Map of Saudi Arabia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

top of page


Background: In 1902 Abdul al-Aziz Ibn SAUD captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian peninsula. In the 1930s the discovery of oil transformed the country. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. A burgeoning population aquifer depletion and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all major governmental concerns.


top of page


Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 1,945,000 km²
Land: 1,945,000 km²
Comparative: slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Land boundaries: 4,532 km total; Iraq 808 km, Jordan 742 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 40 km, UAE 586 km, Yemen 1,458 km

Coastline: 2,510 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Continental shelf: not specific
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes:

Climate: harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature

Terrain: mostly uninhabited, sandy desert

Elevation

Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper

Land use: arable land: 1%; permanent crops: NEGL%; meadows and pastures 39%; forest and woodland 1%; other 59%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


top of page


Population: 17,050,934 (July 1992), growth rate 3.3% (1992; note - the population figure is based on growth since the last official Saudi census of 1974 that reported a total of 7 million persons and included foreign workers; estimates from other sources may be 15-30% lower

Nationality: noun - Saudi(s; adjective - Saudi or Saudi Arabian

Ethnic groups: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Languages: Arabic

Religions: Muslim 100%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 39 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: no perennial rivers or permanent water bodies; developing extensive coastal seawater desalination facilities; desertification
Current issues note:

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 59 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 68 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 62% (male 73%, female 48%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Government type: monarchy

Capital: Riyadh

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 23 September 1932 (unification)

National holiday: Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)

Constitution: none; governed according to Shari`a (Islamic law)

Legal system: based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: none

Executive branch: monarch and prime minister, crown prince and deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: none

Judicial branch: Supreme Council of Justice

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation:
US:
Riyadh; International Mail:

Diplomatic representation

Flag description:

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview: The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 70% of budget revenues, 37% of GDP, and almost all export earnings. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. For the 1990s the government intends to encourage private economic activity and to foster the gradual process of turning Saudi Arabia into a modern industrial state that retains traditional Islamic values.
GDP: exchange rate conversion - $104 billion, per capita $5,800; real growth rate 1.5% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for about 10% of GDP, 16% of labor force; fastest growing economic sector; subsidized by government; products - wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus fruit, mutton, chickens, eggs, milk; approaching self-sufficiency in food

Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, small steel-rolling mill, construction, fertilizer, plastic

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate -1.1% (1989 est.), accounts for 37% of GDP, including petroleum

Labor force: 5,000,000; about 60% are foreign workers; government 34%, industry and oil 28%, services 22%, and agriculture 16%
Organized labor: trade unions are illegal

Unemployment rate: 0% (1989 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $40.3 billion; expenditures $48.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $44.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: petroleum and petroleum products 85%
Partners: US 22%, Japan 22%, Singapore 7%, France 6%

Imports: $21.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: manufactured goods, transportation equipment, construction materials, processed food products
Partners: US 16%, UK 14%, Japan 14%, FRG 7%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1 - 3.7450 (fixed rate since late 1986), 3.7033 (1986)


top of page


Electricity access

Electricity production: 30,000,000 kW capacity; 60,000 million kWh produced, 3,300 kWh per capita (1991)

Electricity consumption

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 6,400 km, petroleum products 150 km, natural gas 2,200 km, includes natural gas liquids 1,600 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine:
Civil air: 104 major transport aircraft available

Ports and terminals


top of page


Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs