| Official Name |
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Location |
Saudi Arabia is about the size of Western Europe, covering four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula. The Red Sea lies on the West coast and the Persian Gulf Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the East. Saudi Arabia has borders with Yemen and Oman in the South, and Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait in the North. There are four geographical regions: Hejaz (North-West), Asir (South-West), Nejd (Central Plateau) and Al Hasa (Eastern Province). |
| Population |
27,601,038 (July 2007 est.) |
| Religion |
Islam; the public practise of any other religion is forbidden. About 90% of the Muslim population is Sunni and 10% Shia. |
| Languages |
Arabic is the official language (English is widely spoken in business circles) |
| National Holiday |
Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932) |
| Head of State |
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques |
| Legal System |
based on Shari'a law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Import Partners |
US 12.2%, Germany 9.1%, China 7.9%, Japan 7.3%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.8%, South Korea 4.1% (2006) |
| Export Partners |
Japan 17.7%, US 15.8%, South Korea 9%, China 7.2%, Taiwan 4.6%, Singapore 4.4% (2006) |
