Best Countries

Important facts

Capital: Ar Rijad (See more on ITYPEMBA.COM)

Official language: Arabic

Currency: Riyal

Continent: West Asia

Pilgrimage to Mecca

The Saudis have managed like no other nation to make a profit from their religion.

Location

According to Countryaah, Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula. This absolute monarchy borders Jordan, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Yemen. In addition, the country has two sea access points: one to the Red Sea in the east and a coastal strip to the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Persia. Riyadh – the capital of the country – is located in the center of Saudi Arabia. However , every year most of the country’s visitors make a pilgrimage to the Red Sea coast in Mecca. Once in a lifetime a pilgrimage to Meccato do is one of the duties of a devout Muslim.
Alongside Mecca, Medina is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Islam.

Vacation in Saudi Arabia

The country is strongly influenced by Islam: women should never move in public without a veil, and driving a car is forbidden to women in Saudi Arabia!
If you are on the west coast, be sure to pay a visit to Jiddah. Surrounded by the pilgrimage sites of Mecca and Medina, the city is like their opposite pole. Pilgrims from all over the world have left their mark on this city and it has become an incomparable melting pot of cultures. The city is seen as dangerous by the Saudis. In Jiddah, some things are possible that seem unimaginable in the rest of the country: wearing bikinison the beach, for example. Visit this city and especially its old town before it is too late and it becomes one of so many concrete deserts that already exist in Saudi Arabia.

Currency

Currency (sub-unit)

Riyal (20 Qirshes = 100 Hallalas)

ISO 4217 code

SAR / 682

Geography

Continent: Asia

Region: west

Geo coordinates: N 23 ° 53 ‘9.4 ” E 45 ° 4’ 45″

Highest mountain: Jabal Sawda (3,133 m)

Total area: 1,960,582 km²

Mainland: 1,960,582 km²

National border: 4,415 km

Coastline: 2,640 km

Politics

Dependency: Great Britain until 1932

UN member since: 1945

Other political affiliation: Arab League

Form of government: Autocratic monarchy

Economy

Export goods: Petroleum, dates, skins

BSP: $ 302,667,000,000

GDP: $ 294,898,000,000

GDP purchasing power parity: $ 362 billion

Economic growth: 6.7%

GDP share of agriculture: 2.8%

GDP share of industry: 62.5%

GDP share of services: 34.7%

Inflation rate: 0.5%

State budget revenue: $ 4294967295

State budget expenditure: $ 4294967295

National debt: 41.6%

Export: $ 207 billion

Import: $ 57.46 billion

Foreign debt: $ 38,230,000,000

Gold and currency reserves: $ 29.47 billion

Electricity consumption: 162,200 million KWh

Gas reserves: 6,544,000 million m³

Gas production: 66,720 million m³

Gas consumption: 66,720 million m³

Oil reserves: 262,700 million m³

Oil production: 8,388,607 million m³

Oil consumption: 1,993,000 million m³

Cultivation area: 1.76%

Sheep: 8,230,000 pieces

Fishing: 60,000 t

Demographic data

Residents: 27,019,800

Residents in cities: 23.244.100

Average age: 21.4 years

0-14 years: 38.2%

15-64 years: 59.4%

> 65 years: 2.4%

Population growth: 2.18%

Birth rate: 29.34 / 1,000 residents

Death rate: 2.58 / 1,000 residents

Migration: -4.94 / 1,000 residents

Ratio men / women: 1.2

Fertility: 4 children / woman

Infant mortality: 12.81 ‰

Life expectancy men: 73.66 years

Life expectancy women: 77.78 years

Country codes and abbreviations

ISO 3166 Alpha 2: SA

ISO 3166 Alpha 3: SOW

ISO 3166 numeric: 682

Top Level Domain: sa

IOC country code: KSA

UN / LOCODE: SA

Source: Abbreviationfinder

Communication

Telephone connections: 3,752,000

Cell Phones: 12,810,000

Radios: 8,310,000

TV: 6,310,000

Computer: 5,260,000

Internet users: 3,930,000

Transportation

Railway lines: 1,392 km

Paved roads: 48,686 km

Cars: 2,579,000

Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 60

Pipelines: 9.413

Health

Number of doctors: 36,840

Daily food intake: 2.870 kcal / resident

Education

Illiteracy: 20%

History

Foundation: 622

Last sovereign since: 1932

Religion

Main religious group: Muslims

Crime

Prison inmates: 27,800

Military

Armed forces (troop strength): 121,000

Main battle tank: 1,050

Battleships: 8th

Warplanes: 340

Helicopter: 185

Defense Spending: $ 29,438,000,000

GETTING THERE

Arriving by plane

The national airline is called Saudi Arabian Airlines (SV) (Internet: www.saudiairlines.com) and flies from Munich to Riyadh and Jeddah as well as from Geneva via Frankfurt / aM to Jeddah and from Geneva to Riyadh. The flights from Frankfurt to Jeddah take place four times a week and are linked with connecting flights to Dammam three times a week.

Lufthansa (LH) offers direct flight connections from Frankfurt and Munich to Riyadh.

Ua Air France (AF), Swiss International (LX) and KLM also fly to Saudi Arabia.

Flight times

Frankfurt – Jeddah: 5 hours 15 minutes; Frankfurt – Riyadh: 5 hours; Vienna – Dhahran: 6 hours 30 minutes; Vienna – Jeddah: 5 hours 50 minutes (with changes); Vienna – Riyadh: 4 hours 20 minutes; Zurich – Dhahran: 7 hours 20 minutes (with changes); Zurich – Jeddah: 5 hours 40 minutes (with one stopover); Zurich – Riyadh: 4 hours 40 minutes

Air passes

With the Middle East Airpass the Star Alliance can explore travelers up to ten flights, the countries Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. More information is available on the Star Alliance website, www.staralliance.com.

With the Visit Middle East Pass from Allianz Oneworld, travelers can book any number of flights (at least 3 flights) with the participating airlines British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian and travel to the following 12 countries: Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

Departure fee

50 RI (children under 2 years and Haj or Umrah pilgrims are excluded).

Arrival by car

Cars: The main long-distance roads lead from Amman (Jordan) to Dammam, Medina and Jeddah. There are also roads to Yemen (from Jeddah), Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a causeway between Al Khobar and Bahrain.

Bus: The Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) offers bus connections between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Further bus connections to Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Syria and Turkey.

Taxiscan be found in all major cities; they have taximeters whose tariffs are prescribed by the government. For longer journeys, however, you should agree the price in advance. Many drivers outside of Riyadh and Jeddah do not speak English.

Arrival by ship

The largest international passenger ports are Dammam (on the Gulf) and Jeddah and Yanbu (Red Sea).

A passenger ferry connects Saudi Arabia with Egypt.