Home

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia

Geography

IraqSaudi Arabia
LocationMiddle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and KuwaitMiddle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
Geographic coordinates33 00 N, 44 00 E25 00 N, 45 00 E
Map referencesMiddle EastMiddle East
Areatotal: 438,317 sq km

land: 437,367 sq km

water: 950 sq km
total: 2,149,690 sq km

land: 2,149,690 sq km

water: 0 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly more than three times the size of New York stateslightly more than one-fifth the size of the US
Land boundariestotal: 3,809 km

border countries (6): Iran 1599 km, Jordan 179 km, Kuwait 254 km, Saudi Arabia 811 km, Syria 599 km, Turkey 367 km
total: 4,272 km

border countries (7): Iraq 811 km, Jordan 731 km, Kuwait 221 km, Oman 658 km, Qatar 87 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1307 km
Coastline58 km2,640 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 18 nm

continental shelf: not specified
Climatemostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraqharsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes
Terrainmostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkeymostly sandy desert
Elevation extremeshighest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m

mean elevation: 312 m
highest point: As Sarawat range, 3,000 m

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m

mean elevation: 665 m
Natural resourcespetroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfurpetroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Land useagricultural land: 18.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 9.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 1.9% (2018 est.)

other: 80% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 80.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1.5% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 79.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 0.5% (2018 est.)

other: 18.8% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land35,250 sq km (2012)16,200 sq km (2012)
Natural hazardsdust storms; sandstorms; floods

frequent sand and dust storms

volcanism: despite many volcanic formations, there has been little activity in the past few centuries; volcanoes include Harrat Rahat, Harrat Khaybar, Harrat Lunayyir, and Jabal Yar

Environment - current issuesgovernment water control projects drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification; military and industrial infrastructure has released heavy metals and other hazardous substances into the air, soil, and groundwater; major sources of environmental damage are effluents from oil refineries, factory and sewage discharges into rivers, fertilizer and chemical contamination of the soil, and industrial air pollution in urban areasdesertification; 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; air pollution; waste management
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - notestrategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian GulfSaudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river; extensive coastlines on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea allow for considerable shipping (especially of crude oil) through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal
Total renewable water resources89.86 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)2.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionpopulation is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabitedhistorically a population that was mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic, the Saudi population has become more settled since petroleum was discovered in the 1930s; most of the economic activities - and with it the country's population - is concentrated in a wide area across the middle of the peninsula, from Ad Dammam in the east, through Riyadh in the interior, to Mecca-Medina in the west near the Red Sea

Source: CIA Factbook