As of 1997, Saudi Arabia's reserves of petroleum were sufficient to maintain current production levels for about another 80 years. The non-oil economy is devoted to agriculture and newly developed industries. Considerable effort has been put into ensuring adequate irrigation in a country with very low rainfall. The industrial sector produces petrochemicals, steel, engineering products and a wide range of consumer goods.
Construction is also a key industry.
Service industries such as finance and business services, consultancies and property are the fastest growing sectors at present. Negotiations are underway regarding Saudi Arabia's membership of the World Trade Organisation. The country is also a major supplier of financial aid to other Islamic countries. However, aid volumes were cut back from 1993 as part of the financial retrenchment necessitated by overspending during the previous decade. This stalled economic growth in the next few years but did restore the country's fiscal integrity.