Page last updated on December 17, 2013

Location:
Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:
26 00 N, 50 33 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 760 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 188
land: 760 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
161 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined

Climate:
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Natural resources:
oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls

Land use:
arable land: 1.79%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 3.95%
other: 94.26% (2011)

Irrigated land:
40.15 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
0.12 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.36 cu km/yr (50%/6%/45%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 386 cu m/yr (2003)

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; dust storms

Environment - current issues:
desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources (groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs)

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean