Saudis Faces Cheap Oil, Social Liberalization, Climate Change - Bloomberg:
On the surface, Saudi Arabia and its ruling family — an absolute monarchy flush with oil wealth — look secure in their power. Despite oil price fluctuations, income per person has been more or less constant for many years now:
In purchasing power parity terms, Saudi Arabia is a rich country — only slightly behind the U.S. in living standards. Meanwhile, the country’s leadership is feeling confident and powerful enough to prosecute a war in Yemen and kill dissident journalists.
But beneath the placid surface, there could be trouble brewing. First of all, the country’s demographics are headed in a direction that is sometimes associated with social unrest. As recently as 2000, Saudi Arabian families were very large, with an average of more than six children per woman. But fertility has dropped precipitously, and is now below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman:
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