Debt - external:
$34.35 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - donor:
pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon;
since 2000, Saudi Arabia has committed $307 million for assistance
to the Palestinians; pledged $240 million to development in
Afghanistan; pledged $1 billion in export guarantees and soft loans
to Iraq
Currency (code):
Saudi riyal (SAR)
Currency code:
SAR
Exchange rates:
Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.745 (2004), 3.745 (2003), 3.745
(2002), 3.745 (2001), 3.745 (2000)
Fiscal year:
1 March - 28 February
Communications Saudi Arabia
Telephones - main lines in use:
3,502,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
7,238,200 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and
fiber-optic cable systems
international: country code - 966; microwave radio relay to Bahrain,
Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to
Kuwait and Jordan; submarine cable to Djibouti, Egypt and Bahrain;
satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian
Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)