Saudi Arabia

Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
Geographic coordinates	25 00 N, 45 00 E
Map references	Middle East
Area	total: 2,149,690 sq km land: 2,149,690 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US
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
Coastline	2,640 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: not specified
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
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Land use	arable land: 1.67% permanent crops: 0.09% other: 98.24% (2005)
Irrigated land	17,310 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	2.4 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 17.32 cu km/yr (10%/1%/89%) per capita: 705 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	frequent sand and dust storms volcanism: despite many volcanic formations, there has been little activity in the past few centuries; volcanoes include Harrat Rahat, Harrat Khaybar, Harrat Lunayyir, and Jabal Yar
Environment - current issues	desertification; depletion of underground water resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river; extensive coastlines on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal