Editing Economy of Saudi Arabia (section)

===Poverty===

Estimates of the number of Saudis below the poverty line range from between 12.7%<ref name=lowWR>{{cite news|title=Saudi Arabia has tenth lowest poverty rate worldwide, says World Bank|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/economy/2013/11/03/Kingdom-has-tenth-lowest-poverty-rate-worldwide-says-World-Bank.html|access-date=2 October 2014|agency=Saudi Gazette|publisher=al-Arabiyya|date=3 November 2013|archive-date=6 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206103757/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/economy/2013/11/03/Kingdom-has-tenth-lowest-poverty-rate-worldwide-says-World-Bank.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and 25%.<ref name=Sullivan/> Press reports and private estimates as of 2013 "suggest that between 2 million and 4 million" of the country's native Saudis live on "less than about $530 a month" – about $17 a day – considered the poverty line in Saudi Arabia.<ref name=Sullivan>{{cite news|last1=Sullivan|first1=Kevin|title=Saudi Arabia's riches conceal a growing problem of poverty|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/saudi-arabia-riyadh-poverty-inequality|access-date=2 October 2014|agency=Washington Post|newspaper=The Guardian|date=1 January 2013|quote=In a country with vast oil wealth and lavish royalty, an estimated quarter of Saudis live below the poverty line|archive-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602052426/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/saudi-arabia-riyadh-poverty-inequality|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>A 2003 survey by the Ministry of Social Affairs found 40% of all Saudi citizens live on less than 3000 Saudi riyals ($850) a month, (source:{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future| publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=159}}), while 19% of Saudis live on less than 1800 SR ([[Saudi riyal]]s) ($480) a month. (source: {{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia: Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future|publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=179|quote=... according to a 2003 survey by the Ministry of Social Affairs.}})</ref> 


According to [[UNESCWA]] Oman and Saudi Arabia have the highest poverty rates among [[Gulf Cooperation Council|GCC]] nations, at 10.1% and 13.6% respectively and Saudi Arabia saw a notable decline in poverty from 18.2% in 2010 to 13.6% in 2021.<ref name="UNESCWA2024">{{cite report |title=Policy Reforms to Lift Three Million GCC Nationals Out of Poverty |publisher=United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) |date=May 2024 |url=https://www.unescwa.org/sites/default/files/pubs/pdf/policy-reforms-lift-three-million-gcc-nationals-poverty-english_4.pdf |page=4|access-date=19 May 2025 |language=English}}</ref> 

The Saudi state discourages calling attention to or complaining about poverty. In December 2011, days after the [[Arab Spring]] uprisings, the Saudi interior ministry detained reporter Feros Boqna and two colleagues (Hussam al-Drewesh and Khaled al-Rasheed) and held them for almost two weeks for questioning after they uploaded a 10-minute video on the topic (''Mal3ob 3alena'', or 'We are being cheated') to YouTube.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/04/132112/saudi-dissidents-turn-to-youtube.html|title=Saudi dissidents turn to YouTube to air their frustrations|first=Roy|last=Gutman|newspaper=McClatchy Newspapers|date=4 December 2011|access-date=16 March 2015|archive-date=23 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423191939/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/04/132112/saudi-dissidents-turn-to-youtube.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=youtube>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlSBqgW5xx0 |title=Mal3ob 3alena: Poverty in Saudi Arabia English Version |publisher=YouTube |access-date=16 March 2015 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710234543/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlSBqgW5xx0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Authors of the video claim that 22% of Saudis are considered to be poor (2009) and 70% of Saudis do not own their houses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lebanonspring.com/2011/10/19/plot-to-show-foreign-poverty-in-foreign-saudi-arabia-arab-spring-youtube-video/ |title=A foreign Saudi plot to expose foreign poverty in foreign Saudi |work=Lebanon Spring |date=19 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103204944/http://lebanonspring.com/2011/10/19/plot-to-show-foreign-poverty-in-foreign-saudi-arabia-arab-spring-youtube-video/ |archive-date=3 January 2012}}</ref> 
Statistics on the issue are not available through the UN resources because the Saudi government does not issue poverty figures.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136439885/poverty-hides-amid-saudi-arabias-oil-wealth |title=Poverty Hides Amid Saudi Arabia's Oil Wealth |newspaper=NPR |access-date=6 April 2018 |archive-date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125135147/https://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136439885/poverty-hides-amid-saudi-arabias-oil-wealth |url-status=live }}</ref> Observers researching the issue prefer to stay anonymous<ref>{{cite web |url=http://observers.france24.com/content/20081028-poverty-exists-saudi-arabia |title=Poverty exists in Saudi Arabia too &#124; The Observers |publisher=France 24 |date=28 October 2008 |access-date=16 March 2015 |archive-date=1 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401204459/http://observers.france24.com/content/20081028-poverty-exists-saudi-arabia |url-status=live }}</ref> because of the risk of being arrested, like Feras Boqna.<ref name=youtube/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/23/feras-boqna-saudi-arabia-poverty |location=London |work=The Guardian |first=Amelia |last=Hill |title=Saudi film-makers enter second week of detention |date=23 October 2011 |access-date=14 December 2016 |archive-date=6 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706132446/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/23/feras-boqna-saudi-arabia-poverty |url-status=live }}</ref>