Difference Between Saudi Arabia And Ecuador

Culture is the basis and foundation of who we are. This exists in us from the moment we are born and is the moral and intellectual contribution of our parents at the beginning and then around us. In this paper, there are going to be a lot of comparison between Saudi Arabia with Ecuador in which it would be considered the determinants of their culture as economic, political philosophy, language, education, religion and some social problems.

Saudi Arabia is a large country located on the Arabian Peninsula, rich in oil. It is the largest Arab country of western Asia in total area and is one of the wealthiest nations in the region. They are primarily oil nation, but they do have other values resources. “The Arabic language is the official language of Saudi Arabia and the first language of almost all native Saudis” (Kwintessential, 2012). The riyal has been the currency of Saudi Arabia since the formation of the country. The religion of Saudi Arabia is 100% Islam so religious freedom does not exist. If some people want to do a public practice about their religious, the government doesn’t provide any protection of them.

Ecuador is located on the Pacific coast of South America, between Peru in the south and Colombia in the north. Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces where each one has their own capital. Nowadays, it is considered one of the fifteen fashionable tourist destinations and it is also the most beautiful place to live for retirees. Spanish is the official language. Beyond this, there is a minority who speak Quechua and other dialects. The actual currency of Ecuador, after the great economic crisis that has affected the country in the 90's, is the U.S. dollar (U.S.). According to a 2008 survey, 87.5% of the population is Catholic but it is allowed to have other religions as Protestants, Adventists, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses which represent 10.8% of the population.

In the economic aspects Ecuador is not so much different from Saudi Arabia because both of them depend a lot from the exportation of oil but as a major oil exporter, Saudi Arabia's economy is dominated by oil revenues which represent between 85% and 90% of total export earnings and about 50% of GDP. But despite their richness, the Saudi economy is not growing fast enough to generate the needed employment opportunities for the growing population, which is expanding by 2% to 3% per year.

In contrast with Ecuador, their economy is mainly based on agriculture, mining and fishing. “The exploration and oil exports have played an important role in the Ecuadorian economy since the 1970s” (Mongabay, 2013). However, during the last century, Ecuadorian economic development depends on exports of cocoa, bananas becoming Ecuador one of the largest exporter in the world for several decades. More than a third of the workforce is engaged in agriculture, which accounts for approximately 20% of gross national product.

About political system, there are a lot of difference between Ecuador and Saudi Arabia. “First of all, the central institution of the Saudi Arabian government is the Saudi monarchy” (GlobalEdge, 2011). The monarch and Islamic law have led to the totalitarian country with a trend towards socialism. The king is the head of the governor and is the ultimate power in the country instead of Ecuador that is a democratic republic with three independent branches: Legislative, Executive and Judicial government managed by the actual government of Rafael Correa.

In Saudi Arabia,

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