
