Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Country Overview
Head of State: King Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'ud
Crown Prince: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'ud
Independence: September 23, 1932 (unification)
Population: 25,795,938
note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)
Location/Size: Between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea/865,000 square miles (about 1/4 the size of the U.S.)
Major Cities: Riyadh (royal capital), Jeddah (administrative capital), Mecca, Medina, Dammam, Jubayl, Buraydah
Language: Arabic
Ethnic Groups: Arab (90%), Afro-Asian (10%)
Religion: Muslim (100%) - predominantly Sunni
Defense (8/96): Army (70,000), Navy (13,500 marines), Air Force (18,000), National Guard (57,000)
Economic Overview
Currency: Riyal
Market Exchange Rate (2/98): US$1 = 3.75 riyals
Gross Domestic Product (GDP - market rate, 1990 U.S. dollars)(1997E): $123.7 billion
Real GDP Growth Rate (1998E): 1.3%-2.4%
Inflation Rate (consumer prices)(1998E): 1.3%-4.0%
Current Account Balance (1997E): -$1.4 billion (estimates vary, with some showing a slight surplus for 1997)
Major Trading Partners: Japan, United States, EC
Trade Balance (1997E): $32.0 billion
Merchandise Exports (1997E): $56.9 billion
Merchandise Imports (1997E): $24.9 billion
Major Exports: Crude oil and petroleum products
Major Imports: Industrial goods, metals, food
Oil Export Revenues (1997E): $50.3 billion
Oil Export Revenues/Total Export Revenues (1997E): 88.3%
Monetary Reserves (11/96, non-gold): $8.2 billion
Society
Population: 25,795,938
Population growth rate: 2.44% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: 29.74 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 2.66 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Ethnic Groups and Languages: All Saudis are Arab Muslims, as are over half the foreigners. In 1990 foreign work force included large numbers of Egyptians, Yemenis, Jordanians, Bahrainis, Pakistanis, Indians, and Filipinos, in that order. Arabic language of all Saudis.
Religion: Strict Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam, the official faith of about 95 percent of Saudis. Remainder are Shia, most of whom reside in vicinity of Al Ahsa and Al Qatif in Eastern Province. Public worship by non-Muslims prohibited.
Education and Literacy: Education system experienced massive growth in 1970s and 1980s. Attendance not compulsory. Females accounted for close to 44 percent of public school student total of 2.6 million in 1989. About 130,000 students in 1989 enrolled in nonvocational institutions of higher learning, 9,000 in vocational institutions; about 4,000 enrolled abroad. Literacy estimated at 62 percent of those over age fifteen in 1990, 73 percent for males and 48 percent for females.
Health: Infant mortality declining, twenty-one per 1,000 births in Ministry of Health hospitals in 1990. Immunization of infants and young children compulsory. Health care facilities underwent huge expansion in 1970s and 1980s. Official policy to provide comprehensive medical care free or at nominal fee. Introduction of epidemic control system in 1986 eliminated cholera, plague, and yellow fever. Incidence of malaria and bilharzia reduced to 1.6 and 1.9 percent respectively of total 1988 population. Despite trachoma campaigns, disease remained a major cause of blindness.
Economy
Budget: Latest available budget is for FY 1993 (December 31, 1992, to December 30, 1993). Revenues: SR169 billion (US$45.1 billion); expenditures: SR197 billion (US$52.6 billion); budget deficit: SR28 billion (US$7.5 billion). Persistent budget deficits since early 1980s; estimated government domestic debt at end 1992 was SR213 billion (US$57.0 billion).
Gross Domestic Product: purchasing power parity - $287.8 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.3% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $11,800 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.7%
industry: 58.8%
services: 36.5% (2003 est.)
Oil Industry: Largest crude oil producer in the world (8.4 million barrels per day in 1992) and largest crude oil exporter (7.0 million barrels per day in 1992). World's largest crude oil reserves (261 billion barrels at end 1990, about 25.8 percent of the world's reserves) and reserves to current production ratio of 83.6 years. Rapidly increased production and exports following United Nations embargo on Iraq and Kuwait in August 1990. Began major production capacity expansion plan in 1989 with intent to raise sustainable crude oil output capacity to between 10.5 million and 11 million barrels per day by 1995. Also initiated refinery upgrading program in 1991.
Oil - production: 8.711 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 1.452 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 7.92 million bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports: 0 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - proved reserves: 261.7 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics
Agriculture: After decade of massive government incentives, agricultural sector accounted for about 10 percent of GDP in 1990, up from under 1 percent of GDP in 1982. Rapid growth in output led to some food self-sufficiency (particularly food grains) but caused depletion of scarce underground water resources.
Exports: $86.53 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) Exports – commodities include: petroleum and petroleum products 90% Exports – partners include: US 20.9%, Japan 15.6%, South Korea 9.8%, China 5.6%, Singapore 4.2% (2003 est.)
Imports: $30.38 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) Imports – commodities include: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles Imports – partners include: US 9.5%, Japan 7.7%, Germany 7.4%, UK 6.2%, China 4.4%, France 4.2% (2003 est.)
Exchange rates: Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.745 (2003), 3.745 (2002), 3.745 (2001), 3.745 (2000), 3.745 (1999)
Transportation And Communications
Railways:
total: 1,392 km
standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (with branch lines and sidings) (2003)
Highways:
total: 151,470 km
paved: 45,592 km
unpaved: 105,878 km (1999)
Pipelines: condensate 212 km; gas 837 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,187 km; oil 5,062 km; refined products 69 km (2003)
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: Three international airports in Jiddah, Riyadh, and Dhahran.
Telecommunications: Good modern system with radio-relay, coaxial cable, and satellite facilities; network expanding. 1.6 million telephones in 1991; more than forty AM radio, and more than 100 television stations; five International Telecommunications Satellite Corporation (Intelsat) and two Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) ground stations.
Government And Politics
Government: Absolute monarchy that based legitimacy on fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law. King head of state and head of government; no written constitution or elected legislature. Crown prince deputy prime minister; other royal family members headed important ministries and agencies. Political system highly centralized; judiciary and local officials appointed by king through Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior.
Politics: Political parties, labor unions, and professional associations banned. Informal political activity centered around estimated 4,000 princes of Al Faisal branch of Al Saud ruling family. On important policy matters, king sought consensus among senior princes of major Al Saud clans. King also consulted senior ulama (religious scholars) of Al ash Shaykh family and leaders of main tribal families. Western-educated professional and technocratic elite had restricted influence through alliances with various Saudi princes.
Foreign Relations: Founding member of United Nations (UN), League of Arab States, Organization of the Islamic Conference, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Participated in UN specialized agencies, World Bank, Nonaligned Movement, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries. Security, Arab nationalism, and Islam main foreign policy concerns. Objective to prevent radical Arab nationalist or radical Islamic movements from threatening stability of Arabian Peninsula. Most active Arab participant in war against Iraq, 1991. Historically had close ties with United States, despite differences over Israel. Closest regional allies fellow members of GCC and Egypt.
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