In a recent United Nations report on worldwide ratings on human resource development, the Kingdom ranked No. 71 out of 173 countries. At the Arab level Saudi Arabia occupied the sixth place among 19 Arab countries.
Countries are judged by their achievements in the area of human resources judging by such indicators as life expectancy, education and per capita income. To be frank, I felt sad and angry for our country being put at the 71st position although the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said we moved forward two steps compared with the previous year.
Now our position internationally is after Thailand and at the Arab level after Libya. Here we are classified within the middle group made up of 11 countries. The top group includes countries like Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
I was angry and jealous on seeing us occupying such positions as we hear and read in the press that we are the best. We are told that our streets are the best, our education system is the best and our development drive should put within the ranks of advanced countries.
It is true the four Arab countries listed in the upper group are all Gulf states but, it is also true that their combined geographical area is no bigger than that of any one of our province in our country. Put together their population does not exceed that of Riyadh city.
Ours is a country the size of a continent but with a total population not exceeding 20 million. We are part of this world, influencing and being influenced by it and when it comes to human resource development this is the responsibility of both the state and the private sector.
We should open our eyes to a reality that relegated us to such positions trailing after Thailand and Libya. We have to deal with this reality with full transparency dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.
Our development plans have to be reviewed if we are to come up with practical solutions. We are a rich country struggling to develop but we can still catch up. What is important is to move forward and not slide further.
29 July 2002
