Saudis life quality among worst in world

Saudi Arabia is among the countries with the worst living conditions according to the latest global rankings despite being the world’s biggest oil exporter.

An international website which ranks the states from the best to the worst in terms of living conditions has in its ranking placed Saudi Arabia in the 169th position among 190 states.

Only Iraq, Somali, Yemen, and Sudan rank lower than Saudi Arabia in the list.

Saudi media have sharply criticized the government over widespread poverty in the kingdom.

Last month, Saudi newspaper Okaz reported that sixty percent of the people in Saudi Arabia live below the poverty line.

Saudi journalist Khaled al-Harbi wrote in an article that while Saudi Arabia earns 1,500 billion riyals (around 400 billion dollars) a year, the average salary of an ordinary Saudi citizen is around 1,500 riyals (around 400 dollars) a month.

Saudi activists have criticized Riyadh for spending vast sums on buying arms from the West and not helping the millions living in poverty.

In 2010, Riyadh purchased over 60 billion dollars worth of weapons from the United States, which Washington lauded as the largest arms deal in history.