Saudi Arabia Country Overview

In 1902, ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. A son of ABD AL-AZIZ rules the country today, and the country's Basic Law stipulates that the throne shall remain in the hands of the aging sons and grandsons of the kingdom's founder.

Location:
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen

Land boundaries:
total: 4,431 km

border countries:

Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km

Climate:
harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes

Terrain:
mostly uninhabited, sandy desert

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

Nationality:
noun: Saudi(s)
adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian Ethnic groups:
Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Religions:
Muslim 100%

Languages:
Arabic

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 Arabiyah as Suudiyah

Government type:
monarchy

Capital:
Riyadh

Administrative divisions:
13 provinces (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah); Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province), 'Asir, Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk

Independence:
23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)

National holiday:
Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)

Flag description:
green, a traditional color in Islamic flags, with the Shahada or Muslim creed in large white Arabic script (translated as "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God") above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); design dates to the early twentieth century and is closely associated with the Al Saud family which established the kingdom in 1932

Currency (code):
Saudi riyal (SAR)

Exchange rates:
Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.745 (2004), 3.745 (2003), 3.745 (2002), 3.745 (2001), 3.745 (2000)

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