Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics revealed on Wednesday that the country's year-on-year consumer price index (CPI) for February 2020 rose to 1.2 percent — the highest it has been since December 2018 when it reached 2.2 percent. However, when looking at the CPI on a month-to-month basis, the prices only grew 0.3 percent.

The increase of price in food items and transport along with the decrease in most other items' due to a change in consumer spending caused by the COVID-19 outbreak are the main reasons behind the noticeable hike in the inflation rate, which stood at a mere 0.4 percent in January. "Food and Beverages" as well as "Transport" alone recorded a 3.4- and 3.7-percent increase in February, respectively.

"The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on prices started initially in February but it will be significantly more as social distancing increases," chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Monica Malik told Reuters.

On the other hand, the "Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels" category reported an average price decline of 0.7-percent, aiding in the slow rise of the inflation rate. 

During 2008, after the entire globe had fallen into recession, Saudi Arabia was not left unscathed. The kingdom at the time recorded its worst inflation rate (9.87 percent) in around three decades; in 1975 it had reported an immense 34.58-percent increase in inflation.

Contrary to popular belief, the kingdom was not impacted by oil but rather a drop in demand for credit. In fact, the oil sector recovered relatively quickly after having recorded an 80-percent decline in the second half of 2008. According to Jadwa Investment's 2010 report on the 2008 financial crisis, "at that time, the two main drivers of inflation were global food prices and local rents."

In an attempt to keep itself safe from another possible financial crisis brought on by the pandemic, Saudi Arabia has cut 50 billion riyals ($13.31 billion) from its yearly budget. 

The cut itself totals less than 5 percent of the entire budget and will be achieved by slashing grants allocated to minor sectors with little to no social or economic impact. 

The internet, if ever considered a luxury service before, is now a necessity in every home, institution, and public space. 

To rate a country's rank in comparison to others, many factors are usually taken into consideration. Free or accessible healthcare, economic and social stability, passport's strength, and tech advancement are often on top of classification lists' criteria. 

Internet speed, under the latter's umbrella, can make or break a nation's global level. 

New data designed and compiled by Cable - a UK-based service that analyzes broadband, telecom, and TV - and gathered by M-Lab, revealed worldwide internet speeds by comparing the time it takes to "download a 5GB HD movie" in each respective country. Cable.co.uk conducted speed tests in 207 territories to form its "Worldwide broadband speed league 2019" list.

Taiwan came in at No. 1 in the ranking, with a speed of 85.02 Mbps, while Yemen took the last spot (No. 207) with a speed of 0.38 Mbps. 

The top five countries, according to the data, are as follows:

1. Taiwan (8 minutes, 2 seconds) 
2. Singapore (9 minutes, 38 seconds) 
3. Jersey (10 minutes, 07 seconds) 
4. Sweden (12 minutes, 22 seconds) 
5. Denmark (13 minutes, 53 seconds)

As for Arab countries, here's how each ranked when it comes to how long it takes to download a 5GB HD movie.

The UAE ranked No. 67 globally, jumping 30 ranks from its 2018 position.

The country showed an improvement of 120.91 percent in its internet speed since 2018, reaching 9.62 Mbps compared to 4.35 Mbps in 2018 and 4.17 Mbps in 2017.

Bahrain ranked No. 94 globally, sliding four ranks down from its 2018 position.

However, the GCC country showed an increase of 23.44 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 6.24 Mbps compared to 5.05 Mbps in 2018 and 3.13 Mbps in 2017.

Morocco ranked No. 100 globally, jumping five ranks from its 2018 position.

It showed an increase of 35.94 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 5.48 Mbps compared to 4.03 Mbps in 2018 and 4.38 Mbps in 2017.

Qatar ranked No. 101 globally, jumping 10 ranks from its 2018 position.

It showed an increase of 40.81 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 5.35 Mbps compared to 3.80 Mbps in 2018 and 3.89 Mbps in 2017.

Saudi Arabia ranked No. 103 globally, jumping one rank from its 2018 position.

It showed an increase of 28.80 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 5.27 Mbps compared to 4.09 Mbps in 2018 and 3.06 Mbps in 2017.

The rest of the Arab countries varied in ranks compared to Cable's 2018 and 2017 lists. It is worth noting that the company's 2017 list - its first edition of the study - ranked countries based on their download speed of a 7.5GB HD movie, and not 5GB HD movie like its 2019 list. 

Here's a brief rundown of where the remaining nations stood in 2019 when it comes to internet speed:

1. Jordan No. 104 globally 
2. Oman No. 107 globally 
3. Tunisia No. 114 globally 
4. Kuwait No. 125 globally
5. Comoros No. 153 globally
6. Sudan No. 164 globally
7. Libya No. 166 globally
8. Lebanon No. 167 globally
9. Palestine No. 169 globally
10. Egypt No. 173 globally
11. Iraq No. 180 globally
12. Algeria No. 182 globally
13. Syria No. 195 globally
14. Djibouti No. 198 globally
15. Somalia No. 200 globally
16. Mauritania No. 204 globally
17. Yemen No. 207 globally