Millions of Saudis live in poverty, struggling on the fringes of one of the world\u2019s most powerful economies, where job-growth and welfare programs have failed to keep pace with a booming population that has soared from 6 million in 1970 to 28 million today.<\/p>\n
Under King Abdullah, the government has spent billions to help the growing numbers of poor people, estimated to be as much as a quarter of the native Saudi population.<\/p>\n
But critics complain that those programs are inadequate, and that some royals seem more concerned with their wealth and the country\u2019s image than with helping the needy. Last year, for example, three young Saudi video bloggers were arrested and jailed for two weeks after they produced an online video about poverty in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state hides the poor very well,\u201d said Rosie Bsheer, a Saudi scholar who has written extensively on development and poverty. \u201cThe elite don\u2019t see the suffering of the poor. People are hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n