Home/Countries/Saudi Arabia

Arabian Peninsula

Saudi Arabia

Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen.

Muslim populationMajority Muslimno percentage published

Population35.3 millionpeople (current)

CapitalRiyadhUTC+3

Currency3.75 = $1Saudi riyals (SAR) (2024)

Country basics

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy covering most of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia.

Saudi Arabia is a kingdom with Riyadh as its capital and Arabic as its official language, and it holds the cities of Mecca and Medina. The riyal is pegged to the United States dollar, and crude oil and petrochemicals lead its export earnings.

Official name

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Region

Asia · Western Asia

Government

Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+03:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+966

Currency

Saudi riyal (SAR, ر.س)

Member of

Arab League; UN; OPEC; G20

Website

https://www.my.gov.sa

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-12% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2020 est.)

Languages

Arabic

People and cities

Population

35.3 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

32.8 years (2025)

Living in cities

85% (2023)

Largest cities

Riyadh (capital) 7.682 million · Jeddah 4.863 million · Mecca 2.150 million · Medina 1.573 million · Ad Dammam 1.329 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

3.75 Saudi riyals (SAR) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$62,700 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

1.7% (2024)

Unemployment

3.9% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

20.5% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

77.2 years (2024)

Doctors

3.41 per 1,000 people (2023)

Hospital beds

2.2 per 1,000 people (2021)

Safe drinking water

98.6% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

100% of people (2023)

Literacy

97.9% of adults (2024)

Land and climate

Climate

Harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes

SizeSlightly more than one-fifth the size of the US

2,149,690 sq km

Natural hazards

Frequent sand and dust storms volcanism: little activity in the past few centuries, despite many volcanic formations; volcanoes include Harrat Rahat, Harrat Khaybar, Harrat Lunayyir, and Jabal Yar

National holiday

Saudi National Day (Unification of the Kingdom), 23 September (1932)