Saudi Arabia

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More Facts & Figures

National name: Al-Mamlaka al-'Arabiya as-Sa'udiya

Current government officials

Language: Arabic

Ethnicity/race: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Religion: Islam 100%

Literacy rate: 78.8% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $676.7 billion; per capita $24,000. Real growth rate: 6.5%. Inflation: 5%. Unemployment: 10.9% male only (local bank estimate; some estimates range as high as 25%) (2011 est.). Arable land: 2%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus; mutton, chickens, eggs, milk. Labor force: 7.63 million; note: more than 35% of the population in the 15–64 age group is non-national; agriculture 12%, industry 25%, services 63% (1999 est.). Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals; ammonia, industrial gases, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), cement, fertilizer, plastics; metals, commercial ship repair, commercial aircraft repair, construction. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper. Exports: $350.7 billion (2011 est.): petroleum and petroleum products 90%. Imports: $106.5 billion (2011 est.): machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles. Major trading partners: U.S., Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Germany, UK (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 4.16 million (2009 est.); mobile cellular: 51.56 million (2009 est.). Radio broadcast stations: AM 43, FM 31, shortwave 2 (1998). Radios: 6.25 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 117 (2007). Televisions: 5.1 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9,774,000 (2010). Internet users: 9.774 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 1,378 km (2002). Highways: total: 221,372 km; paved: 47,529 km; unpaved: 173,843 km (2006). Ports and harbors: Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Duba, Jiddah, Jizan, Rabigh, Ra's al Khafji, Mishab, Ras Tanura, Yanbu' al Bahr, Madinat Yanbu' al Sinaiyah. Airports: 217 (2012).

International disputes: nomadic groups on border region with Yemen resist demarcation of boundary; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been negotiating a long-contested maritime boundary with Iran; because the treaties have not been made public, the exact alignment of the boundary with the UAE is still unknown and labeled approximate.

Major sources and definitions