“There is no god but God;
Muhammad is the Messenger of God”
30 Years of Change
General Stats
Total Area: 1,960,582 sq km (all Land), about one-
fifth the size of the United States
Climate: harsh, dry with great temperature extremes,
mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore,
gold, copper
Arable Land: 1.67% versus US at near 18%
Population: 27,019,731 including 5,576,076 nonnationals
Median Age: 21.4 years versus US at 36.5 years
Government
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Government Type: Monarchy
Constitution: governed according to Shari'a law; the
Basic Law that articulates the government's rights
and responsibilities was introduced in 1993
Administrative Divisions: 13 provinces - Al Bahah, Al
Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al
Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah, 'Asir, Ha'il, Jizan,
Makkah, Najran, Tabuk
Shari’a Law
a) Any predetermined payment over and above the
actual amount of principal is prohibited.
b) The lender must share in the profits or losses
arising out of the enterprise for which the money was
lent.
c) Making money from money is not Islamically
acceptable.
d) Gharar (Uncertainty, Risk or Speculation) is also
prohibited.
e) Investments should only support practices or
products that are not forbidden
Economic Overview
Oil Based Economy: 25% of the world’s Oil
reserves, 75% of Budget revenues, 45% of
the GDP, 90% of Export Earnings
WTO: Joined in 2005
Unemployment: 13% male only (local bank
estimate; some estimates range as high as
25%)
Political Environment
Political stability = Medium
“continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi
soil…remained a source of tension…”
“…first major terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia in
several years…”
Extent of government promotion of IT = High
“…largest of its kind in the Middle East, with an
average growth rate of 15 per cent per annum”
Political Environment
(continued)
Open to IT diffusion (few trade barriers to IT diffusion)= High
Liberal policy of IT ownership (vs. Regulation/restriction of IT
ownership) = High
Legal protection for international software copyrights & trade
secrets = Medium
“A new Saudi Arabia Copyright Law, which expressly protects
computer software, became effective on March 14, 2004. “
“Nine out of ten software packages used by government
organizations in Saudi Arabia are pirated…”
“Saudi Arabia currently remains on the Special 301 Watch List.”
Education System
Literacy = Medium
Saudi population: 78.8%
“To seek knowledge is a sacred duty, it is obligatory on every
Muslim, male and female. The first word revealed of the
Qur’an was ‘Iqra’ READ! “
IT Literacy = Low
Less than 1 in 10
Major push to increase numbers
Language / Culture
Extent of knowledge of English = Low
“Arabic is the basic means of communication”
“…fear of (English) upstaging Arabic…”
“language is not taught in the primary school”
Extent of set of written symbols in native language =
High
Arabic is the 6th most common native language, English is 4th
Hofstede
Hofstede MAS (52 versus 62) = Medium
“… women in the Arab World are limited in their rights, it may be
due more to Muslim religion rather than a cultural paradigm.”
Hofstede UAI (68 versus 46) = High
“…highly rule-oriented with laws, rules, regulations, and controls in
order to reduce the amount of uncertainty…”
Hofstede PDI (80 versus 40) = High
“…have an expectation and acceptance that leaders will separate
themselves from the group…“
Hofstede (IND) (38 versus 91) = Low
“..a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', that being
a family, extended family, or extended relationships..”
IT Diffusion / Telecommunications
Extent of phones per capita (ratio) = Low
0.155 (1992)
Extent of computers per capita (ratio) = Low
0.022 (1992)
0.1367 (2002)
Extent of TV per capita (ratio) = Medium
0.305 (1992)
Extent of IT usage (ratio) = Low
0.26 (1992)
Extent of Internet Connections (ratio) = Low
0.0646 (2002)
Infrastructure
Support for EDI = High
“…transform its relatively undeveloped, oil-based economy into that of a
modern industrial state…”
Availability of digital networks = Medium
“Fewer than one in 1,000 Saudis has access to the Internet, and
then only for official purposes. “ (1998)
Availability of ISDN/fiber = Medium
“…GulfNet regional network has been operational for more than ten
years, and LANs are in wide use, there is little in the way of internetwork connectivity, and little awareness of the potential uses of
wide-area networking. “ (1998)
Computer Industry
Extent of native software industry = Low
Strong resale and custom application design
Very little original programming
Extent of native hardware industry = Low
Economy
Quality of physical infrastructure = High
“…established for most of its inhabitants world-class infrastructural and
social services.”
“Having invested about one trillion U.S. dollars in developing its social and
economic structure…”
Extent of privatization = Medium
GDP per capita = Medium
$12,900 (2005 est.) 74th in the world
Extent of joint ventures with international firms = High
Extent of foreign direct investment = Low
Existence/strength of its stock market with respect to world
marketplace = Medium
“The Saudi Stock Market, operated and managed by Tadawul, now ranks
9th among the world's major emerging stock markets by market
capitalization.”
Digital Access Scale
Scale of 0 to 1 – a (2003) index, which measures
the overall ability of individuals in a country to access
and use new ICTs.
Sweden ranks with 0.85 (high)
United States ranks with 0.78 (high)
United Arab Emirates ranks with 0.64 (upper)
Turkey ranks with a 0.48 (medium)
Saudi Arabia ranks a 0.44 (medium)
China ranks ranks a 0.43 (medium)
Conclusion
Oil Money
Islamic Law
30 Years of Change
Political Instability
The Future