How Large is Saudi Arabia? - 6 Facts about Saudi Arabia you need to know

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is also known as Al-Mamlakah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Suʿūdiyyah in Arabic is the largest country in the Middle East, with an area of about 2.15 million sq. km. (roughly 2/3rd the size of India), ranks among the 15 largest countries in the world (14th in the CIA World Factbook’s area comparison).

Most of Saudi Arabia is desert, including a major portion of the world’s largest contiguous sand desert known as the Empty Quarter (Rub-al-Khali).

Borders
Saudi Arabia is bordered on the west by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and to the east by the Arabian Gulf. It shares borders with Yemen (1,307 km) and the Sultanate of Oman (658 km) on the south; Jordan (731 km), Iraq (811 km), and Kuwait (221 km) on the north, and UAE (457 km) and Qatar (87 km) on the east, with the Island of Bahrain located off the eastern coast in the Arabian Gulf.

Climate
Summer: In the inland regions including Capital Riyadh, the summer (May to September) day temperatures average around 45oC, with readings over 50oC are not unusual, followed by cool nights,.
Winter (November to March) day temperatures vary between 8oC and 20oC, with night temperatures rarely dropping below 0°C.
Along the coastal regions, such as Jeddah, in summer day temperatures are around 38° C, but with high relative humidity, while winter temperatures are between 19o C and 29o
Brief rainy season is normally between January and May when sudden downpours followed by flash floods are not uncommon.
From late-February to mid-July, sand storms are experienced. In the South-West, Asir Province with highest mountain peaks in the country and influenced by monsoons, receives about 300-500 mm of rainfall annually, has a more moderate climate.

Petroleum Reserves
Saudi Arabia possesses around 17 per cent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves. The petroleum sector has accounted for roughly 40 to 45 per cent of gross domestic product and about 90 per cent of export earnings (CIA World Factbook), though its share of GDP is falling as non-oil sectors grow under Vision 2030.

Trading Partner
Saudi Arabia is India’s 5th largest trade partner (bilateral trade of about US$ 41 billion in FY 2025-26, according to the Embassy of India, Riyadh) and a major source of energy: in FY 2025-26 India imported about 14% of its crude oil from the Kingdom, and in FY 2024-25 about 15% of its LPG imports came from Saudi Arabia.