Country · Asia
Saudi Arabia
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a country in Western Asia. About 33.7 million people live there, in an area of 2 149 690 square kilometres. Its capital city is Riyadh.
Picture credit: Baptiste Marcel (Public domain) · Saudi Press Agency (SPA) (CC BY-SA 4.0) · B.alotaby (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Saudi Press Agency (SPA) (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia lies in Western Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 2 783 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 2 640 km long.
It shares a border with 7 countries: Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
How big is Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia covers 2 149 690 square kilometres.
That is about 6 times the size of Germany.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 12th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 15.7 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Saudi Arabia?
About 33.7 million people live in Saudi Arabia.
That is the 41st biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic.
They pay with the Saudi riyal (ر.س).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 68 years.
The land of Saudi Arabia
The land of Saudi Arabia sits on average 665 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 2 640 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 132 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Saudi Arabia different?
A dish the country is known for: Kabsa.
Websites from here often end in .sa.
Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 4 live in Saudi Arabia.
It takes up about 1.6 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 4th of 46 by size, and 16th by population.
Saudi Arabia and its neighbours
Saudi Arabia is about 4.1 times the size of Yemen, its largest neighbour.
More people live in Saudi Arabia than in Yemen — 33.7 million against 28.5 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 3 live wild in Saudi Arabia: Dromedary, Desert locust and Rock hyrax. The highest mountain in the country is Jabal Sawda, at 3 015 metres. The largest lake in the country is Al-Asfar Lake.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Saudi Arabia compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 4.4 times as big as Saudi Arabia: 9 372 610 km² against 2 149 690 km². See both on one map
- Saudi Arabia is about 8.9 times as big as the United Kingdom: 2 149 690 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Saudi Arabia?
The capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Saudi Arabia?
About 33.7 million people live in Saudi Arabia, which makes it the 41st most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Saudi Arabia?
How big is Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia covers 2 149 690 square kilometres, making it the 12th largest country in the world. That is about 6 times the size of Germany.
What is the highest mountain in Saudi Arabia?
The highest mountain in Saudi Arabia is Jabal Sawda, 3 015 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the largest lake in Saudi Arabia?
The largest lake in Saudi Arabia is Al-Asfar Lake. It covers about 21 km².
Are there rivers in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia has no permanent river. Rain runs off in dry valleys that fill only after a downpour, so the water comes from wells, springs or desalination plants.
Which continent is Saudi Arabia in?
Saudi Arabia is in Asia, in the part called Western Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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