Yeah, Saudi job/internal economic dynamics are pretty wacky. The women not being allowed to work or even have proper freedom of movement naturally has some pretty wide reaching affects.

And yes, much of the labor is imported. I know this meme is really strong around here, but they aren't 'imported slaves' unless you are purposefully being a tad bit obtuse or misunderstand the term/take it with a lot off leeway. The situation isn't as cartoonishly black and white as some people paint around here.

Unfortunately, a lot of the oil wealth and prosperity has gone to some Saudis heads and they think they actually accomplished something. As a result a lot of em have become pompous asses. The attitudes you see towards some migrants laborers is a result of this dynamic. And while it has racist undertones, the condescension is primarily classist. It just so happens that in Arabia, those classes are often defined by race. But let's just say it's not the Indian executive at Aramco thats catching hate.

And on that note, I think, just as with any country- it's important not to generalize. There are some Saudis who are assholes to the people who are their guests who bleed and sweat to make the damn country work. There are also Saudis who are nothing like that. Let's not give in to double standards, especially if you yourself are ignorant on a first hand experience basis.

A last fun fact I'll leave ya with about the weird internal economics is that there is no tax whatsoever. No sales tax, no property tax, no income tax. Which is why it's insane for professionals and professional 'migrant workers'- the money goes straight from wages to the bank.

My source is I am ethnically an Arab from KSA (hate calling myself 'Saudi'). So with that being the case, id like to warn people to take a lot of opinions in this thread with a grain of salt. Some of em are pretty blatantly bullshit.