---
title: "Saudi Arabia — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Saudi Arabia: capital Riyadh, area 2,149,690 km², population 36,973,555 (2025), currency Saudi riyal. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/saudi-arabia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Saudi Arabia

**Saudi Arabia: Capital Riyadh**

2,149,690 km² · 36,973,555 people (2025) · Saudi riyal

The Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter, is the largest continuous sand desert in the world at about 650,000 km² — bigger than France. Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers or lakes at all, which is true of only a handful of countries. It holds roughly a sixth of the world's proven oil reserves.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Riyadh
- **Area:** 2,149,690 km² — 830,000 sq mi
- **Population:** 36,973,555 (2025)
- **Density:** 17.2 people per km²
- **Currency:** Saudi riyal (SAR, ر.س)
- **Official language:** Arabic
- **Time zone:** UTC+03:00
- **Calling code:** +966
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** SA · SAU
- **Continent:** Asia

## How it compares

- **By area:** 13 of 200
- **By population:** 43 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2,344,858 | 112,832,473 |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 | 56,831 |
| Saudi Arabia ← | 2,149,690 | 36,973,555 |
| Mexico | 1,964,375 | 131,946,900 |
| Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 285,721,236 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Saudi Arabia?

Riyadh

### What currency does Saudi Arabia use?

The Saudi riyal (SAR).

### How big is Saudi Arabia?

2,149,690 km², or 830,000 square miles — 13 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Saudi Arabia drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Greenland](https://atoneplace.net/country/greenland/)
- [Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/country/mexico/)
- [Indonesia](https://atoneplace.net/country/indonesia/)
- [India](https://atoneplace.net/country/india/)
- [China](https://atoneplace.net/country/china/)
- [Indonesia](https://atoneplace.net/country/indonesia/)
- [Pakistan](https://atoneplace.net/country/pakistan/)
- [Bangladesh](https://atoneplace.net/country/bangladesh/)
- [Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country/japan/)
- [Philippines](https://atoneplace.net/country/philippines/)
- [Vietnam](https://atoneplace.net/country/vietnam/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]