uninhabited, sandy desert

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper

Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 56%
forests and woodland: 1%
other: 41% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,350 sq km (1993 est.)

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

Environment-international agreements:
party to: Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography-note: extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea
provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through
Persian Gulf and Suez Canal

@Saudi Arabia:People

Population: 20,785,955 (July 1998 est.)
note: includes 5,244,058 non-nationals (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 4,547,971; female 4,398,628)
15-64 years: 55% (male 6,738,820; female 4,591,477)
65 years and over: 2% (male 268,136; female 240,923) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.41% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 37.63 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.46 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 41.34 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.03 years
male: 68.19 years
female: 71.96 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.38 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Saudi(s)
adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian

Ethnic groups: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Religions: Muslim 100%

Languages: Arabic

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62.8%
male: 71.5%
female: 50.2% (1995 est.)

@Saudi Arabia:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
conventional short form: Saudi Arabia
local long form: Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
local short form: Al Ara