Saudi Arabia
Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaAl Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
monarchyIndependence 23 September 1932 (unification)
Saudi Arabia as the 2000 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 109 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
In 1902 Abdul al-Aziz Ibn SAUD captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian peninsula. In the 1930s, the discovery of oil transformed the country. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all major governmental concerns.
Geography
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
18 fieldsLand useshare of 1,960,582 sq km
Environment - current issues
- desertification;
- depletion of underground water resources;
- the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities;
- coastal pollution from oil spills
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
- signed, but not ratified:
- none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2000 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 43% (male 4,781,695; female 4,607,038)
- 15-64 years:
- 55% (male 7,093,567; female 4,969,848)
- 65 years and over:
- 2% (male 309,638; female 261,720) (2000 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.43 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 1.18 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.24 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Government
Monarchy; King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982); King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982)
18 fieldsCountry name
- conventional long form:
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- conventional short form:
- Saudi Arabia
- local long form:
- Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
- local short form:
- Al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
Administrative divisions
- 13 provinces (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah);
- Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province), 'Asir, Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk
Constitution
governed according to Shari'a (Islamic law); the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was introduced in 1993
Legal system
- based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been introduced;
- commercial disputes handled by special committees;
- has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982);
- Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (half-brother to the monarch, heir to the throne since 13 June 1982, regent from 1 January to 22 February 1996);
- note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
- head of government:
- King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982);
- Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (half-brother to the monarch, heir to the throne since 13 June 1982, regent from 1 January to 22 February 1996);
- note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers is appointed by the monarch and includes many royal family members
- elections:
- none; the monarch is hereditary
Legislative branch
a consultative council (90 members and a chairman appointed by the monarch for four-year terms)
International organization participation
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BIS, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador BANDAR bin Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud
- chancery:
- 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 342-3800
- consulate(s) general:
- Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Wyche FOWLER, Jr.
- embassy:
- Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh
- mailing address:
- American Embassy Riyadh, Unit 61307, APO AE 09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693
- telephone:
- [966] (1) 488-3800
- FAX:
- [966] (1) 488-7360
- consulate(s) general:
- Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)
Flag description
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
This is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities.
31 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(1998 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
This is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world (26% of the proved total), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 40% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings.
About 35% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 4 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and service sectors. Saudi Arabia was a key player in the successful efforts of OPEC and other oil producing countries to raise the price of oil in 1999 to its highest level since the Gulf War by reducing production.
Although oil prices are expected to remain relatively high in 2000, Riyadh expects to have a $7.5 billion budget deficit in part because of increased spending for education and other social problems. The government in 1999 announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies, which follows the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications company.
The government is expected to continue calling for private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Shortages of water and rapid population growth will constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products.
Industries
crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics
Economic aid - donor
pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon; since 1993, Saudi Arabia has committed $208 million for assistance to the Palestinians
Communications
8 fieldsTelephones - mobile cellular
1 million
note: in 1998, the government contracted for the installation of 575,000 additional Group Speciale Mobile (GSM) cellular telephone lines over 15 months to raise the total number of subscribers to more than one million;
Riyadh planned to further expand the GSM system in 1999 by adding an additional one million lines (1998)
Telephone system
modern system
- domestic:
- extensive microwave radio relay and coaxial and fiber-optic cable systems
- international:
- 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;
- satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Pipelines
- crude oil 6,400 km;
- petroleum products 150 km;
- natural gas 2,200 km (includes natural gas liquids 1,600 km)
Ports and harbors
Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Duba, Jiddah, Jizan, Rabigh, Ra's al Khafji, Mishab, Ras Tanura, Yanbu' al Bahr, Madinat Yanbu' al Sinaiyah
Merchant marine
- total:
- 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,071,003 GRT/1,388,802 DWT
- ships by type:
- cargo 12, chemical tanker 7, container 5, liquified gas 1, livestock carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 4, roll-on/roll-off 12, short-sea passenger 8 (1999 est.)
Military
Land Force (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary)
7 fieldsMilitary branches
Land Force (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- large section of boundary with Yemen not defined;
- location and status of boundary with UAE is not final, de facto boundary reflects 1974 agreement;
- Kuwaiti ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim islands is disputed by Saudi Arabia;
- June 1999 agreement has furthered the goal of definitively establishing the border with Qatar
Illicit drugs
death penalty for traffickers; increasing consumption of heroin and cocaine [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Saudi Arabia.” The World Factbook 2000. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/saudi-arabia/2000.