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| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
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| Capital |
Riyadh |
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| Area |
2,240,000 sq km |
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864,900 sq mi |
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|
 |
| Saudi Arabia: Flag and Anthem |
 Expand |
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| People |
| Population |
28,161,417 (2008 estimate) |
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| Population growth |
| Population growth rate |
1.95 percent (2008 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2025 |
35,668,686 (2025 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2050 |
49,706,851 (2050 estimate) |
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| Population density |
13 persons per sq km (2008 estimate) |
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34 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate) |
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| Urban/rural distribution |
| Share urban |
88 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Share rural |
12 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Largest cities, with population |
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| Riyadh |
5,126,000 (2003 estimate) |
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| Jiddah |
2,801,481 (2004 estimate) |
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| Mecca (Makkah) |
1,294,168 (2004 estimate) |
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| Medina |
918,889 (2004 estimate) |
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| Ethnic groups |
| Arab (including Yemeni) |
95 percent |
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| Other |
5 percent |
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| Languages |
| Arabic (official), English (for business) |
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| Religious affiliations |
| Muslim (official, mostly Sunni Muslim) |
94 percent |
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| Christian |
3 percent |
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| Hindu |
1 percent |
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| Other |
2 percent |
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| Health and Education |
| Life expectancy |
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| Total |
76.1 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Female |
78.2 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Male |
74 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Infant mortality rate |
12 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) |
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| Population per physician |
727 people (2004) |
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| Population per hospital bed |
455 people (2001) |
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| Literacy rate |
| Total |
80.5 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Female |
73.3 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Male |
85.9 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) |
9.3 percent (1999-2000) |
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| Number of years of compulsory schooling |
6 years (2002-2003) |
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| Number of students per teacher, primary school |
12 students per teacher (2002-2003) |
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| Government |
| Form of government |
Monarchy |
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| Head of state |
King |
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| Head of government |
King |
| Legislature |
None |
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90-member Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) was established by the king in 1992, but it has no legislative authority |
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| Voting qualifications |
Adult male citizens age 21 or older (for municipal council elections) |
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| Constitution |
None; governed according to Sharia (Islamic law). The Basic Law of Government was introduced in 1992. |
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| Highest court |
Supreme Council of Justice |
| Armed forces |
Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard |
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| Total number of military personnel |
199,500 (2004) |
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| Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) |
8.9 percent (2003) |
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| First-level political divisions |
13 regions |
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| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) |
$349.1 billion (2006) |
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| GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$14,744.70 (2006) |
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| GDP by economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
3 percent (2006) |
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| Industry |
65 percent (2006) |
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| Services |
32 percent (2006) |
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| Employment |
| Number of workers |
8,438,029 (2006) |
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| Workforce share of economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
5 percent (2002) |
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| Industry |
21 percent (2002) |
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| Services |
74 percent (2002) |
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| Unemployment rate |
6.2 percent (2006) |
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| National budget (U.S.$) |
| Total revenue |
Not available |
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| Total expenditure |
Not available |
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| Monetary unit |
| 1 Saudi riyal (SR), consisting of 100 halalah |
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| Agriculture |
| Wheat, dates, tomatoes, watermelons, barley, sorghum, onions, grapes, citrus fruit; dairy products, poultry |
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| Mining |
| Petroleum, natural gas, limestone, gypsum, marble, clay, salt, gold |
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| Manufacturing |
| Refined petroleum, petrochemicals, plastics, processed food, clothing, fertilizer, cement |
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| Major exports |
| Crude and refined petroleum, petrochemicals |
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| Major imports |
| Transportation equipment, machinery, basic metals, textiles, chemicals, and chemical products, food products, animals and animal products |
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| Major trade partners for exports |
| United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan |
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| Major trade partners for imports |
| United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, and Italy |
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| Energy, Communications, and Transportation |
| Electricity production |
| Electricity from thermal sources |
100 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from hydroelectric sources |
0 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from nuclear sources |
0 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources |
0 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Number of radios per 1,000 people |
321 (1997) |
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| Number of telephones per 1,000 people |
164 (2005) |
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| Number of televisions per 1,000 people |
256 (2000 estimate) |
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| Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people |
7 (2003) |
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| Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people |
59 (1996) |
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| Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people |
151 (1997) |
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| Paved road as a share of total roads |
30 percent (2000) |
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| Sources |
| Basic Facts and People sections |
| Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). |
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| Health and Education section |
| Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). |
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| Government section |
| Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance. |
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| Economy section |
| Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. |
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| Energy, Communication, and Transportation section |
| Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). |
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| Note |
| Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
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