Comparative Analysis: Saudi Arabia and Singapore Economic Statistics

This report provides a comparative economic analysis of Saudi Arabia and Singapore, examining key indicators for the year 2018. It begins with a brief overview of each country's economic environment, highlighting Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy and Singapore's free-market principles. The report then presents a table comparing GDP, sector contributions, GDP per capita, labor force statistics, government finances, external debt, and trade data. The analysis reveals that while Saudi Arabia has a larger GDP in absolute terms, Singapore boasts a higher GDP per capita and lower unemployment. The report also notes the dominance of the service sector in both economies, along with differences in major industries and trade compositions. Saudi Arabia's exports are dominated by petroleum, while Singapore exports a range of electronics, machinery, and chemicals. The report concludes by referencing the sources used for the economic data.

Running head: WORLD HISTORY
World History
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1WORLD HISTORY
Table of Contents
Country Comparison: Saudi Arabia and Singapore.........................................................................2
References........................................................................................................................................4

2WORLD HISTORY
Country Comparison: Saudi Arabia and Singapore
Saudi Arabia, one of the important Middle Easter countries is a highly oil dependent
economy and operates under government control over some major economic areas. The nation
has almost 16 percent of world petroleum reserve (Cia.gov, 2020). Huge petroleum reserve
makes the economy one of largest oil exporting nations in the world and an important OPEC
member.
Singapore is one of the highly developed Asian countries. The nation mainly follows
principles of a free market economy. The economic environment of Singapore is characterized to
have a corruption free and free market economy. The per capita GDP of Singapore is higher than
many of the developed nations (McGann, 2019) The economy is a highly export dependent one.
The table below shows comparison of major economic indicators in Saudi Arabia and Singapore
Table 1: Statistics on Major Economic Indicators for the year 2018
Saudi Arabia Singapore
Gross Domestic Product
$701.624
billion
$328.441
billion
Share of agriculture in GDP 2.60% 0%
Share of industry in GDP 44.20% 24.80%
Share of services in GDP 53.20% 75.20%
GDP per capita 49100.66 90091.42
Size of labor force 3.1 million 3.66 million
Unemployment rate 6.04% 4.20%
Government Revenue 181 billion 50.85 billion
Government Expenditure 241.8 billion 51.87 billion
Budget surplus or deficit -8.9% of GDP -0.3% of GDP
External debt $205.1 billion $566.1 billion
Export $221.1 billion $396.8 billion
Import $119.3 billion $312.1 billion
Trade balance $101.8 billion $84.7 billion

3WORLD HISTORY
Being a much larger size economy, the absolute value of GDP is much higher in Saudi Arabia
compared to Singapore. In both the economy service sector is the highest contributor of GDP,
followed by industries and agriculture. Singapore however is much more service dominant
economy as compared to Saudi Arabia. Some major industries in Singapore include electronics,
financial services, chemicals, telecommunication equipment and other. In Saudi Arabia, the
major industries include production of crude oil, petrochemicals, oil refining and others.
Unemployment rate Singapore is relatively lower while compared to Saudi Arabia. In
Saudi Arabia, service sector absorbs nearly 72% of the labor force. Rest are employed in
industry and agriculture. In Singapore, service sector employs a nearly 74% of the labor force.
When compared in terms of purchasing power parity adjusted per capita GDP, it is much higher
in Singapore relative to that in Saudi Arabia (Data.worldbank.org, 2020). Higher per capita GDP
and low unemployment rate in Singapore compared to Saudi Arabia ensure a better standard of
living for Singapore.
In both the nation size of government revenue is smaller than the expenditure indicating a
deficit government budget. However, in Singapore government budget deficit constitutes a
smaller share of GDP in comparison to Saudi Arabia. The size of external debt however is larger
in Singapore relative to Saudi Arabia.
In reference to internal trade, both the nations actively participate in international trade
and enjoy trade surplus. The main exported items of Singapore include different electronic
equipment and machinery, chemicals and pharmaceutical products, food stuffs and refined

4WORLD HISTORY
petroleum products (Cia.gov, 2020) In contrast, 90 percent of Saudi Arabia’s export is composed
of petroleum and petroleum based products.
References
Cia.gov. (2020). East Asia/Southeast Asia :: Singapore — The World Factbook - Central
Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 14 April 2020, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html
Cia.gov. (2020). Middle East :: Saudi Arabia — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence
Agency. Retrieved 14 April 2020, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
world-factbook/geos/sa.html
Data.worldbank.org. (2020) GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2011 international $) - Singapore,
Saudi Arabia | Data. Retrieved 14 April 2020, from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD?locations=SG-SA
McGann, J. G. (2019). Singapore: An Overview. In Think Tanks, Foreign Policy and the
Emerging Powers (pp. 219-224). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.