Geography of Saudia Arabia

Saudi Arabia Geographical Information

Saudi Arabia, monarchy in southwestern Asia, occupying most of the Arabian Penin
sula. Saudi Arabia is bounded on the north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; on the e
ast by the Persian Gulf and Qatar; on the southeast by the United Arab Emirates
and Oman; on the south by the Republic of Yemen; and on the west by the Red Sea
and the Gulf of Aqaba. The country's border with the United Arab Emirates is not
precisely defined. Saudi Arabia has an area of about 2,240,000 sq km (about 864
,900 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Riyadh.
Land and Resources
Considerably more than half the area of Saudi Arabia is desert. Rub' al Khali, k
nown in English as the Great Sandy Desert and as the Empty Quarter, extends over
much of the southeast and beyond the southern frontier. Partially unexplored, R
ub' al Khali has an estimated area of about 650,000 sq km (about 250,000 sq mi).
An extension of the Syrian Desert projects into northern Saudi Arabia, and exte
nding southeast from this region is An Nafd, an upland desert of red sand coverin
g an area of about 57,000 sq km (about 22,000 sq mi). Ad Dhan', a narrow extensi
on of this desert, links An Nafd and Rub' al Khali. A central plateau region, bro
ken in the east by a series of uplifts, extends south from An Nafd. Several wadis
(watercourses), dry except in the rainy season, traverse the plateau region. It
s western limits are delineated by a mountain range extending generally northwes
t and southeast along the eastern edge of the regions of Al Ḩijz (Hejaz) a
nd 'Asr. The highest point in Saudi Arabia, Jabal Sawd' (3,207 m/10,522 ft), is l
ocated in the southwestern portion of the country. Between the range, which has
an average elevation of about 1,200 m (about 4,000 ft), and the Red Sea is a nar
row coastal plain. In the east, along the Persian Gulf, is a low-lying region kn
own as Al Aḩs'. It is underlain by great petroleum deposits.
Climate

Extreme heat and aridity are characteristic of most of Saudi Arabia. The average
temperature range in January is 8 to 20C (47 to 68F) in Riyadh and 19 to 29C (66 to 8
) in Jiddah. The average range in July is 27 to 43C (81 to 109F) in Riyadh and 27to 3
8C (80to 100F) in Jiddah. The Arabian Peninsula is one of the few places in the wor
ld where summer temperatures above 48C (120F) are common, while in winter frost or
snow can occur in the interior and the higher mountains. Precipitation is spars
e throughout the country. Annual rainfall in Riyadh averages 100 mm (4 in) and f
alls almost exclusively between January and May; the average in Jiddah is 54 mm
(2.1 in) and occurs between November and January. Because of the general aridity
, Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers or lakes.
B

Natural Resources

Fertile oases, many of which are the sites of towns and villages, are scattered
through the Saudi Arabian deserts north of Rub' al Khali, and larger tracts of p
asturage are in Ad Dhan' and the plateau region. The great Saudi Arabian oil fie
lds are located in the coastal area adjoining the Persian Gulf. Because of the g
eneral aridity the vegetation is not extensive. Various fruit trees, notably the
date palm, and a wide variety of grains and vegetables thrive in the oases and
in other areas where water is available. The indigenous wildlife includes the an
telope, bustard, fox, gazelle, hyena, ibex, ostrich, panther, pigeon, quail, wil
dcat, wild cow, and wolf.
C

Environmental Issues

Environmental protection is an ancient tradition in Arabia, and special reserves

were known long before the advent of Islam. Today Saudi Arabia has an extensive
system of protected areas, including one national park, a number of nature rese
rves, and several classes of special-use areas. Some protection has been extende
d to sensitive marine habitats off the coasts.
Saudi Arabia is mostly desert. Only 0.1 percent (1995) is forested, although the
government conducts a reforestation program. Livestock grazing represents the l
argest environmental threat to the sparse natural vegetation. A high population
growth rate has put extreme pressure on the delicate arid environments of the in
terior and created concern over the management of scarce resources, especially w
ater. Underground aquifers are overdrafted, and the government has spent huge su
ms on desalinization plants to provide artificially processed fresh water.
Saudi Arabia is one the world's largest producers of petroleum products and suff
ers a number of related problems, including oil spills on land and off its coast
s. Marshes and other sensitive marine habitats, especially in the Persian Gulf,
have been in decline for decades because of oil pollution. They are important no
t only as rare habitat but as key elements in the ecology of commercially harves
ted fish and shrimp. The 1991 Persian Gulf War caused catastrophic damage to som
e of these areas.
For a country largely composed of desert, Saudi Arabia has fairly rich biodivers
ity. Eighteen percent of its invertebrate animals, seven of its nine amphibians,
and all of its indigenous freshwater fish are found nowhere else. There are an
estimated 3,500 species of plants and 59 terrestrial mammals, 19 of which are en
dangered, vulnerable, or rare. Government-sponsored wildlife teams are working t
o increase populations of threatened houbara bustards and Arabian oryx. In addit
ion, there are 413 recorded species of birds, 11 of which are rare or endangered
.
Saudi Arabia participates in international environmental agreements pertaining t
o climate change, hazardous wastes, and ozone layer protection. Regionally, the
country has committed itself to the cooperative protection of shared marine envi
ronments in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.
The resident population of Saudi Arabia is composed mainly (82 percent) of Arabs
whose ancestors have lived in the area for many centuries. A substantial minori
ty (13 percent) consists of Yemenis and other Arabs who came to Saudi Arabia aft
er the 1950s because of the economic opportunities the country afforded. Nomads,
known as Bedouins, make up a declining proportion of the population, and the nu
mber of settled residents has also decreased. In the early 1990s, 27 percent of
the people in the country were nonresident foreign workers, primarily from Asia
and Africa. By 2000 an estimated 86 percent of the population was urban. The nat
ional language is Arabic. Virtually all Saudis are Muslims. The great majority a
re of the Sunni sect, although some Shia Muslims live in the east (Sunni Islam;
Shia Islam). The Wahhabi sect, comprised of reformers who settled in Arabia duri
ng the 18th century and who have sought to purify and simplify the practice of I
slam, has greatly influenced the Sunnis of Saudi Arabia.
Population Characteristics
According to the 1992 census, Saudi Arabia had a population of 16,929,294. The 2
002 estimate is 23,513,330, yielding an average population density of 10 persons
per sq km (27 per sq mi).
Principle Cities
The capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh. Other important cities include Jiddah, a

port city on the Red Sea; Mecca, one of the great Muslim pilgrimage centers; Med
ina, a holy city and cultural center of Islam; and Ad Dammm, an oil center on th
e Persian Gulf. In the 1980s two large new industrial centers, Al Jubayl, on the
Persian Gulf, and Yanbu' al Baḩr, on the Red Sea, were built at an estima
ted cost of more than $45 billion.
Education
Education in Saudi Arabia is free but not compulsory. In the 1998-1999 school ye
ar the country had 11,506 primary schools with a total enrollment of 2.3 million
pupils; secondary schools enrolled 1.8 million students. Some 94 percent of Sau
di adults were literate in 2001, a dramatic increase from the less than 3 percen
t literacy rate in the early 1960s. In recent decades, teacher-training institut
es have been established with the aim of reducing the country's great dependence
on other Arab countries for teachers. King Saud University was founded as the U
niversity of Riyadh in 1957; the Islamic University, in Medina, in 1961; King Ab
dulaziz University, in Jiddah, in 1967; King Faisal University, in Ad Dammm, in
1975; and Umm al-Qura University, in Mecca, in 1979. Founded in Riyadh in 1953,
the Islamic University of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud attained university status in 1
974. Three other institutions for advanced learning are the Technical Institute
(1964), at Riyadh, the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (1963), at
Dhahran, and a college of Islamic studies, founded in 1933, at Mecca. Additiona
l institutes for religious training are located in Riyadh and other cities and t
owns. Instruction at the higher levels is frequently in English, which, after Ar
abic, is Saudi Arabia's major language. Altogether, some 349,600 Saudis were enr
olled in institutions of higher education in 1998-1999. Every year a number of q
ualified young Saudis enroll for advanced study in Europe and the United States.
Economy
Agriculture and livestock raising have historically been the basic economic acti
vities of Saudi Arabia, but since the development of the oil industry, the gover
nment has sought to diversify its industrial base and improve its basic economic
structure, developing roads, airports, seaports, and the power industry. Throug
h a sharp increase in oil prices beginning in 1973, Saudi Arabia began to amass
a tremendous cash reserve. The government used its newfound wealth to transform
its economy at a rate almost without precedent in modern history. A lack of trai
ned and skilled labor was partially offset by millions of guest workers. By the
mid-1980s, however, oil prices were in decline as a system of production quotas
created by oil-exporting nations began to break down, and high prices encouraged
exploration and development of oil reserves elsewhere. Saudi Arabia began to sp
end more than it took in, drawing down its cash reserves. By the mid-1990s conti
nued declines in oil sales forced the Saudi government to reduce expenditures. R
esidents anticipated a reduction in government subsidies on telephone calls and
public services, and consideration was given to privatization of some government
assets.
The estimated annual budget in the mid-1990s included revenues of about $39 bill
ion and expenditures of about $50 billion. Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product
(GDP) in 2000 was $173.3 billion. The government was the largest employer in Sa
udi Arabia in the mid-1990s, engaging about 34 percent of the workforce. Industr
y employed 28 percent, including 5 percent in the oil industry, while 22 percent
were in trade and other services, and 16 percent in agriculture or fishing.
Communications
Saudi Arabia has 1 daily newspapers, some of which are published in English. The
government operates radio and television broadcasting services, and in 1997 the
re were 321 radio receivers and 262 television sets for every 1,000 residents. I
n 2000 Saudi Arabia had 137 telephone mainlines per 1,000 people.

Government
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Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. The government is based on the Sharia, the sacred la
w of Islam, which is interpreted according to the strict Hanbali rite by the lea
rned religious elders, or ulama. Saudi Arabia has no formal constitution; howeve
r, in March 1992 a series of royal decrees established a bill of rights, increas
ed the powers of provincial governments, and provided for a Consultative Council
(Majlis al-Shura), to be appointed by the king.
Executive and Legislature
The chief government and religious official of Saudi Arabia is a king. Successio
n to the office is not hereditary, and the crown prince, who succeeds the king,
is chosen from among the Saud royal family by the family in consultation with re
ligious and government leaders. The king usually also serves as Saudi Arabia's p
rime minister. The royal family and a few other prominent families provide most
higher government officials. The king's power is effectively determined by his p
ersonality and his interaction with the leading families and religious officials
of the country. Saudi Arabia has no separate legislature or political parties.
Laws are issued by the king and his ministers. In 1992 King Fahd established the
Consultative Council, a body of 60 members selected by the king as advisers.The
council has no legislative powers. In 1997 its membership was increased to 90.
Judiciary
The judicial system of Saudi Arabia is based on the Sharia, which is derived fro
m the Qur'an (Koran) (the holy book of Islam) and the Sunna (traditions) of the
prophet Muhammad. The principal tribunals of the country are the Supreme Council
of Justice, the Court of Cassation, general courts, and summary courts.
Local Government
Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 administrative districts. Large cities elect the
ir own municipal governments. Towns and villages are governed by councils of eld
ers.
Defense
Since the mid-1960s Saudi Arabia's defense expenditures have increased dramatica
lly. The country maintains two separate armies. The first is the national guard,
or the white guard, which is a conglomeration of tribal levies organized along
traditional lines and has about 77,000 active members. In 2001 the regular armed
forces included an army of 75,000 soldiers, an air force of 20,000, a navy of 1
5,500, and an air defense force. These forces, trained in part with U.S. assista
nce, are equipped with modern weapons and advanced aircraft.

Category : Geography
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