Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Background

In 1902, ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. Today, the monarchy is ruled by a son of ABD AL-AZIZ, and the country's Basic Law stipulates that the throne shall remain in the hands of the aging sons and grandsons of the kingdom's founder. 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. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after Operation Desert Storm remained a source of tension between the royal family and the public until the US military's near-complete withdrawal to neighboring Qatar in 2003. The first major terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia in several years, which occurred in May and November 2003, prompted renewed efforts on the part of the Saudi government to counter domestic terrorism and extremism, which also coincided with a slight upsurge in media freedom and announcement of government plans to phase in partial political representation. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns.

Saudi Arabia Information

• Population: 25,795,938 note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Saudi(s) adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
• Location:: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
• Religions:: Muslim 100%
• Ethnic Groups:: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
• Land Boundaries:: total: 4,431 km border countries: Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km
• Area: total: 1,960,582 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 1,960,582 sq km
• Coast Line: 2,640 km
• Climate: harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes
• Terrain: mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
• Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: not specified
• Land Use: arable land: 1.67% permanent crops: 0.09% other: 98.24% (2001)
• Environmental 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
• Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
• Highways: total: 151,470 km paved: 45,592 km unpaved: 105,878 km (1999)
• Railways: total: 1,392 km standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (with branch lines and sidings) (2003)
• Ports & Harbours: Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Duba, Jiddah, Jizan, Rabigh, Ra's al Khafji, Mishab, Ras Tanura, Yanbu' al Bahr, Madinat Yanbu' al Sinaiyah
• Airports: 204 (2003 est.)