What Continent Is Saudi Arabia In?

The Makkah Royal Clock Tower, in Saudi Arabia, is home to the world's largest clock face.
The Makkah Royal Clock Tower, in Saudi Arabia, is home to the world's largest clock face.

Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle Eastern region of Asia. It was colonized by Turkey until 1926 when it became a sovereign state. The capital city of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh. As of 2012, Saudi Arabia has a population of approximately 26.5 million people. The population density is 12 people per square kilometer. Saudi Arabia is the only country that borders both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Geography of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia covers an area of approximately 2.1 million square kilometers. With this vast size of land, Saudi Arabia is ranked the 13th largest country in the world. It is the largest country on the Arabian plate. In fact, it occupies approximately 80% of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Oman to the southeast, Yemen to the south, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain to the east, Kuwait to the northeast, and Jordan and Iraq to the north. The country’s terrain is also mountainous. The highest point in the country is 3,133 meters above the sea level at Mount Sawda. There are also a number of lakes in the country. However, there are no permanent rivers.

95% of Saudi Arabia is arid. Most of the land in the country is dominated by the Arabian Desert. The vegetation in the desert is mainly shrubs, which are also very minimal. The daytime temperatures tend to be very hot and fierce. The temperatures drastically drop during the night. During summer, average temperatures are usually around 45 0C. However, the summer temperatures occasionally rise to 54 0C. The country receives a minimal annual mean rainfall. The southwestern province called Asir is the only province exempted from the extremely hot temperatures. The temperatures of the province are influenced by the Monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean. The region receives slightly more rainfall than the rest of the country.

Saudi Arabia Is In Asia

Saudi Arabia is a sovereign state that is located in West Asia on the Arabian Peninsula. Observation from the map creates an impression that Saudi Arabia is in Africa or close to African countries such as Eritrea, Djibouti, and Egypt. The Gulf of Aqaba separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt. Saudi Arabia is also separated from the African continent by the Red Sea.

Geographically, there is enough evidence that Saudi Arabia is located in Asia since it is bordered by eight other countries that are within the continent of Asia. It is also situated on the largest peninsula in the world, the Arabian Peninsula which is located in Western Asia. Saudi Arabia is clearly separated from Africa by the Gulf of Aqaba.

Saudi Arabia is a member of Asian organizations. In fact, it is a founding member of some of the organization. These organizations include the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is also allied to the Asian countries dominated by the Islam religion forming Islam oriented organizations

Culturally, Saudi Arabia has close ties with other Asian countries in the Arabian Peninsula, a peninsula which is composed of only Asian countries. It shares close cultural ties with countries such as Qatar, Iraq, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. Islam is the dominant religion and Arabic is commonly spoken in these countries.

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