Saudi Arabia

mean elevation:

665 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Persian Gulf; 3133 highest point: Jabal Sawda'

• historically a population that was mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic, the Saudi population has become more settled since petroleum was discovered in the 1930s;
• most of the economic activities - and with it the country's population - is concentrated in a wide area across the middle of the peninsula, from Ad Dammam in the east, through Riyadh in the interior, to Mecca-Medina in the west near the Red Sea

frequent sand and dust storms volcanism:

• despite many volcanic formations, there has been little activity in the past few centuries;
• volcanoes include
  • Harrat Rahat,
  • Harrat Khaybar,
  • Harrat Lunayyir,
  • and Jabal Yar

• 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;
• air pollution;
• waste management

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river;
• extensive coastlines on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea allow for considerable shipping (especially of crude oil) through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal

noun:

Saudi(s)

adjective:

Saudi or Saudi Arabian

0-14 years:

25.74% (male 4,348,227 /female 4,170,944)

15-24 years:

15.58% (male 2,707,229 /female 2,447,519)

25-54 years:

49.88% (male 9,951,080 /female 6,554,525)

55-64 years:

5.48% (male 1,112,743 /female 700,553)

65 years and over:

3.32% (male 586,606 /female 511,687) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

40.9 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

36.6 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

4.3 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

23.2 (2015 est.)

• historically a population that was mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic, the Saudi population has become more settled since petroleum was discovered in the 1930s;
• most of the economic activities - and with it the country's population - is concentrated in a wide area across the middle of the peninsula, from Ad Dammam in the east, through Riyadh in the interior, to Mecca-Medina in the west near the Red Sea

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.15 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.31 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1.21 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.19 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

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

etymology:

• named after the ruling dynasty of the country, the House of Saud;
• the name "Arabia" can be traced back many centuries B.C., the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as "Ar Rabi"

name:

Riyadh

geographic coordinates:

24 39 N, 46 42 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 13 regions (manatiq, singular - mintaqah);
• Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah (Northern Border), Al Jawf, Al Madinah al Munawwarah (Medina), Al Qasim, Ar Riyad (Riyadh), Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern), 'Asir, Ha'il, Jazan, Makkah al Mukarramah (Mecca), Najran, Tabuk

history:

1 March 1992 - Basic Law of Government, issued by royal decree, serves as the constitutional framework and is based on the Qur'an and the life and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (2016)

amendments:

• proposed by the king directly or proposed to the king by the Consultative Assembly or by the Council of Ministers;
• passage by the king through royal decree;
• Basic Law amended many times, last in 2005 (2016)

• Islamic (sharia) legal system with some elements of Egyptian, French, and customary law;
• note - several secular codes have been introduced;
• commercial disputes handled by special committees

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Saudi Arabia; a child born out of wedlock in Saudi Arabia to a Saudi mother and unknown father

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

• 18 years of age;
• restricted to males;
• universal for municipal elections

highest courts:

High Court (consists of the court chief and is organized into circuits with 3-judge panels, except for the criminal circuit, which has a 5-judge panel for cases involving major punishments)

judge selection and term of office:

• High Court chief and chiefs of the High Court Circuits appointed by royal decree upon the recommendation of the Supreme Judiciary Council, a 10-member body of high-level judges and other judicial heads;
• new judges and assistant judges serve 1- and 2-year probations, respectively, before permanent assignment

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeals;
• Specialized Criminal Court, first-degree courts composed of general, criminal, personal status, and commercial courts;
• Labor Court;
• a hierarchy of administrative courts

chief of state:

• King and Prime Minister SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015);
• Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 31 August 1985);
• note - the monarch is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

King and Prime Minister SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015); Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (born 31 August 1985)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch every 4 years and includes many royal family members

elections/appointments:

• none;
• the monarchy is hereditary;
• an Allegiance Council created by royal decree in October 2006 established a committee of Saudi princes for a voice in selecting future Saudi kings

description:

• unicameral Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura (150 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms);
• note - in early 2013, the monarch granted women 30 seats on the Council

note: composition as of 2013 - men 121, women 30, percent of women 19.9%

chief of mission:

Ambassador Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz AL SAUD (since 21 July 2017)

chancery:

601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-3800

FAX:

[1] (202) 944-5983

consulate(s) general:

Houston, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Christopher HENZEL (since 9 January 2017)

embassy:

P.O. Box 94309, Riyadh 4693

mailing address:

American Embassy, Unit 61307, APO AE 09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693

telephone:

[966] (11) 488-3800

FAX:

[966] (11) 488-7360

consulate(s) general:

Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)

• green, a traditional color in Islamic flags, with the Shahada or Muslim creed in large white Arabic script (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);
• design dates to the early twentieth century and is closely associated with the Al Saud family, which established the kingdom in 1932;
• the flag is manufactured with differing obverse and reverse sides so that the Shahada reads - and the sword points - correctly from right to left on both sides

note: the only national flag to display an inscription as its principal design; one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Moldova and Paraguay

name:

"Aash Al Maleek" (Long Live Our Beloved King)

lyrics/music:

Ibrahim KHAFAJI/Abdul Rahman al-KHATEEB

note: music adopted 1947, lyrics adopted 1984

agriculture:

6.7%

industry:

21.4%

services:

71.9% (2005 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

modern system including a combination of extensive microwave radio relays, coaxial cables, and fiber-optic cables (2016)

domestic:

mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing rapidly (2016)

international:

• country code - 966;
• landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks providing connectivity to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US;
• microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan;
• coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan;
• satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) (2016)

• broadcast media are state-controlled;
• state-run TV operates 4 networks;
• Saudi Arabia is a major market for pan-Arab satellite TV broadcasters;
• state-run radio operates several networks;
• multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

12 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 214 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

32,778,827 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,783,086,000 mt-km (2015)

total:

5,410 km (2016)

standard gauge:

5,410 km 1.435-m gauge (with branch lines and sidings) (2016)

total:

221,372 km (2006)

paved:

47,529 km (includes 3,891 km of expressways) (2006)

unpaved:

173,843 km (2006)

total:

357 (2017)

by type:

bulk carrier 5, container ship 1, general cargo 19, oil tanker 31, other 301 (2017)

major seaport(s):

Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Jeddah, King Abdulla, Yanbu'

container port(s) (TEUs):

Ad Dammam (1,785,000), Jeddah (3,956,856), King Abdulla (1,402,225) (2016)

al-Qa'ida (AQ):

• aim(s): oppose the Saudi Islamic monarchy due to its cooperation with the US and the West, particularly US military bases in the Kingdom;
• eradicate US and Western influence and presence from Saudi Arabia

area(s) of operation:

• maintains familial connections but lacks a persistent operational presence;
• probably retains some supporters in the country who could facilitate future operations (April 2018)

al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP):

aim(s): ultimately overthrow the Saudi Islamic monarchy; eradicate US and Western influence and presence from Yemen and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula

area(s) of operation:

maintains familial connections but lacks an operational presence inside Saudi Arabia; operates widely in neighboring Yemen (April 2018);

• Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)-Saudi Arabia: aim(s): replace the Saudi Islamic monarchy with an Islamic state applying ISIS's strict interpretation of Sharia;
• target minority Shia Muslims, Saudi security personnel, and their interests

area(s) of operation:

maintains a recruitment presence; conducts deadly strikes against Saudi security personnel and bombs Shia Muslim mosques, markets, and other places where Shia Muslims gather (April 2018)

refugees (country of origin):

30,000 (Yemen) (2017)

stateless persons:

• 70,000 (2017);
• note - thousands of biduns (stateless Arabs) are descendants of nomadic tribes who were not officially registered when national borders were established, while others migrated to Saudi Arabia in search of jobs;
• some have temporary identification cards that must be renewed every five years, but their rights remain restricted;
• most Palestinians have only legal resident status;
• some naturalized Yemenis were made stateless after being stripped of their passports when Yemen backed Iraq in its invasion of Kuwait in 1990;
• Saudi women cannot pass their citizenship on to their children, so if they marry a non-national, their children risk statelessness

current situation:

• Saudi Arabia is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser extent, forced prostitution;
• men and women from South and East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa who voluntarily travel to Saudi Arabia as domestic servants or low-skilled laborers subsequently face conditions of involuntary servitude, including nonpayment and withholding of passports;
• some migrant workers are forced to work indefinitely beyond the term of their contract because their employers will not grant them a required exit visa;
• female domestic workers are particularly vulnerable because of their isolation in private homes;
• women, primarily from Asian and African countries, are believed to be forced into prostitution in Saudi Arabia, while other foreign women were reportedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution after running away from abusive employers;
• children from South Asia, East Africa, and Yemen are subjected to forced labor as beggars and street vendors in Saudi Arabia, facilitated by criminal gangs

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Saudi Arabia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• government officials and high-level religious leaders demonstrated greater political will to combat trafficking and publically acknowledged the problem – specifically forced labor;
• the government reported increased numbers of prosecutions and convictions of trafficking offenders;
• however, it did not proactively investigate and prosecute employers for potential labor trafficking crimes following their withholding of workers’ wages and passports, which are illegal;
• authorities did not systematically use formal criteria to proactively identify victims, resulting in some unidentified victims being arrested, detained, deported, and sometimes prosecuted;
• more victims were identified and referred to protective services in 2014 than the previous year, but victims of sex trafficking and male trafficking victims were not provided with shelter and remained vulnerable to punishment (2015)

• regularly enforces the death penalty for drug traffickers, with foreigners being convicted and executed disproportionately;
• improving anti-money-laundering legislation and enforcement