Net Assessments of the Middle East Military Balance — Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen

December 28, 1998

Saudi Arabia’s economy reflects the same dip in GDP during much of the 1980s and early to mid-1990s as that of the other oil exporting states. Oil riches recovered in the mid-1990s, but dropped sharply in late 1997.  Saudi Arabia increased central government expenditures and military spending as a result of the Gulf War.