Saudi Arabia is expected to emerge as the sixth richest economy of the world in terms of per capita GDP by 2050, surpassing Canada, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, a Citibank forecast has said.

According to the report, the oil-rich kingdom will be West Asia’s richest economy in terms of GDP per capita by 2050, with Saudis earning $98,311 a year on average by 2050.

“Developing Asia and Africa will be the fastest growing regions, in our view, driven by population and income per capita growth, followed in terms of growth by the Middle East, Latin America, Central and eastern Europe, the CIS, and finally advanced nations of today,” the report said.

Singapore retains its top spot as the richest economy in the world in terms of GDP per capita by 2050, at $137,710 per person, the report noted, followed by Hong Kong ($116,639), Taiwan ($114,093), South Korea ($107,752) and the US ($100,802) rounding out the top five.

With Saudi Arabia at sixth, Canada ($96,375), the UK ($91,130), Switzerland ($90,956) and Austria ($90,158) conclude the top 10.

Citigroup’s list of Global Growth Generators looks at economies beyond ‘emerging markets’ and ‘BRIC’

According to the, West Asia is set to contribute 4 per cent of the global GDP by 2030 and 5 per cent by 2050.

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil sector will play an increasingly vital role for the economy, as the government’s initiative to diversify the economy away from the hydrocarbon sector will bolster private consumption and gross fixed capital formation, the report said.

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