According to this year's global power rankings, published by U.S. News and World Report, one Arab country is among 10 most powerful in the world.
Saudi Arabia ranked 9th most powerful country, and was described as the "giant of the Middle East."
The country is home to the holy city of Mecca, where millions of Muslims come together to perform annual pilgrimage otherwise known as hajj. The country's oil reserves have made it one of the most significant players in the world. The kingdom makes up around 18 percent of the world's petroleum reserves, according to OPEC. It is the 2nd largest OPEC Member Country.
However, in recent years, low oil prices have taken a toll on the Saudi economy. Thus, the kingdom has steered away from its dependence on oil with wide-reaching economic reforms, including instituting austerity measures and implementing taxes.
The United States ranked as the world's most powerful country followed by Russia, China, and Germany.
Power is a subcategory in the report and is based on the respective country's leader, economic influence, political influence, international alliances, and military power.
In terms of power, here is how other Arab countries ranked:
- Saudi Arabia (No. 9 globally)
- United Arab Emirates (No. 11 globally)
- Iraq (No. 19 globally)
- Qatar (No. 24 globally)
- Egypt (No. 29 globally)
- Jordan (No. 33 globally)
- Lebanon (No. 36 globally)
- Oman (No. 42 globally)
- Morocco (No. 61 globally)
- Tunisia (No. 63 globally)
The report also looks at other aspects including adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power, and quality of life.
When taking all subcategories into consideration, Saudi Arabia ranked No. 32 globally. It ranked 9th in terms of two subcategories - power and movers. Movers ranks countries based on the economies of respective nations.
People on social media launched a hashtag following the news
The Arabic hashtag "Saudi Arabia is the 9th most powerful country in the world" began making the rounds on Twitter soon after the report was released.
Saudis were proud ... to say the least.
The word PROUD was all over Twitter
"Very proud"
"I am very proud that I belong to this country"
People are anticipating what's to come by 2030
In December 2018, Saudi Arabia revealed its 2019 annual budget and was dubbed the kingdom's largest yet.
The country is estimated to spend 1.106 trillion riyals ($295 billion), a 7 percent increase from its 2018 budget.
"Saudi government's spending is the main driver of growth. The idea is to stimulate the growth of the private sector," said Mazen Alsudairi, head of research at Al Rajhi Capital in Riyadh, according to The National.
The kingdom aims to diversify its economy to reduce its reliance on oil under Vision 2030. In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Saudi's Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Al-Falih said the kingdom's 2019 budget will allocate 33 billion riyals ($8.79 billion) to various sectors. These include the energy, industrial, mining, and logistics sectors. In 2017, the kingdom announced its plans to invest tens of billions in renewable energy. Saudi Arabia aims to invest between $30 to $50 billion in renewable energy by 2032.
Growth in non-oil industries challenged by "Saudization" process
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has taken major steps to make the "Saudization" process a reality, however, it seems as though it hasn't been going as planned.
The kingdom's "Saudization" process aims to nationalize its workforce by reducing its reliance on foreign labor. Thus, non-Saudis have seen fewer job opportunities available to them in recent months. The number of foreign workers declined by 6 percent in the first three months of 2018.
More than 234,000 expats left the kingdom during the same period. In just 18 months, more than 800,000 expats had left. The number exceeds an estimation in 2017 which claimed 670,000 expats would leave Saudi Arabia by 2020. However, the departure of expats has not helped decrease the unemployment rate among Saudi nationals.
According to data released by the General Authority for Statistics, the unemployment rate peaked at 12.9 percent. Based on data collected as early as 1999, this marks the highest rate ever documented by the official statistics agency, according to The Daily Star.
According to Reuters, the government expects to witness growth in non-oil industries as they are key to creating jobs. However, suggested "fees for hiring expat workers" have made it tough for private sector companies to excel. Private businesses will be charged between $80 and $107 monthly for each foreign worker hired.
Non-oil revenue has increased to 32 percent in 2018 from 12 percent in 2014.