COVID-19 IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY OF SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has greatly affected life and all aspects of it. The emergence of this infectious disease has prevented societies all over the world from living with the regular norms we were once on. By avoiding physical contact to stay safe, hundreds of millions of us are staying home to protect ourselves and our loved ones. This decision, reinforced by governments, has proved beneficial for the sake of society’s health, since the rate of how fast the infection was spreading decreased. Although it is the safest and best way to cope with a global pandemic, staying home due to COVID-19 has harmed the economic status of many countries in the world. Through direct observation and analysis of data, we provide a detailed study about the various economic decisions the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enforced as a response to this global pandemic. This study seeks to showcase the measures Saudi Arabia took to limit the damage COVID-19 caused on the economy, where the oil, health, education, travel, and entertainment industries were affected the most. Some of these implemented strategies include withdrawing the highest amount of money from the Federal Reserve than in the last two decades and increasing the Value Added Tax (VAT) by 10%. Both of these approaches are just two of how Saudi Arabia helped in minimizing economic loss.