Towards A Unified Zakat System

Table 2.1 reveals that Bahrain reported a decrease in oilrevenue, from US$923 million in 1993 to US$847.3 million in1995 (no figures available for 1996 or 1997). SA, Kuwait,Oman, Qatar and the UAE, on the other hand, reportedincreases in oil revenue: from US$28,266.6 million in 1993to US$42,666.6 million in 1997 for SA; from US$8,217.2million in 1993 to US$10,350 million in 1997 for Kuwait;from US$3,463.2 millions in 1993 to US$5,776.36 million in1997 for Oman; from US$2,110 million in 1993 to US$3,133million in 1996 (no figures available for 1997) for Qatar;and, from US$8,247 million in 1993 to US$9,052.8 in 1995 (nofigures available for 1996 or 1997) for the UAE. There wasa general decline in oil revenue towards all these states in1994, except for Oman where it rose from the 1993 figure ofUS$3,463.2 million to US$3,680.7 million in 1994.It is evident from table 2.1 that the GCC countries areheavily dependent on oil revenue. Table 2.2 shows the oilrevenue as a percentage of GDP. All countries, with theexception of Bahrain and Oman, reported a general increasein their oil revenue as a percentage of GDP. Bahrain's oilrevenue (as a percentage of GDP) has declined since 1994 byalmost 18 percent. Oil revenue (as a percentage of GDP) inSaudi Arabia increased by 29 percent in 1996 compared with38