OFFICIAL NAME: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Absolute Monarchy
AREA: 2,331,000 Sq Km (900,004 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000 POPULATION: 21,140,400
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY: Saudi Arabia is located on the Arabia
Peninsula and comprises around 80% of it. It is bound by
the Red Sea to the west, Egypt and Jordan to the northeast,
Iraq and Kuwait to the north, the Persian Gulf, Qatar and
the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast
and south as well as Yemen to the south and southwest. The
country is divided into four geographical regions (1.) The
Red Sea escarpment, from Hejaz in the north to Asir in the
south. (2.) The central plateau which extends to the Tuwaiq
Mountains and further. (3.) The sand deserts of Dahana and
Nafud. (4.) The Rub al-Khali Desert, which is the largest
sand desert in world. The country has no permanent rivers
or bodies of water. Major Cities (pop. est.); Riyadh 1,300,000,
Jidda 1,250,000, Mecca 55,000 (1980). Land Use; forested
0.5%, pastures 56%, agricultural-cultivated 1.5%, desert
and other 42% (1993).
CLIMATE: Saudi Arabia has a hot and dry climate with frost and
freezing temperatures in winter while the Red Sea coast experiences high
humidity and temperatures. Rainfall is sparse with an average annual precipitation
of approximately 100 mm (4 inches). The prevailing winds are severe dust
storms such as the southerly Kauf and the northwesterly Shamal. Average
temperature ranges in Riyadh are from 8 to 21 degrees Celsius (46 to 70
degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 26 to 42 degrees Celsius (79 to 108 degrees
Fahrenheit) in July.
PEOPLE: The principal ethnic majority are the Arabs who account
for 90% of the population. The remainder consist of Black Africans, Javanese,
Indians, Pakistanis and Egyptians.
DEMOGRAPHIC/VITAL STATISTICS: Density; 7 persons per sq km (17
persons per sq mi) (1991). Urban-Rural; 77.3% urban, 22.7% rural (1990).
Sex Distribution; 54.4% male, 45.6% female (1990). Life Expectancy at Birth;
61.7 years male, 65.2 years female (1990). Age Breakdown; 43% under 15,
25% 15 to 29, 19% 30 to 44, 8% 45 to 59, 4% 60 to 74, 1% 75 and over (1990).
Birth Rate; 42.1 per 1,000 (1990). Death Rate; 7.6 per 1,000 (1990). Increase
Rate; 34.5 per 1,000 (1990). Infant Mortality Rate; 108.6 per 1,000 live
RELIGIONS: The official religion is Islam with 85% of the population
Sunni Muslims while 14% are Shiite Muslims. Christians account for less
than 1% of the population and are the largest religious minority.
LANGUAGES: The official language is Arabic, although English
is also widely understood.
EDUCATION: Aged 25 or over and having attained: no formal schooling
31.8%, primary, secondary or higher 68.2% (1986). Literacy; literate population
aged 15 or over 62.4% (1990).
MODERN HISTORY - WWII TO 1993: In Nov. 1953 King Ibn Saud died
and was acceded by his son Crown Prince Saud. In 1956 King Saud provided
financial support and invoked the first oil embargo against Britain and
France. In 1964 Saud was forced to abdicate and was acceded by his brother,
Faisal. From 1962 to 1967 Saudi Arabia supported the Monarchists in North
Yemen's civil war and in 1967 Saudi Arabia supported Egypt, Jordan and
Syria in the "Six Day War" against Israel. During the early 1970's
King Faisal introduced socio-economic policies which included the abolishment
of slavery and opportunities for women in employment and education. In
1973 Saudi Arabia invoked another oil embargo on the US and other Western
nations after another Arab-Israeli war broke out. As a result, oil prices
quadrupled. On Mar. 25, 1975 King Faisal was assassinated by his nephew
and was acceded by his half brother, Prince Khalid. In Nov. 1979 during
the Haj or pilgrimage to the Great Muslim Mosque at Mecca, it was occupied
by some fanatical Wahhabi Muslims which resulted in the death of 102 rebels
and 27 Saudi security forces over the two weeks of ensuing conflict. In
Jan. 1980, 63 of the rebels arrested were publicly beheaded. In Dec. 1980
riots took place in the towns of the Shiite Muslims after they were inspired
by the Kohmeini's Shiite Revolution in Iran. In May 1981 Saudi Arabia joined
other East Arabian nations and formed the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
In June 1982 King Khalid died and was acceded by his eldest brother, Prince
Fahd. Since that time King Fahd has built stronger ties with Western nations,
in particular the US. In 1987 the Haj resulted in another 400 or more deaths
as clashes broke out between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi security forces.
In the July 1990 Haj, some 1,500 people died after a stampede occurred
in a pedestrian tunnel leading to Mecca. In Aug. 1990 after Iraq's invasion
of Kuwait, King Fahd agreed to the deployment of US and other Western troops
on his territory. On Jan. 18, 1991 a scud missile launched by Iraq targeted
Dhahran with 10 further scud missiles launched at Riyadh and Dhahran on
Jan. 20-21, 1991. More scud attacks were launched within a few days and
also targeted barracks at al-Khubar in which 28 US soldiers were killed
and 100 injured. On Jan. 17, 1991 Saudi troops actively took part in the
liberation of Kuwait as part of "Operation Desert Storm". During
the Gulf War, Saudi Arabia provided much of the needed financial assistance
and was engaged in a massive clean-up operation of oil after Iraq had deliberately
released several thousand barrels into the Persian Gulf. On Jan. 30, 1991
Saudi troops participated in the liberation of the Ra's al-Khafji, a border
town Iraqi troops briefly occupied. On Mar. 26, 1991 Saudi Arabia resumed
diplomatic ties with Iran following a three year absence. On July 11, 1991
a Nigerian chartered DC-8 crashed near Jiddah airport killing all 261 aboard.
On July 20, 1991 the Saudi government announced a proposal to lift the
Arab boycott of Israel if their government ordered a halt of Jewish settlement
of the occupied territories. On Sept. 25, 1991 Prince Khalid ibn Sultan
Adb al-Aziz the commander of Saudi and Islamic forces retired from active
service and received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II on
Nov. 15, 1991. On Dec. 30, 1991 King Fahd announced that the establishment
of a consultative council would begin in Feb. 1992. In 1992 King Fahd maintained
his commitment to political reform, despite open attacks from the religious
establishment. On Feb. 22, 1992 Prince Sa'ud al-Faisal signed diplomatic
relation protocols with the former USSR Islamic republics of Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. On March 1, 1992 King Fahd established a 60-member
Consultative Council (Majlis ash-Shura) to advise on political reforms
and ordered a devolution of power to local councils, the establishment
of basic law to strengthen civil and religious legislation, and rules for
royal succession for second-generation princes. In April 1992 the Saudi
government warned Yemen-based oil exploration companies that they were
operating within Saudi territory. In Sept. 1992 Saudi Arabia banned the
importation of Jordanian fresh produce alleging contamination. On Sept.
23, 1992 King Fahd inaugurated Sheik Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Jubair as
the Consultative Council's first speaker. On Sept. 30, 1992 Saudi troops
attacked a Qatari border post at Khofous killing two soldiers that led
the Qatari government to abrogate a 1965 border agreement. In Nov. 1992
King Fahd dismissed several members of the council of religious scholars
(ulema) and replaced them with 17 younger clerics after they failed to
condemn a petition signed by 107 scholars and clerics calling on the government
to adhere to strict Islamic law and accusing it of wasting billions of
dollars. In Dec. 1992 Qatar and Saudi Arabia signed another border agreement
that ended the tense relations, and Saudi Arabia threatened to supply weapons
to Bosnian Muslims unless the UN acted to end the hostilities there. Also
in 1992 relations with the US were uncertain following the Bush administrations
approval of the sale of 72 F-15 fighter to Saudi Arabia, although the President-elect
Bill Clinton cautioned that before he would endorse the sale he would need
to be confident that Israel maintained its military superiority within
the region. In Jan. 1993 King Fahd permitted the US to use Saudi bases
to operate air strikes against Iraq and on Jan. 28, 1993 the UK confirmed
the sale of 48 Tornado aircraft to Saudi Arabia. On May 9, 1993 religious
fundamentalist members belonging to the Committee for Defense of Legitimate
Rights called on the government and King Fadh to safeguard the rights of
Islamic (Shariah) law, although the Council of Ulema declared the committee's
declaration illegal and reminded Saudis of their duty to obey the King
and Ulema. On May 20, 1993 the committee declared its loyalty to the government
following the arrest and detention of several leaders. In May 27, 1993
police banned a planned protest by Iranian Haj pilgrims, although on June
1, 1993 demonstrators gathered to announce anti-Israeli and anti-American
slogans. In July 1993 Abdullah ibn Amr Nassif was appointed vice chairman
of the Consultative Council and on Aug. 20, 1993 a law was published that
covered the operations of the Council and rules governing the conduct of
the Council of Ministers (Cabinet). On Sept. 16, 1993 King Fahd announced
a decree that confirmed the organization of the kingdom into 13 regions
governed by Emirs. Also in 1993 King Fahd divided the Ministry of Pilgrimage
and Religious Trusts into two ministries in an attempt to strengthen the
official religious establishment against the rising challenge of fundamentalists.
CURRENCY: The official currency is the Riyal (SRls) divided into
5 Qurushes and 100 Halalahs.
ECONOMY: Gross National Product; USD $173,100,000,000 (1994).
Public Debt; USD $2,893,000,000 (1991). Imports; SRls 87,422,000,000 (1994).
Exports; SRls 170,884,300,000 (1994). Tourism Receipts; USD $2,050,000,000
(1989). Balance of Trade; USD $22,286,000,000 (1994). Economically Active
Population; 5,614,000 or 32.2% of total population (1994). Unemployed;
MAIN TRADING PARTNERS: Its main trading partners are the USA,
Western Europe and Japan.
MAIN PRIMARY PRODUCTS: Alfalfa, Cattle, Crude Oil and Natural Gas,
Dates, Goats, Grapes, Poultry, Sheep, Sorghum, Watermelons, Wheat.
MAJOR INDUSTRIES: Cement, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production and
Refining, Fertilizers, Petrochemicals, Steel.
MAIN EXPORTS: Crude Oil and Refined Products, Natural Gas.
TRANSPORT: Railroads; route length 893 km (555 mi) (1989), passenger-km
121,000,000 (75,186,000 passenger-mi) (1989), cargo ton-km 801,000,000
(548,605,000 short ton-mi) (1989). Roads; length 92,802 km (57,664 mi)
(1988). Vehicles; cars 2,300,000 (1989), trucks and buses 2,000,000 (1989).
Merchant Marine; vessels 311 (1990), deadweight tonnage 2,716,262 (1990).
Air Transport; passenger-km 16,068,000,000 (9,984,000,000 passenger-mi)
(1990), cargo ton-km 609,619,000 (417,528,000 short ton-mi) (1990).
COMMUNICATIONS: Daily Newspapers; total of 10 with a total circulation
for 9 of 579,300 (1992). Radio; receivers 3,800,000 (1994). Television;
receivers 4,700,000 (1994). Telephones; units 1,574,900 (1993).
MILITARY: 105,500 (1995) total active duty personnel with 66.4%
army, 12.8% navy and 20.8% air force while military expenditure accounts
for 11.2% (1994) of the Gross National Product (GNP).
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