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Saudi Arabia
GEOGRAPHY
The kingdom occupies 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula. Most
of the country's boundaries with the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
Oman, and the Republic of Yemen (formerly two separate countries:
the Yemen Arab Republic, or North Yemen; and the People's Democratic
Republic of Yemen, or South Yemen) are undefined, so the exact
size of the country remains unknown. The Saudi government estimate
is 2,217,949 square kilometers. Other reputable estimates vary
between 2,149,690 square kilometers and 2,240,000 square kilometers.
Less than 1 percent of the total area is suitable for cultivation,
and in the early 1990s population distribution varied greatly
among the towns of the eastern and western coastal areas, the
densely populated interior oases, and the vast, almost empty deserts.
Data as of December 1992
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