The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south, with the Persian Gulf to its northeast and the Red Sea to its west. It has an estimated population of 27.5 million, and its size is approximately 2,150,000 square km (830,000 square miles)

Area
2,240,000 sq km (864,869 sq miles).

Population
23,370,000 (official estimate 2002).

Population Density
10.4 per sq km.

Capital
Riyadh (royal). Population: 4,761,000 (UN estimate 2002; including suburbs). Jeddah (administrative). Population: 3,192,000 (UN estimate 2001; including suburbs).

Geography
Saudi Arabia occupies four-fifths of the Arabian peninsula. It is bordered to the northwest by Jordan, to the north by Iraq and Kuwait, to the east by the Gulf of Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and to the south by Yemen. To the west lies the Red Sea. Along the Red Sea coast is a narrow coastal strip (Tihama) which becomes relatively hotter and more humid towards the south and has areas of extensive tidal flats and lava fields. Behind this coastal plain is a series of plateaux reaching up to 2000m (6560ft). The southern part of this range, Asir, has some peaks of over 3000m (9840ft). North of these mountains, in the far north, is An Nafud, a sand sea, and further south the landscape rises to Najd, a semi-desert area scattered with oases. Still further south the land falls away, levelling out to unremitting desert, the uninhabited Empty Quarter’ or Rub al Khali. Along the Gulf coast is a low fertile plain giving way to limestone ridges inland.

Language
Arabic. English is spoken in business circles.