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.

Map reference: Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 1,960,582 km²
Land: 1,960,582 km²

Land boundaries: total 4,415 km, Iraq 814 km, Jordan 728 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km

Coastline: 2,640 km

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

Climate: harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature

Terrain: mostly uninhabited, sandy desert

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper

Land use
Arable land: 1%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 39%
Forest and woodland: 1%
Other: 59%

Irrigated land: 4,350 km² (1989 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms

Geography
Note: extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal

Population: 18,196,783 (July 1994 est.)
Note: the population figure is consistent with a 3.24% growth rate; a 1992 census gives the number of Saudi citizens as 12,304,835 and the number of residents who are not citizens as 4,624,459
Growth rate: 3.24% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Saudi(s)

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

Languages: Arabic

Religions: Muslim 100%

Population growth rate: 3.24% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 38.25 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 5.83 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Environment
Current issues: desertification; depletion of underground water resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills

Infant mortality rate: 52.1 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 67.91 years
Male: 66.25 years
Female: 69.65 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.67 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Total population: 62%
Male: 73%
Female: 48%

Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Conventional short form:

Government type: monarchy

Capital: Riyadh

Administrative divisions: 14 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah; Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Al Qurayyat, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah, Asir, Hail, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk

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

Suffrage: none

Executive branch: chief of state and head of government:King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982; Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (half-brother to the King, appointed heir to the throne 13 June 1982)

Legislative branch: Land Force (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Coast Guard, Frontier Forces, Special Security Force, Public Security Force

Judicial branch: Supreme Council of Justice

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires C. David Welch
From the us chancery: 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,037
From the us telephone: [966] (1) 488-3,800
From the us consulates general: Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)
From the us embassy: Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh
From the us mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 61,307, Riyadh; International Mail:P. O. Box 94,309, Riyadh 11,693; or APO AE 9,803-1307
From the us FAX: [966] (1) 482-4,364

Flag description: green with large white Arabic script (that may be translated as There is no God but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God) above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side; green is the traditional color of Islam

Economy overview: The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 35% 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 bring its budget, which has been in deficit since 1983, back into balance, and to encourage private economic activity. Roughly four million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and banking sectors. For about a decade, Saudi Arabia's domestic and international outlays have outstripped its income, and the government has cut its foreign assistance and is beginning to rein in domestic programs.

Real gdp growth rate: 1% (1993 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $11,000 (1993 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 10% of GDP, 16% of labor force; 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, two small steel-rolling mills, construction, fertilizer, plastics

Industrial production growth rate: 20% (1991 est.), accounts for 46% of GDP, including petroleum

Labor force: 5 million-6 million
By occupation government: 34%
By occupation industry andoil: 28%
By occupation services: 22%
By occupation agriculture: 16%

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (1992 est.)

Budget: revenues:$39 billion

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $42.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 92%
Partners: US 21%, Japan 18%, Singapore 6%, France 6%, Korea 5%

Imports: $26 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, textiles
Partners: US 18%, UK 12%, Japan 10%, Germany 5%, France 5%

Debt external: $18.9 billion (December 1989 est., includes short-term trade credits)

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

Electricity
Capacity: 28,554,000 kW
Production: 63 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 3,690 kWh (1992)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: exchange rate conversion - $16.5 billion, 13% of GDP (1993 budget)

Airports: 215
Usable: 195
With permanentsurface runways: 71
With runways over 3659 m: 14
With runways 2440-3659 m: 38
With runways 1220-2439 m: 105

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

Merchant marine: 74 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 865,343 GRT/1,240,874 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 11, chemical tanker 4, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 5, oil tanker 23, passenger 1, refrigerated cargo 6, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 1

Disputes international: large section of boundary with Yemen not defined; status of boundary with UAE not final; Kuwaiti ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim islands is disputed by Saudi Arabia

Illicit drugs: death penalty for traffickers; increasing consumption of heroin and cocaine