Editing Economy of Saudi Arabia (section)

===Income drop===

Despite possessing the second largest petroleum reserves in the world, per capita income dropped from approximately $18,000 at the height of the oil boom (1981) to $7,000 in 2001, according to one estimate.<ref name=Cordesman-244>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony H.|title=Saudi Arabia Enters the Twenty-First Century, Volume 1|publisher=Greenwood|page=244|year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tjpExwQWtOsC&q=peak+saudi+per+capita+income&pg=PA244|isbn=9780275980917|access-date=5 October 2020|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613081542/https://books.google.com/books?id=tjpExwQWtOsC&q=peak+saudi+per+capita+income&pg=PA244|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2013, due to the rapid population growth of Saudi Arabia,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/01/04/longforms-picks-of-the-week-43/|title=Longform's Picks of the Week [Will Saudi Arabia Ever Change?]|last=Clark|first=Laura|website=Foreign Policy|date=4 January 2013 |language=en|access-date=23 April 2019|archive-date=23 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423204338/https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/01/04/longforms-picks-of-the-week-43/|url-status=live}}</ref> per capita income in Saudi was "a fraction of that of smaller Persian gulf neighbors", even less than petroleum-poor [[Bahrain]].<ref name=eakins>{{cite journal|last=Eakins|first=Hugh|title=Will Saudi Arabia Ever Change?|journal=New York Review of Books|date=10 January 2013|quote=Despite Saudi control of the largest petroleum reserves in the world, decades of rapid population growth have reduced per capita income to a fraction of that of smaller Persian gulf neighbors. Event the people of Bahrain, a country with little oil that has roiled with unrest since early 2011, are wealthier.}}</ref>

Unlike most developed countries, where GDP growth is a function of increases in productivity and inputs such as employment, in Saudi Arabia the fluctuation of oil prices is the most important factor in the growth or decline of domestic production. "Saudi reserves are steadily being depleted, and no significant new discoveries have been found to replace them," according to Middle East journalist Karen House.{{As of?|date=March 2023}} Saudi population grew sevenfold from 1960 to 2010,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/Panel_profiles.htm |title=World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611141930/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/Panel_profiles.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and petrol prices are subsidized and cost users less than equivalent quantities of bottled water.<ref name=house-245>{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia: Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future|publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=245|quote="In a country where a gallon of gasoline at roughly 53 cents is cheaper than bottled water and government energy subsidies are roughly $35 billion annually, Saudi energy consumption is rising at what one energy official calls an 'alarming rate.'"|title-link=On Saudi Arabia}}</ref> With production stagnant, growth in population and domestic energy consumption means a decline in per capita income unless oil prices rise to match that growth.<ref name=eakins />

After 2015, Saudi Arabia embarked on several initiatives, including Vision 2030, aimed at reducing its dependency on oil by investing in other sectors such as tourism, entertainment, and technology. [<ref>{{Citation |title=A vision for 2030 |date=2016-10-03 |work=Arab Development Outlook |pages=1–16 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.18356/753c8f70-en |access-date=2024-08-05 |publisher=UN |doi=10.18356/753c8f70-en |isbn=978-92-1-058409-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref>] . Despite a decline in oil GDP, Saudi Arabia's GDP is expected to grow due to the increase in non-oil GDP. In the second quarter of 2024, Saudi Arabia's GDP contracted by 0.4% year-on-year, primarily due to an 8.5% decline in oil-related activities. However, non-oil activities grew by 4.4%, contributing to a seasonally adjusted growth of 1.4% compared to the previous quarter.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-31 |title=Economy records best reading since Q2 2023 in Q2 |url=https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/saudi-arabia/news/gdp/saudi-arabia-national-accounts-p-31-07-2024-economy-records-best-reading-since-q2-2023-in-q2/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=FocusEconomics |language=en-US}}</ref>

As of 2024, Saudi Arabia's GDP per capita has surpassed all other GCC countries except Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia's GDP per capita is estimated to be approximately $33,040 in nominal terms, ranking it 35th globally, and $70,333 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, ranking it as the 15th highest in the world [<ref name=":7" />]