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Country Facts - Saudi Arabia

The People

Nationality

Saudi(s)

Ethnic Composition

Arab     90%
Afro-Asian     10%

Religious Composition

Sunni Muslim     85%
Shiite Muslim     15%

Languages Spoken

Arabic.

Education and Literacy

Education is free at all levels, including college and postgraduate work. The literacy rate for males at 71.5 percent is significantly greater than females at 50.2 percent, who nonetheless constitute 43 percent of students. Total literacy is 62.8 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 7 million

By occupation:
Government 40%
Service 30%
Industry, construction, and oil 25%
Agriculture 5%

Note: Only 5 percent of the labor force is female.

Geography

Land Mass Total

756,984 sq mi (1,960,582 sq km)

Land

 756,984 sq mi (1,960,582 sq km)

Water

0 sq mi (0 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 2,753 mi (4,431 km)
Border countries: Iraq 505 mi (814 km), Jordan 462 mi (744 km), Kuwait 137 mi (222 km), Oman 420 mi (676 km), Qatar 37 mi (60 km), UAE 283 mi (457 km), Yemen 905 mi (1,458 km)

Coastline

1,640 mi (2,640 km)

Maritime claim

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

Climate/Weather

Harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature

Terrain

Mostly uninhabited, sandy desert

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Persian Gulf 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Jabal Sawda' 10,278 ft (3,133 m)

Natural Resources

Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper

Land use

Arable land 2%
Permanent crops 0%
Other 98%
(1998)

Natural hazards

Frequent sand and dust storms

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

Geography Note

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

Demographics

Population

23,513,330 (July 2002)
Note: includes 5,360,526 non-nationals

Age structure

0-14 years: 42.4% Male: 5,086,541 Female: 4,883,942
15-64 years: 54.8% Male: 7,493,304 Female: 5,396,985
65 years and over: 2.8% Male: 362,780 Female: 289,778
(2002)))

Growth Rate

3.27% (2002)

Life Expectancy

68.4 years (2002)
Female: 70.2 years
Male: 66.7 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$10,600 (2001)

Infant Mortality

49.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.39 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.25 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.22 male(s)/female
(2002)

Net migration rate

1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade
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 percent of the proved reserves), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75 percent of budget revenues, 45 percent of GDP, and 90 percent of export earnings. About 25 percent 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. Riyadh expects to have a budget deficit in 2002, in part because of increased spending for education and other social programs. 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. GDP growth for 2003 is scheduled to approach 2.9 percent, and the government will reap the benefit of high oil prices in the wake of the conflict in Iraq. The Saudis are expected to increase oil production in 2004 and will push their GDP growth above 3 percent by the end of that year.

Unemployment

N/A

Inflation Rate

1.7% (2001)

Industries

Crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics

Exports

US$66.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$29.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$241 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

US 17.4%, Japan 17.3%, South Korea 11.7%, Singapore 5.3%, India (2000)

Top Import Partners

US 21.1%, Japan 9.4%, Germany 7.4%, UK 7.3% (2000)

Top Exports

Petroleum and petroleum products 90%

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, textiles

Debt - external

US$23.8 billion (2001)

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; pledged $240 million to development in Afghanistan.

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

  Saturday - Thursday (Islamic workweek) Friday
Offices 8a.m. to noon and 3p.m. to 6p.m.;
during Ramadan, 8p.m. to 1a.m.		 Closed
Retail 9a.m. to 1p.m., and 4:30p.m. to 8 or 9p.m. Closed
Banks Saturday to Wednesday 8:30a.m. to 12 noon and 5p.m. to 8p.m.
Thursday 8:30a.m. to noon.
Currency exchange offices remain open longer.		 Closed
Government Saturday to Wednesday 7:30a.m. to 2:30p.m.;
during Ramadan 8p.m. to 1a.m.		 Closed

Note: During Ramadan, business hours are significantly shorter. Important business usually is not done during this period.

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays 2003 2004 2005
Festival of Sacrifice
(Eid Al Adha)¹		 February 12 February 2 January 21
Islamic New Year² March 5 February 22 February 10
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)³ May 14 May 2 April 21
Unification of the Kingdom September 24 September 24 September 24
Start of Ramadan*¹ October 27 October 15 October 4
End of Ramadan
(Eid Al Fitr)*²		 November 26 November 14 November 3

¹ Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
² The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year.  The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons. 
³  The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*¹ Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days.  Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*² Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for 3 days.
Country information used by permission of World Trade Press