Beyond oil: Reappraising the Gulf States

The states of the Gulf Cooperation Council—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—are flush with petrodollars.
Economic dynamism is obvious throughout the region, but the GCC's political and business leaders must take advantage of the opportunity to build a vibrant private sector focused on creating value rather than on merely extracting it from oil and gas reserves.
The clock is ticking: in some counties, such as Saudi Arabia, population growth is outpacing oil production, making it difficult to maintain standards of living. Rising unemployment, particularly among young job seekers, also poses a growing threat to the region's stability.

Exhibit 1: Demographics vary across the GCC states.
Exhibit 2: The ratio of oil and gas production to the number of citizens—a critical factor in reform—varies by state.
Exhibit 3: A young and growing population will bring new national job seekers to the market.
Exhibit 4: Governments can no longer afford to be the employer of last resort for nationals.