:Sao Tome and Principe Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, National Police
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 30,188; 15,918 fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
:Saudi Arabia Geography
Total area:
1,945,000 km2
Land area:
1,945,000 km2
Comparative area:
slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Land boundaries:
4,532 km total; Iraq 808 km, Jordan 742 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km,
Qatar 40 km, UAE 586 km, Yemen 1,458 km
Coastline:
2,510 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
18 nm
Continental shelf:
not specific
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
no defined boundaries with Yemen; location and status of Saudi Arabia's
boundaries with Qatar and UAE are unresolved; Kuwaiti ownership of Qaruh and
Umm al Maradim Islands is disputed by Saudi Arabia
Climate:
harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature
Terrain:
mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
Natural resources:
crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Land use:
arable land 1%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 39%; forest and
woodland 1%; other 59%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
no perennial rivers or permanent water bodies; developing extensive coastal
seawater desalination facilities; desertification
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:
17,050,934 (July 1992), growth rate 3.3% (1992); note - the population
figure is based on growth since the last official Saudi census of 1974 that
reported a total of 7 million persons and included foreign workers;
estimates from other sources may be 15-30% lower
Birth rate:
39 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
59 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
65 years male, 68 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.7 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Saudi(s); adjective - Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic divisions:
Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Religions:
Muslim 100%
Languages:
Arabic
Literacy:
62% (male 73%, female 48%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
5,000,000; about 60% are foreign workers; government 34%, industry and oil
28%, services 22%, and agriculture 16%
Organized labor:
trade unions are illegal
:Saudi Arabia Government
Long-form name:
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Type:
monarchy
Capital:
Riyadh
Administrative divisions:
14 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah,
Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Al Qurayyat, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah, `Asir,
Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk
Independence:
23 September 1932 (unification)
Constitution:
none; governed according to Shari`a (Islamic law)
Legal system:
based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial
disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday:
Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)
Executive branch:
monarch and prime minister, crown prince and deputy prime minister, Council
of Ministers
Legislative branch:
none
Judicial branch:
Supreme Council of Justice
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
King and Prime Minister FAHD bin `Abd al-`Aziz Al Sa`ud (since 13 June
1982); Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister `ABDALLAH bin `Abd al-`Aziz Al
Sa`ud (half-brother to the King, appointed heir to the throne 13 June 1982)
Suffrage:
none
Elections:
none
Member of:
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador BANDAR Bin Sultan; Chancery at 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20037; telephone (202) 342-3800; there are Saudi Arabian
Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
US:
Ambassador Charles W. FREEMAN, Jr.; Embassy at Collector Road M, Diplomatic
Quarter, Riyadh (mailing address is American Embassy, Unit 61307, Riyadh;
International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693; or APO AE 09803-1307);
telephone [966] (1) 488-3800; Telex 406866; there are US Consulates General
in Dhahran and Jiddah (Jeddah)
Flag:
green with large white Arabic script (that may be 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); green is the traditional color of
Islam
:Saudi Arabia Economy
Overview:
The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 70% of budget revenues, 37% of
GDP, and almost all export earnings. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves
of petroleum in the world, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and
plays a leading role in OPEC. For the 1990s the government intends to
encourage private economic activity and to foster the gradual process of
turning Saudi Arabia into a modern industrial state that retains traditional
Islamic values.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $104 billion, per capita $5,800; real growth rate
1.5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
0% (1989 est.)
Budget:
revenues $40.3 billion; expenditures $48.3 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1992)
Exports:
$44.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products 85%
partners:
US 22%, Japan 22%, Singapore 7%, France 6%
Imports:
$21.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities:
manufactured goods, transportation equipment, construction materials,
processed food products
partners:
US 16%, UK 14%, Japan 14%, FRG 7%
External debt:
$18.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1.1% (1989 est.); accounts for 37% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity:
30,000,000 kW capacity; 60,000 million kWh produced, 3,300 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement,
small steel-rolling mill, construction, fertilizer, plastic
Agriculture:
accounts for about 10% of GDP, 16% of labor force; fastest growing economic
sector; subsidized by government; products - wheat, barley, tomatoes,
melons, dates, citrus fruit, mutton, chickens, eggs, milk; approaching
self-sufficiency in food
Economic aid:
donor - pledged $64.7 billion in bilateral aid (1979-89)
Currency:
Saudi riyal (plural - riyals); 1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100 halalas
Exchange rates:
Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1 - 3.7450 (fixed rate since late 1986), 3.7033
(1986)
Fiscal year:
calendar year