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SAUDI
ARABIA – AT A GLANCE
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Geography:
| Location |
Middle
East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea north
of
Yemen |
| Area |
2.25
million sq. kms |
| Border
countries |
Iraq
814 km, Jordan 728 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km,
Qatar
60 km, UAE
457 km, 1,458 km
|
| Coastline |
2,640
kms |
| Climate |
harsh,
dry desert with great extremes of temperature |
| Terrain |
mostly
uninhabited, sandy desert |
| Natural
resources |
petroleum,
natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper |
People
| Population
(2003 est.) |
24.06
Million (Growth rate 2.9%)
Males
– 13.21 million; Females – 10.85 million
Saudi
- 17.93 million (growth rate 3.3%)
Non-Saudi
–
6.14 million (growth rate 1.7%)
Fertility
rate: 6.2 children born/women (2003) |
| Age
structure |
0-14
Years: 39.71%
(male
4,878,200; female 4,678,000)
15-64
Years: 57.89%
(male
8,065,800; female 5,863,200)
65
years and above: 2.4%
(male
270,800; female 308,000)
|
| Average
wage of workers |
SR
2461 per month (2001) |
| Average
Wages by nationality |
Saudi
SR 6560 (2001)
Non-Saudi
SR 1722 (2001) |
Government
| Capital |
Riyadh |
| Administrative
divisions |
13
provinces Al Baha, Al Hofuf, Al
Jawf,
Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Ar Riyad
Ash
Sharqiyah, Asir, Hail, Jizan,
Makkah,
Najran, Tabuk |
| Independence
(National Holiday) |
23
September, 1932
|
| Constitution |
Governed
according to Sharia
(Islamic
Law). |
| Legal
System |
based
on Islamic Law, several secular
codes
have been introduces; commercial
disputes
handled by special committees;
Has
not accepted compulsory ICJ Jurisdiction |
| Executive
branch |
Head
of State & Head of Government:
King
and Prime Minister, & Custodian
of the two Holy Mosques Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz al Saud (since 13
June 1982);
Crown
Prince and
First
Deputy Prime Minister
Abdallah
bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud |
| Legislative
branch |
Legislation
through royal decrees.
Consultative
Council of 120 members
and
a Chairman appointed by the Monarch for
Four-year
terms. |
| Judicial
branch |
Supreme
Council of Justice |
|
Economy
The Saudi
economy rests primarily on oil revenues. Its crude oil reserves, amounting to
259.40 billion barrels, are estimated to be
25% of the world’s known reserves. Its natural gas
reserves at 200 trillion cubic
feet are 4% of world reserves.
The average daily output of oil during the year 2002
was around 7.09 mbd.
The petroleum sector accounts for 78 %
of total revenues, 37.5 % of
the Gross Domestic Product and 88% of export earnings.
About 41 % of the GDP is generated by the private
sector.
The Kingdom, under its "Saudization policy", has
undertaken to reduce its dependence on foreign labour in key
sectors by progressively replacing expatriate workers (around 3.6
million) by Saudis. During the last few years, the Kingdom has
been introducing changes in its trade, investment and taxation
regulations to make itself an attractive investment destination as
also to pave
the way for its accession to the WTO. The Saudi Arabian General
Investment Authority (SAGIA), set up in May 2001 provides
“fast-track” approvals for investment in different sectors,
including setting up of 100 % foreign owned entities. |
Economic
indicators:
| Per
capita income |
$ 7,970 |
| GDP |
$211.2 billion |
| GDP
real growth rate |
6.4
% |
| GDP
private sector real growth rate |
3.4% |
| Oil
Reserves |
259.40 billion barrels |
| Natural
Gas Reserves |
6531 billion Cubic Meters
|
| Production
of Crude Oil |
2589 million barrels (average 7.09 million
barrels per day) |
| Production
of petrochemicals |
29.6 million tons |
| Oil
refining |
1.6 million barrels per day |
| Number
of producing factories |
11622 |
| Industrial
investment |
$
46 billion |
| Electricity
generation capacity |
24,768 Megawatts |
| Electricity
Consumption |
128.63
Megawatts/hour |
| Voltage |
110v/60Hz
& 220/50Hz |
| Water
supply from Desalination plants |
1,021.5
Million Cubic Meters
|
| Agricultural
/ poultry products |
wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons,
dates, citrus, mutton, chicken, eggs,
milk |
| Total
Exports |
$71.57 billion |
| Total
Exports of oil and oil products |
$62.93 billion (87.9%) |
| Export
- partners |
Japan. US. South Korea, India
and Singapore |
| Imports |
$32.27 billion |
| Imported
commodities |
Machinery
& equipment,
Foodstuff, Chemicals and metals,
Textiles and clothing, Motor vehicles,
Jewellery and ornaments |
| Imports
– partners |
US,
Japan, Germany, UK,
Italy,
France, China, Australia,
South Korea and India |
| |
|
Industries:
Main industries are in the field of crude oil production, petroleum
refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics
etc.
Budget
2004
| Total budget |
SR 430 billion ($114.66 billion) |
| Project Revenues |
SR 200 billion ($53.33 billion) |
| Projected expenditures |
SR 230 billion ($61.33 billion) |
| Deficit |
SR 30 billion ($8 billion) |
Sectoral
allocations
| Education |
SR
63.7 billion ($16.98 billion) (28%) |
| Health |
SR
24.3 billion ($6.48 billion) (11%) |
| Municipality
projects |
SR
8.6 billion ($2.29 billion) (4%) |
| Transport
& Communication |
SR
7.3 billion($1.95 billion) (3%) |
| Infrastructure
including Water, Industry & Agriculture |
SR
15.1 billion ($4.02 billion) (7%) |
| Other
sectors |
SR
111 billion
(47%) |
Growth
of private sector GDP
:
3.7%
Growth
of non-oil sector
: 3.9%
Growth
in Construction sector
: 2.8%
Electricity,
gas and water
:
6.2%
Transport
and communication
: 4.3%
Wholesale,
retail, restaurants and hotels
:
4.4%
New
sectors opened for privatization
: Water
and water treatment, airports, roads,
railroads, education, health & social services.
Currency
:
Saudi Riyal (SR)
Exchange
Rate
:
$1 = SR 3.7450 (fixed
rate since 6/86)
Fiscal
year
:
Calendar year
Communications
Telephone
lines - fixed
:
3.3 million (2002)
Telephone
– mobile cellular
:
5.0 million (2002)
Internet
country code
:
Sa
Internet
service providers (ISPs)
:
21 (2003)
Internet
users
:
1.6 million (2002)
Telephone
Codes
:
01 Riyadh;
02 Jeddah, Makkah, Taif
03 Dammam, Dhahran,
Jubail, Hofuf
04 Yanbu, Tabuk, Madinah
05 Cellular
06 Hail, Al Qaseem, Al Majmaa’h
07 Abha, Najran
Transportation
Ports
and harbors
Ad Dammam, Al Jubail, Duba, Jeddah, Jizan, Rabigh, Ra's al Khafji,
Mishab, Ras Tanura, Yanbu' al Bahr, Madinat Yanbu' as-Sinaiyah.
Railways
:
1392 kms (2001)
Highways
:
151,800 kms
Length
of asphalted roads
:
45,572.3 kms (2002)
Length
of earth surfaced roads
:
114,505.3 kms (2002)
No
of registered vehicles
:
9.1 million
Major
ports
: Jeddah,
Dammam, Jubail, & Yanbu
Volume
of imports and exports handled at the ports
:
104.2 million metric tons
Airports
:
27, of which three
are international Airports: Jeddah, Riyadh
and Dhahran
Others:
Health
facilities
:
Health centers
:
1,786 (2002)
Hospitals
:
324 (2002)
Beds
:
46,600 (2002)
Physicians
:
32,000 (2002)
Private dispensaries
:
744 (2002)
Number
of hotels
:
861 (2002)
Number
of rooms
:
142,000 (2002)
Number
of cement companies
:
8
Cement
production
:
23.3 million tons (2002)
Cement
consumption
:
20.5 million tons (2002)
Cement
exports
:
2.9 million tons (2002)
Industrial
Cities
:
Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam,
Aseer, Makkah, Al-Qassim, Al-Ahsa,
Al-Jouf, Najran Jubail and Yanbu.
General
Largest
cities (2003):
:
Riyadh, 3,724,100;
Jeddah, 2,745,000;
Makkah, 1,614,800
Ethnicity/race
:
Arab 90%; Afro-Asian 10%
Religion
:
Islam (100%)
Literacy
rate
:
78% (2002 est.)
Language
:
Arabic (English is widely used in
Business circles)
Time
Zone
:
GMT +3 hrs
Business
Hours:
The working week is Saturday to Wednesday, although some offices
and businesses also operate on Thursday morning.
Weekly
Holiday : Friday
Government
Offices: open from 7.30 am to 2.30 p.m.
Banks:
open 8.00 a.m. to 12 noon and 5.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Private
Businesses: open 8.00 a.m. to 12 noon and 5.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.
Official
Holidays
Eid
Al-Fitr, "the festival of breaking the fast", runs from the 25th
day of the month of Ramadan
to the 5th day of the following month. Eid Al-Fitr is an occasion of great
celebration and rejoicing.
Eid
Al-Adha, "the festival of sacrifice" and the greater of the two
main festivals, runs from the 5th to the 13th day of the month of Dhul
Hijjah.
Months/Days
of the Week/Time
The
Arab calendar is a lunar calendar. The 12 months are
- Muharram
(30 days)
- Safar
(29 days)
- Rabi'a
al-Awal (30 days)
- Rabi'a
ath-Thani (29 days)
- Jumada
al-Ula (30 days)
- Jamada
Ath-Thaniya (29 days)
- Rajab
(30 days)
- Sha'aban
(29 days)
- Ramadan
(30 days)
- Shawwal
(29 days)
- Dhul
Qa'dah (30 days)
- Dhul
Hijjah (29 days: 30 days in a leap year)
The
seven days of the week are:
- As-Sabt
(Saturday)
- Al-Ahad
(Sunday)
- Al-Athnain
(Monday)
- Ath-Thulatha
(Tuesday)
- Al-Arbia
(Wednesday)
- Al-Khamees
(Thursday)
- Al-Juma
(Friday)
Prayer
Times
- Fajr
(Dawn)
- Shuruq
(Sunrise) - the latest time by which Fajr should be performed
- Dhuhr
(Midday)
- Asr
(Afternoon)
- Maghreb
(Sunset)
- Isha
(Night)
MALE
DRESS
THOBE:
The traditional clothing for men is the Thobe, a loose, long-sleeved,
ankle-length garment. Thobes worn in summer are generally white and made
of cotton. Thobes worn in winter are generally darker in color and made of
wool.
TAGIYAH:
The Tagiyah is a white knitted skull cap
GHUTRA:
The Ghutra is a square scarf, made of cotton or silk, which is worn folded
across the head over the Tagiyah. The end of the scarf can be draped
across the face as protection in the event of sandstorms.
AGAL:
The Agal is a thick, doubled, black cord which is worn on top of the
Ghutra to hold it in place.
FEMALE
DRESS
THOBE:
Women wear the Thobe - a loose, long-sleeved, ankle-length garment, but,
for women, the neck and front can be embroidered and decorated with beads.
ABAYA:
The Abaya is a large, black cloak, worn either loose and flowing or
wrapped around the body. The Abaya is generally made of silk or synthetic
cloth.
BOSHIYA:
The Boshiya is a black veil, light in weight, worn across the lower part
of the face.
SURWAL:
The Surwal are cotton or silk trousers worn by women under the Thobe.
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