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Compare Saudi Arabia (2005) - World (2003)

Compare Saudi Arabia (2005) z World (2003)

 Saudi Arabia (2005)World (2003)
 Saudi ArabiaWorld
Administrative divisions 13 provinces (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah); Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province), 'Asir, Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Age structure 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 5,149,960/female 4,952,138)


15-64 years: 59.4% (male 8,992,348/female 6,698,633)


65 years and over: 2.4% (male 334,694/female 289,826) (2005 est.)
0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)


15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)


65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2003 est.)


note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure
Agriculture - products wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus; mutton, chickens, eggs, milk -
Airports 201 (2004 est.) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 72


over 3,047 m: 32


2,438 to 3,047 m: 13


1,524 to 2,437 m: 23


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
-
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 129


over 3047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 5


1,524 to 2,437 m: 72


914 to 1,523 m: 39


under 914 m: 12 (2004 est.)
-
Area total: 1,960,582 sq km


land: 1,960,582 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US land area about 16 times the size of the US
Background In 1902, ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. A son of ABD AL-AZIZ rules the country today, and the country's Basic Law stipulates that the throne shall remain in the hands of the aging sons and grandsons of the kingdom's founder. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after Operation Desert Storm remained a source of tension between the royal family and the public until the US military's near-complete withdrawal to neighboring Qatar in 2003. The first major terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia in several years, which occurred in May and November 2003, prompted renewed efforts on the part of the Saudi government to counter domestic terrorism and extremism, which also coincided with a slight upsurge in media freedom and announcement of government plans to phase in partial political representation. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 29.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 20.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $104.8 billion


expenditures: $78.66 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
-
Capital Riyadh -
Climate harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 2,640 km 356,000 km
Constitution governed according to Shari'a (Islamic law); the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was introduced in 1993 -
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia


conventional short form: Saudi Arabia


local long form: Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah


local short form: Al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
-
Death rate 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 8.83 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $34.35 billion (2004 est.) $2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador James Curtis OBERWETTER


embassy: Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh


mailing address: American Embassy Riyadh, Unit 61307, APO AE 09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693


telephone: [966] (1) 488-3800


FAX: [966] (1) 488-3989


consulate(s) general: Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)
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Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Turki al-Faysal bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud


chancery: 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037


telephone: [1] (202) 342-3800


consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
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Disputes - international despite resistance from nomadic groups, the demarcation of the Saudi Arabia-Yemen boundary established under the 2000 Jeddah Treaty is almost complete; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue discussions on a maritime boundary with Iran; because the treaties have not been made public, the exact alignment of the boundary with the UAE is still unknown Globally, there are over 250,000 km of international land boundaries that separate the world's 192 independent states, along with 70 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities. Maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for their national security at sea. On land, ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries. All of these factors have contributed to a wide array of boundary, borderland, and territorial disagreements that vary in intensity from unresolved or dormant to outright war. Territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural animosities, or they may be brought on by resource competition. Ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for territorial fragmentation around the world. Undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and political confrontation over boundary allocations. Other sources of contention include the use of water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, dams, and nuclear power plants. Many islands or island groups are also disputed, including those at sea and in streams. Nonetheless, many nations are actively cooperating to clarify, delineate, and demarcate their international borders. The tragic aspect of international discord is the impact on the sustenance and welfare of populations caught in the conflict. It is frequently left to members of the world community to cope with enormous refugee situations, and the resultant hunger, disease, and impoverishment that they create.
Economic aid - donor pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon; since 2000, Saudi Arabia has committed $307 million for assistance to the Palestinians; pledged $240 million to development in Afghanistan; pledged $1 billion in export guarantees and soft loans to Iraq -
Economic aid - recipient - official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion
Economy - overview This is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia possesses 25% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly five and a half million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and service sectors. The government in 1999 announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies, which follows the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications company. The government is encouraging private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Priorities for government spending in the short term include additional funds for education and for the water and sewage systems. Economic reforms proceed cautiously because of deep-rooted political and social conservatism. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001 and 2.7% in 2002. The causes: sluggishness in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (19% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.2% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second-largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 8% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 4% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decision-making powers to international bodies. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2002, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 128.5 billion kWh (2002) 13.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2002) -
Electricity - production 138.2 billion kWh (2002) 14.85 trillion kWh (2001 est.)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m


highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
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 large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
-
Ethnic groups Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10% -
Exchange rates Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.745 (2004), 3.745 (2003), 3.745 (2002), 3.745 (2001), 3.745 (2000) -
Executive branch chief of state: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SULTAN bin Abd al- Aziz Al Saud (half brother of the monarch, born 5 January 1928) note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SULTAN bin Abd al- Aziz Al Saud (half brother of the monarch, born 5 January 1928) note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers is appointed by the monarch and includes many royal family members


elections: note - in October 2003, Council of Ministers announced its intent to introduce elections for half of the members of local and provincial assemblies and a third of the members of the national Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura, incrementally over a period of four to five years; in November 2004, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs initiated voter registration for partial municipal council elections scheduled nationwide for February through April 2005
-
Exports 7.92 million bbl/day (2003) 703.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities petroleum and petroleum products 90% the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners US 18.2%, Japan 14.9%, South Korea 9.5%, China 6.1%, Taiwan 4.5%, Singapore 4.1% (2004) US 17.4%, Germany 7.6%, UK 5.4%, France 5.1%, Japan 4.8%, China 4% (2002)
Fiscal year 1 March - 28 February -
Flag description green, a traditional color in Islamic flags, with the Shahada or Muslim creed in large white Arabic script (translated as "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God") above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); design dates to the early twentieth century and is closely associated with the Al Saud family which established the kingdom in 1932 -
GDP - GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $49 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4.2%


industry: 67.2%


services: 28.6% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $12,000 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,900 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5% (2004 est.) 2.7% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 25 00 N, 45 00 E -
Geography - note extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
Heliports 5 (2004 est.) -
Highways total: 152,044 km


paved: 45,461 km


unpaved: 106,583 km (2000)
total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs death penalty for traffickers; increasing consumption of heroin, cocaine, and hashish; not a major money-laundering center, improving anti-money-laundering legislation cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 205,450 hectares - almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia; potential cocaine production during 2002 is estimated at 938 metric tons (or 1,200 metric tons of export quality cocaine at an average of 78% purity); coca eradication programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, and 292 metric tons of export quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2002; consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 875 metric tons


opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 141,213 hectares in 2002 and potentially produced 2,183 metric tons of opium - which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 238 metric tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertaken in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, and the annual average for opiates seized worldwide over the past five years (1998-2002) has been 45 metric tons of pure heroin equivalent; estimates for average annual consumption over this time period are 315 metric tons pure heroin equivalent
Imports 0 bbl/day (2003) 697.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners US 15.3%, Japan 9.8%, Germany 8.1%, China 6.6%, UK 5.7% (2004) US 11.2%, Germany 9.2%, China 7%, Japan 6.8%, France 4.7%, UK 4% (2002)
Independence 23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom) -
Industrial production growth rate 2.8% (2004 est.) 3% (2002 est.)
Industries crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, ammonia, industrial gases, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics, commercial ship repair, commercial aircraft repair dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate total: 13.24 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 15.19 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
total: 51.38 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 53.81 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0.8% (2004 est.) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries
International organization participation ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BIS, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land 16,200 sq km (1998 est.) 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Council of Justice -
Labor force 6.62 million


note: more than 35% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2004 est.)
NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 12%, industry 25%, services 63% (1999 est.) agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
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
the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land: 1.67%


permanent crops: 0.09%


other: 98.24% (2001)
arable land: 10.58%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.42% (1998 est.)
Languages Arabic Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Legal system based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Legislative branch Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura (120 members and a chairman appointed by the monarch for four-year terms) -
Life expectancy at birth total population: 75.46 years


male: 73.46 years


female: 77.55 years (2005 est.)
total population: 63.95 years


male: 62 years


female: 70.23 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 78.8%


male: 84.7%


female: 70.8% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
Location Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen -
Map references Middle East Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 18 nm


continental shelf: not specified
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
Merchant marine total: 64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,306,706 GRT/1,963,191 DWT


by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 12, container 4, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 9


foreign-owned: 14 (Egypt 2, Hong Kong 1, Kuwait 5, Singapore 1, Sudan 1, UAE 1, United Kingdom 3)


registered in other countries: 54 (2005)
-
Military branches Land Force (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary) -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $18 billion (2002) aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 10% (2002) roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
National holiday Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932) -
Nationality noun: Saudi(s)


adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
-
Natural hazards frequent sand and dust storms large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate -3.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) -
Pipelines condensate 212 km; gas 1,780 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,191 km; oil 5,068 km; refined products 1,162 km (2004) -
Political parties and leaders none -
Political pressure groups and leaders none -
Population 26,417,599


note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)
6,302,309,691 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line NA -
Population growth rate 2.31% (2005 est.) 1.17% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Jiddah, Yanbu' al Sinaiyah Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Radio broadcast stations AM 43, FM 31, shortwave 2 (1998) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Railways total: 1,392 km


standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (with branch lines and sidings) (2004)
total: 1,122,650 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line


broad gauge: 251,153 km


standard gauge: 710,754 km


narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Religions Muslim 100% Christians 32.79% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.51%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.6%, Hindus 13.31%, Buddhists 5.88%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.83%, non-religious 12.53%, atheists 2.44% (2001 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.34 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female


total population: 1.21 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage adult male citizens age 21 or older


note: voter registration began in November 2004 for partial municipal council elections scheduled nationwide for February through April 2005
-
Telephone system general assessment: modern system


domestic: extensive microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable systems


international: country code - 966; microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan; submarine cable to Djibouti, Egypt and Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 3,502,600 (2003) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular 7,238,200 (2003) NA
Television broadcast stations 117 (1997) NA
Terrain mostly uninhabited, sandy desert the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 4.05 children born/woman (2005 est.) 2.65 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 25% (unofficial estimate) (2004 est.) 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment
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