extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal
People
Saudi Arabia
Population:
28,146,656 note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 38% (male 5,458,023/female 5,245,911) 15-64 years: 59.5% (male 9,470,353/female 7,284,696) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 356,910/female 330,764) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 21.5 years male: 22.9 years female: 19.8 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.954% (2008 est.)