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How the crowd draws

991 drawings of its land border and 747 drawings of its coast, from memory on Borderline’s World map, 18 September 2026 to 27 October 2026.

Draw Saudi Arabia

In numbers

Last updated on 27 October 2026
The real oneThe crowd’s
Area1,925,000 km²743,000 sq mi1,936,000 km²747,000 sq mi0.6% bigger
Outline7,198 km4,473 mi6,784 km4,216 mi5.8% shorter
Centre44.67° E, 24.09° N44.7° E, 24.1° N44.59° E, 24.16° N44.6° E, 24.2° N11 km north-west7 mi north-west
Westernmost34.58° E, 28.11° N34.6° E, 28.1° N34.99° E, 29.28° N35.0° E, 29.3° N40 km short25 mi short
Easternmost55.63° E, 21.97° N55.6° E, 22.0° N55.40° E, 21.99° N55.4° E, 22.0° N25 km short15 mi short
Southernmost42.79° E, 16.37° N42.8° E, 16.4° N42.74° E, 16.35° N42.7° E, 16.4° N2 km beyond1 mi beyond
Northernmost39.16° E, 32.12° N39.2° E, 32.1° N39.21° E, 31.87° N39.2° E, 31.9° N28 km short17 mi short

Near the land border, 46% of the crowd’s lines run inside Saudi Arabia. Near the coast, 56% run inland.

Borders and coast

Why two lengths?

A line’s length depends on how closely it is drawn. The game’s lines are simplified: they keep a point every few kilometres and cut across small bends. The official lengths, from the CIA World Factbook, are measured on other lines. A border measured on a finer line, following every bend of its rivers and ridges, comes out longer.

Coasts differ most, and either way. Some official coastlines follow every inlet and island (Canada’s 202,080 km); others are smoothed on purpose, crossing bays and sounds (the United States’ 19,924 km), and can come out shorter than the game’s.

Players draw against the game’s line and are scored against it, so the crowd’s length is compared with the game’s, both measured the same way. Set against an official length measured another way, the comparison would say more about the two methods than about the crowd.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen: 1,190 km in the game, 1,307 km officially.

Saudi Arabia’s coast: 3,403 km in the game, 2,640 km officially.

7 neighbours
Border withIn the gameThe crowd’s
Yemen1,190 km in the game1,307 km officially1,171 km the crowd’s1.6% shorter
Iraq812 km in the game811 km officially761 km the crowd’s6.3% shorter
Jordan726 km in the game731 km officially704 km the crowd’s3.0% shorter
Oman661 km in the game658 km officially589 km the crowd’s10.9% shorter
United Arab Emirates454 km in the game457 km officially439 km the crowd’s3.3% shorter
Kuwait222 km in the game221 km officially234 km the crowd’s5.4% longer
Qatar61 km in the game87 km officially64 km the crowd’s4.9% longer
The coast3,403 km in the game2,640 km officially3,067 km the crowd’s9.9% shorter

How it is measured

The crowd’s Saudi Arabia: every few km along the real line, each drawing’s nearest point, inside Saudi Arabia or outside it; the median over a short stretch is where the crowd puts the line there, and the real outline moved by it is the crowd’s. Where the move folds a narrow inlet over itself, the loop is cut.

The 1,738 drawings that scored 10 or more on Borderline’s World map, scribbles left out, the real line the game’s own. Area true to scale; the outline copies the real line’s detail, so its length changes only where the shape moves or a loop is cut. The map lays the 1,000 most recent; the heat map, the crowd’s shape and every figure use all 1,738.

10 small pieces of Saudi Arabia, 920 km² in all, keep their real shape, shown flat: islands no round asks players to draw, or too small to measure. They count in no figure.

Draw Saudi Arabia yourself and add your line to the next update.