Saudi homeland security costs spike

Saudi Arabia's homeland security spending might reach $115 billion during the next decade and rank second only to the United States' security spending, according to a new market research forecast.

Saudi Arabian officials have established 24 agencies and organizations devoted to homeland security, employing more than 250,000, according to the May 27 report by the Washington-based Homeland Security Research Corp. The report provides a forecast of Saudi Arabian public and private spending on homeland security from 2009 to 2018.

In past decades, Saudi Arabia spent as much as 30 percent of its gross domestic product on security. That amount is now about 5 percent.

"Over the coming decade, Saudi Arabia's homeland security market is forecasted to be the largest after that of the [United States]," states a news release. "In several sectors, the Saudi homeland security market is forecasted to be even larger than that of America's."

For example, the Saudi royal family is expected to spend billions of dollars on fortifying borders with Iraq and Yemen, a sum greater than what is likely to be spent on control of the United States' borders with Mexico and Canada, the report states.