*Saudi Arabia, Geography

Location:
  Middle East, between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf
Map references:
  Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  1,960,582 km2
 land area:
  1,960,582 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
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
International disputes:
  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
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.)
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

*Saudi Arabia, People

Population:
  17,615,310 (July 1993 est.)
 note:
  the population figure is consistent with a 3.3% 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
Population growth rate:
  3.3% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  38.59 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  6.05 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  55.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  67.32 years  male:
  65.71 years
 female:
  69.01 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  6.7 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Saudi(s)
 adjective:
  Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic divisions:
  Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Religions:
  Muslim 100%
Languages:
  Arabic
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  62%
 male:
  73%
 female:
  48%
Labor force:
  5 million
 by occupation:
  government 34%, industry and oil 28%, services 22%, agriculture 16%

*Saudi Arabia, Government

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 conventional short form:
  Saudi Arabia
 local long form:
  Al Mamlakah al 'Arabiyah as Su'udiyah
 local short form:
  Al 'Arabiyah as Su'udiyah
Digraph:
  SA
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,
  Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk
Independence:
  23 September 1932 (unification)
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
National holiday:
  Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)
Political parties and leaders:
  none allowed
Suffrage:
  none
Elections:
  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
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  King and Prime Minister FAHD bin 'Abd al-'Aziz Al Sa'ud (since 13 June
  1982); Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister 'ABDALLAH bin 'Abd al-'Aziz Al
  Sa'ud (half-brother to the King, appointed heir to the throne 13 June 1982)
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 in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador BANDAR Bin Sultan
 chancery:
  601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
 telephone:
  (202) 342-3800

*Saudi Arabia, Government

 consulates general:
  Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  (vacant); Charge d'Affaires C. David Welch
 embassy:
  Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh
 mailing address:
  American Embassy, Unit 61307, Riyadh; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309,
  Riyadh 11693; or APO AE 09803-1307
 telephone:
  [966] (1) 488-3800
 FAX:
  Telex 406866  consulates general:
  Dhahran, 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

*Saudi Arabia, 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
  encourage private economic activity and to foster the gradual process of
  turning Saudi Arabia into a modern industrial state that retains traditional
  Islamic values. Four million foreign workers play an important role in the
  Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and banking sectors.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $111 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  3.6% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $6,500 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  2.5% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  6.5% (1992 est.)
Budget:
  revenues $45.1 billion; expenditures $52.5 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
  $48.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
 commodities:
  petroleum and petroleum products 92%
 partners:
  US 21%, Japan 18%, Singapore 6%, France 6%, Korea 5%
Imports:
  $26.1 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
 commodities:
  food stuffs, manufactured goods, transportation equipment, chemical
  products, textiles
 partners:
  US 21%, UK 13%, Japan 12%, Germany 8%, France 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:
  28,554,000 kW capacity; 63,000 million kWh produced, 3,690 kWh per capita
  (1992)
Industries:
  crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, two
  small steel-rolling mills, construction, fertilizer, plastics
Agriculture:
  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
Illicit drugs:
  death penalty for traffickers
Economic aid:
  donor - pledged $64.7 billion in bilateral aid (1979-89)
Currency:
  1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100 halalas
Exchange rates:
  Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1 - 3.7450 (fixed rate since late 1986), 3.7033
  (1986)

*Saudi Arabia, Economy

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Saudi Arabia, Communications

Railroads:
  1390 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; 448 km are double tracked
Highways:
  74,000 km total; 35,000 km paved, 39,000 km gravel and improved earth
Pipelines:
  crude oil 6,400 km, petroleum products 150 km, natural gas 2,200 km,
  includes natural gas liquids 1,600 km
Ports:
  Jiddah, Ad Dammam, Ras Tanura, Jizan, Al Jubayl, Yanbu al Bahr, Yanbu al
  Sinaiyah
Merchant marine:
  77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 860,818 GRT/1,219,345 DWT; includes 1
  passenger, 6 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3
  container, 6 refrigerated cargo, 5 livestock carrier, 23 oil tanker, 6
  chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 bulk
Airports:
 total:
  213
 usable:
  193
 with permanent-surface runways:
  71
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  14
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  36
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  107
Telecommunications:
  modern system with extensive microwave and coaxial and fiber optic cable
  systems; 1,624,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 43 AM, 13 FM, 80 TV;
  microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and
  Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan; submarine cable to Djibouti,
  Egypt and Bahrain; earth stations - 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Indian
  Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT, 1 INMARSAT

*Saudi Arabia, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Land Force (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Coast
  Guard, Frontier Forces, Special Security Force, Public Security Force
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 5,650,492; fit for military service 3,128,620; reach
  military age (17) annually 140,283 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $16.5 billion, 13% of GDP (1993 budget)