Airports [time series]

211 total, 191 usable; 70 with permanent-surface runways; 14 with runways over 3,659 m; 37 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 105 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

104 major transport aircraft available

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

74,000 km total; 35,000 km paved, 39,000 km gravel and improved earth

Merchant marine [time series]

8l ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 884,470 GRT/1,254,882 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo, 14 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 container, 6 refrigerated cargo, 5 livestock carrier, 24 petroleum tanker, 7 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

Jiddah, Ad Dammam, Ras Tanura, Jizan, Al Jubayl, Yanbu al Bahr, Yanbu al Sinaiyah

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

886 km 1.435-meter standard gauge

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

good system with extensive microwave and coaxial and fiber optic cable systems; 1,624,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 43 AM, 13 FM, 80 TV; 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

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $14.5 billion, 13% of GDP (1992 budget)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 5,619,147; 3,118,261 fit for military service; 133,314 reach military age (17) annually

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Saudi riyal (plural - riyals); 1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100 halalas

Economic aid [time series]

donor - pledged $64.7 billion in bilateral aid (1979-89)

Electricity [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

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

Exports [time series]

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

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$18.9 billion (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $104 billion, per capita $5,800; real growth rate 1.5% (1991 est.)

Imports [time series]

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

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

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

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

3% (1991 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

0% (1989 est.)

Climate [time series]

harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature

Coastline [time series]

2,510 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

no defined boundaries with Yemen; location and status of Saudi Arabia's boundaries with Qatar and UAE are unresolved; Kuwaiti ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands is disputed by Saudi Arabia

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

no perennial rivers or permanent water bodies; developing extensive coastal seawater desalination facilities; desertification

Area (Land area) [time series]

1,945,000 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

mostly uninhabited, sandy desert

Area (Total area) [time series]

1,945,000 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Riyadh

Constitution [time series]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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 American Embassy, Unit 61307, Riyadh; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693; or APO AE 09803-1307); telephone [966] (1) 488-3800; Telex 406866; there are US Consulates General in Dhahran and Jiddah (Jeddah)

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

none

Executive branch [time series]

monarch and prime minister, crown prince and deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

23 September 1932 (unification)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Council of Justice

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

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)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

none

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)

Suffrage [time series]

none

Government type (Type) [time series]

monarchy

Birth rate [time series]

39 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

59 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

5,000,000; about 60% are foreign workers; government 34%, industry and oil 28%, services 22%, and agriculture 16%

Languages [time series]

Arabic

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

65 years male, 68 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun - Saudi(s); adjective - Saudi or Saudi Arabian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

trade unions are illegal

Population [time series]

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

Religions [time series]

Muslim 100%

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.7 children born/woman (1992)