Oman vs. Saudi Arabia
Geography
| Oman | Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and the UAE | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 25 00 N, 45 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
| Area | total: 309,500 sq km land: 309,500 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 2,149,690 sq km land: 2,149,690 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | twice the size of Georgia | slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,561 km border countries (3): Saudi Arabia 658 km, UAE 609 km, Yemen 294 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 |
| Coastline | 2,092 km | 2,640 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: not specified |
| Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes |
| Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mostly sandy desert |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Jabal Shams 3,004 m lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m mean elevation: 310 m | highest point: As Sarawat range, 3,000 m lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m mean elevation: 665 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper |
| Land use | agricultural land: 4.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 4.5% (2018 est.) forest: 0% (2018 est.) other: 95.3% (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 land | 590 sq km (2012) | 16,200 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | 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 issues | limited natural freshwater resources; high levels of soil and water salinity in the coastal plains; beach pollution from oil spills; industrial effluents seeping into the water tables and aquifers; desertificaiton due to high winds driving desert sand into arable lands | desertification; 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 agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | 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 - note | consists of Oman proper and two northern exclaves, Musandam and Al Madhah; the former is a peninsula that occupies a strategic location adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | Saudi 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 resources | 1.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 2.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the vast majority of the population is located in and around the Al Hagar Mountains in the north of the country; another smaller cluster is found around the city of Salalah in the far south; most of the country remains sparsely poplulated | historically 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
