1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature
Coastline
2,510 km
Comparative area
slightly less than one-fourth the size of US
Contiguous zone
18 nm;
Continental shelf
not specific;
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
Environment
no perennial rivers or permanent water bodies; developing extensive coastal seawater desalination facilities; desertification
Exclusive fishing zone
not specific;
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
Land use
1% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 39% meadows and pastures; 1% forest and woodland; 59% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Natural resources
crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Note
extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal
Terrain
mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
2,149,690 km2; land area: 2,149,690 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
37 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
90% Arab, 10% Afro-Asian
Infant mortality rate
71 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
4,200,000; about 60% are foreign workers; 34% government, 28% industry and oil, 22% services, and 16% agriculture
Language
Arabic
Life expectancy at birth
64 years male, 67 years female (1990)
Literacy
52%
Nationality
noun--Saudi(s); adjective--Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Net migration rate
13 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
trade unions are illegal
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
Religion
100% Muslim
Total fertility rate
6.8 children born/woman (1990)
Government
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
Capital
Riyadh
Communists
negligible
Constitution
none; governed according to Sharia (Islamic law)
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; 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)
Elections
none
Executive branch
monarch and prime minister, crown prince and deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers
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
Independence
23 September 1932 (unification)
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)
Legal system
based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
none
Long-form name
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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
National holiday
Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)
Suffrage
none
Type
monarchy
Economy
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)
Budget
revenues $31.5 billion; expenditures $38.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
Currency
Saudi riyal (plural--riyals); 1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100 halalas
Electricity
25,066,000 kW capacity; 50,000 million kWh produced, 3,100 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1--3.7450 (fixed rate since late 1986), 3.7033 (1986), 3.6221 (1985)
Exports
$24.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--petroleum and petroleum products 89%; partners--Japan 26%, US 26%, France 6%, Bahrain 6%
External debt
$18.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$73 billion, per capita $4,720; real growth rate 3.2% (1988)
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%
Industrial production
growth rate 6.1% (1980-86)
Industries
crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, small steel-rolling mill, construction, fertilizer, plastic
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1.5% (1989 est.)
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.
Unemployment rate
0% (1989 est.)
Communications
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
Civil air
182 major transport aircraft available
Highways
74,000 km total; 35,000 km bituminous, 39,000 km gravel and improved earth
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
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
Railroads
886 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
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
Military and Security
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
Defense expenditures
16.9% of GDP, or $12.3 billion (1990 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 6,437,039; 3,606,344 fit for military service; 159,186 reach military age (18) annually