SAUDI ARABIA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 2,149,690 km2; land area: 2,149,690 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than one-fourth the size of US
Land boundaries: 4,410 km total; Iraq 488 km, Iraq-Saudi Arabia
Neutral Zone 198 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: no defined boundaries with Yemen and UAE;
shares Neutral Zone with Iraq--in December 1981, Iraq and Saudi Arabia
signed a boundary agreement that divides the zone between them, but the
agreement must be ratified before it becomes effective; Kuwaiti
ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands is disputed by
Saudi Arabia
Climate: harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature
Terrain: mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
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%
Environment: no perennial rivers or permanent water bodies;
developing extensive coastal seawater desalination facilities;
desertification
Note: extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide
great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf
and Suez Canal
PEOPLE
Population: 17,869,558 (July 1991), growth rate 4.2% (1991);
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
Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 12 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 69 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 68 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Saudi(s); adjective--Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic divisions: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Religion: Muslim 100%
Language: Arabic
Literacy: 62% (male 73%, female 48%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 4,200,000; about 60% are foreign workers; government
34%, industry and oil 28%, services 22%, and agriculture 16%
Organized labor: trade unions are illegal
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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)
Constitution: none; governed according to Sharia (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
National holiday: Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)
Executive branch: monarch and prime minister, crown prince and
deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: none
Judicial branch: Supreme Council of Justice
Leaders:
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 Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al
Saud (half-brother to the King, appointed heir to the throne 13 June
1982)
Suffrage: none
Elections: none
Communists: negligible
Member of: 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, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador BANDAR Bin Sultan; Chancery
at 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202)
342-3800; there are Saudi Arabian Consulates General in Houston, Los
Angeles, and New York;
US--Ambassador Charles W. FREEMAN, Jr.; Embassy at Collector Road
M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh (mailing address is P. O. Box 9041, Riyadh
11143, or APO New York 09038); telephone 966 (1) 488-3800; there are US
Consulates General in Dhahran and Jiddah (Jeddah)
Flag: 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 70% of
budget revenues, 33% 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, plays a leading role in OPEC, and invests
substantial amounts abroad.
GDP: $79 billion, per capita $4,800; real growth rate 0.5%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $31.5 billion; expenditures $38.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $6.9 billion (1990)
Exports: $30.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--petroleum and petroleum products 85%;
partners--US 22%, Japan 20%, Singapore 7%, France 5%
Imports: $20.0 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--manufactured goods, transportation equipment,
construction materials, processed food products;
partners--UK 17%, US 15%, Japan 12%, FRG 6%
External debt: $18.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 1.1% (1989 est.); accounts for
37% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity: 25,205,000 kW capacity; 50,500 million kWh produced,
2,950 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic
petrochemicals, cement, small steel-rolling mill, construction,
fertilizer, plastic
Agriculture: 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
Economic aid: donor--pledged $64.7 billion in bilateral aid
(1979-89)
Currency: Saudi riyal (plural--riyals); 1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100
halalas
Exchange rates: Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1--3.7450 (fixed rate
since late 1986), 3.7033 (1986), 3.6221 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 886 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
Highways: 74,000 km total; 35,000 km bituminous, 39,000 km gravel
and improved earth
Pipelines: 6,400 km crude oil; 150 km refined products; 2,200 km
natural gas, includes 1,600 km of natural gas liquids
Ports: Jiddah, Ad Dammam, Ras Tanura, Jizan, Al Jubayl,
Yanbu al Bahr, Yanbu al Sinaiyah
Merchant marine: 84 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,492,174
GRT/2,436,635 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 6 short-sea passenger,
14 cargo, 12 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 container, 6 refrigerated cargo, 5
livestock carrier, 26 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8
chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 bulk
Civil air: 182 major transport aircraft available
Airports: 207 total, 188 usable; 69 with permanent-surface runways;
13 with runways over 3,659 m; 38 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 103 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: good system with extensive microwave and
coaxial cable systems; 1,624,000 telephones; stations--21 AM, 16 FM,
97 TV; radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and
Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait; submarine cable to Djibouti and Egypt;
earth stations--3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT,
1 ARABSAT, 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National
Guard, Coast Guard, Frontier Force, Special Security Force, Public
Security Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,663,217; 3,724,610 fit for
military service; 165,167 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: $13.9 billion, 16.9% of GDP (1990 est.)