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, PDRY 830 km, YAR 628 km
Coastline: 2,510 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 18 nm;
Continental shelf: not specific;
Exclusive fishing zone: not specific;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: no defined boundaries with PDRY, UAE, and YAR; shares
Neutral Zone with Iraq--in July 1975, Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed an
agreement to divide the zone between them, but the agreement must be
ratified, however, 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: 1% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 39% meadows and
pastures; 1% forest and woodland; 59% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
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: 17,115,728 (July 1990), growth rate 4.4% (1990);
note--the population figure is based on growth since the last official
Saudi census of 1974 reported a total of 7 million persons and includes
foreign workers, while estimates from other sources may be 15-30% lower
Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 13 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 71 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 67 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.8 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Saudi(s); adjective--Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic divisions: 90% Arab, 10% Afro-Asian
Religion: 100% Muslim
Language: Arabic
Literacy: 52%
Labor force: 4,200,000; about 60% are foreign workers; 34%
government, 28% industry and oil, 22% services, and 16% agriculture
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: Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador BANDARBin 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; 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: By far the most important economic activity is the
production of petroleum and petroleum products. The petroleum sector
accounts for about 85% of budget revenues, 80% of GDP, and almost all
export earnings. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the
world, is the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in
OPEC. Oil wealth has provided a per capita GDP that is comparable to most
industrialized countries. Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries where
consumer prices have been dropping or showing little change in recent
years.
GDP: $73 billion, per capita $4,720; real growth rate 3.2%
(1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $31.5 billion; expenditures $38.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
Exports: $24.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--petroleum and petroleum products 89%; partners--Japan 26%, US
26%, France 6%, Bahrain 6%
Imports: $21.8 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--manufactured goods, transportation equipment, construction
materials, processed food products; partners--US 20%, Japan 18%, UK 16%,
Italy 11%
External debt: $18.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 6.1% (1980-86)
Electricity: 25,066,000 kW capacity; 50,000 million kWh
produced, 3,100 kWh per capita (1989)
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
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: 94 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,988,322
GRT/3,474,788 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 6 short-sea passenger, 1
passenger-cargo, 15 cargo, 12 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 container, 6
refrigerated cargo, 4 livestock carrier, 32 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 8 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 combination
ore/oil, 1 specialized tanker, 3 bulk
Civil air: 182 major transport aircraft available
Airports: 204 total, 179 usable; 66 with permanent-surface
runways; 13 with runways over 3,659 m; 33 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 98
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, YAR, and Sudan;
coaxial cable to Kuwait; submarine cable to Djibouti and Egypt; satellite
earth stations--3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1
ARABSAT, 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT
Defense Forces
Branches: Saudi Arabian Land Forces, Royal Saudi Naval Forces,
Royal Saudi Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Defense Force, Saudi Arabian
National Guard, Coast Guard and Frontier Forces, Special Security Force,
Public Security Force, Special Emergency Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 6,437,039; 3,606,344 fit for
military service; 159,186 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 16.9% of GDP, or $12.3 billion (1990 est.)
Copyright 1991 Bureau of Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
Countries: Saudi Arabia., World Fact Book, 08-01-1991.
THE THIRTEEN PROVINCES, WITH THEIR CAPITALS AND THE NAMES OF THEIR
GOVERNORS
- Riyadh Province: capital, Riyadh, governor HRH
Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz (A killer)
- Makkah Province: capital, Makkah, governor HRH Prince Majed Bin
Abdul Aziz (A drunkard)
- Madinah Province: capital, Madinah, governor HRH Prince Abdel-Majeed
Bin Abdul Aziz (A Dinosaur)
- Eastern Province: capital, Damman, governor
HRH Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz (Eiptoamy of
Corruption)
- Asir Province: capital, Abha, governor HRH Prince Khalid Al-Faisal
Bin Abdul Aziz (Plays Ball)
- Al-Baha Province: capital, Al-Baha, governor HRH Prince Muhammad Bin
Saud Bin Abdul Aziz (To keep Saud's sons under control)
- Tabuk Province: capital, Tabuk, governor HRH Prince Fahd Bin Sultan
Bin Abdul Aziz (Military bases for Sultan's son to watch)
- Qassim Province: capital, Buraidah, governor HRH Prince Faisal Bin
Bandar Bin Abdul Aziz (Inconsequential)
- Hail Province: capital, Hail, governor HRH Prince Miqren Bin Abdul
Aziz (Not important)
- Jouf Province: capital, Sakakah, governor Prince Sultan Bin
Abdulrahman Al-Sudairi (He is a prince with no HRH)
- Northern Borders Province: capital, Ar'ar, governor Prince Abdullah
Bin Musaid Bin Jalawi (Sold the Eastern Province to al-Saud)
- Jizan Province: capital, Jizan, governor Prince Muhammad Bin Turki
Al-Sudairi (His mother's connections)
- Najran Province: capital, Najran, governor Prince Mishal Bin Saud
Bin Abdul Aziz (appointed 04/02/97) (To keep Saud's sons under
control)