Saudi Arabia

• 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

• 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

total:

32.4 years (2024 est.)

male:

34.6 years

female:

29.3 years

• 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

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.42 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.14 male(s)/female

total population:

1.31 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

11.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

12.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

10.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

77.2 years (2024 est.)

male:

75.6 years

female:

78.8 years

total:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

14.3% (2020 est.)

male:

26.5% (2020 est.)

female:

2% (2020 est.)

• 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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

urban population:

85% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.69% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

57.16 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

563.45 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

45.47 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

16,125,701 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

2,418,855 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

15% (2015 est.)

municipal:

3.39 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

1.4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

21.2 billion cubic meters (2020 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)

etymology:

the name derives from the Arabic word "riyadh," meaning "gardens," and refers to various oasis towns in the area that merged to form the city

• 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

• 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

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

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 2017

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

chief of state:

King SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 23 January 2015)

head of government:

Crown Prince and Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 27 September 2022)

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 Shura Council (Majlis Ash-Shura) (150 seats plus a speaker; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms);
• note - in early 2013, the monarch granted women 30 seats on the Council

election results:

composition - men 121, women 30, percentage women 19.9%

highest court(s):

High Court (consists of the court chief and 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 mission:

Ambassador Reema Bint Bandar Bin Sultan AL SAUD (since 8 July 2019)

chancery:

601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-3800

FAX:

[1] (202) 295-3625

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.saudiembassy.net/

consulate(s) general:

Houston, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Michael RATNEY (since 27 April 2023)

embassy:

Riyadh 11564

mailing address:

6300 Riyadh Place, Washington DC 20521-6300

telephone:

[966] (11) 835-4000

FAX:

[966] (11) 488-7360

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://sa.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general:

Dhahran, 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

total World Heritage Sites:

7 (7 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Hegra Archaeological Site (al-Hijr / Madā ͐ in Ṣāliḥ) (c);
• At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah (c);
• Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah (c);
• Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia (c);
• Al-Ahsa Oasis, an Evolving Cultural Landscape (c);
• Ḥimā Cultural Area (c);
• ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid (n);The Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area (c)

• high-income, oil-based Middle Eastern economy;
• OPEC leader;
• diversifying portfolio;
• declining per-capita incomes;
• young labor force;
• key human capital gaps;
• heavy bureaucracy and increasing corruption;
• substantial poverty;
• low innovation economy

Fitch rating:

A (2019)

Moody's rating:

A1 (2016)

Standard & Poors rating: A- (2016)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

2.7% (2023 est.)

industry:

47% (2023 est.)

services:

44.9% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

16.3% (2023 est.)

male:

12.9% (2023 est.)

female:

24.4% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

20.4% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

0.7% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

consumption:

164,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

200 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

164,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

11.113 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

3.649 million bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

258.6 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

121.87 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

121.87 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

9.423 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• Saudi Arabia’s telecom and ICT sectors continue to benefit from the range of programs aimed at diversifying the economy away from a dependence on oil, and establishing a wider digital transformation over the next decade;
• an essential element of this has been the widening reach of 5G networks, which by mid-2021 reached about half of the population and the majority of cities;
• the MNOs have focused investment on upgrading LTE infrastructure and further developing 5G;
• this in part is aimed at generating additional revenue from mobile data services, and also to their contribution to the Vision 2030 program;
• the ongoing pandemic has resulted in more people working and schooling from home during periods of restricted travel;
• this has stimulated growth in mobile data traffic, while the government has encouraged non-cash transactions and so helped develop the vast e-commerce market;
• while Saudi Arabia’s fixed broadband penetration remains relatively low, there has been a concentration of fiber infrastructure and the Kingdom has developed one of the fastest services in the region (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line are 18 per 100 and mobile-cellular subscribership is 126 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 966;
• landing points for the SeaMeWe-3, -4, -5, AAE-1, EIG, FALCON, FEA, IMEWE, MENA/Gulf Bridge International, SEACOM, SAS-1, -2, GBICS/MENA, and the Tata TGN-Gulf submarine cables providing connectivity to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia;
• 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) (2019)

• 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

• the innovative King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (informally known as Ithra, meaning "enrichment") opened on 1 December 2017 in Dhahran, Eastern Region;
• its facilities include a grand library, several museums, an archive, an Idea Lab, a theater, a cinema, and an Energy Exhibit, all which are meant to provide visitors an immersive and transformative experience

number of registered air carriers:

12 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 230

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

39,141,660 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,085,470,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

5,410 km (2016)

standard gauge:

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

total:

221,372 km

paved:

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

unpaved:

173,843 km (2006)

total ports:

16 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

1

small:

7

very small:

8

ports with oil terminals:

10

key ports:

Dammam, Duba, Jiddah, Jizan, Ju Aymah Oil Terminal, Ras Tannurah, Ras Al Khafji, Ras Al Mishab

• continues to maintain a military presence in Yemen;
• has also established and supports several local militias, including the National Shield Forces in Aden and the Amajid Brigade in Abyan (2023)

• Saudi Space Agency (SSA; elevated to agency level from previous Saudi Space Commission or SSC, which was established in 2018);
• King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST; established 1977);
• KACST includes the Space and Aeronautics Research Institute (SARI; established 2000) (2024)

• Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS);
• al-Qa’ida;
• al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

stateless persons:

• 70,000 (2022);
• 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

• regularly sentences drug traffickers to the death penalty, although a moratorium on executions for drug offences has been in place since at least 2020;
• improving anti-money-laundering legislation and enforcement