Saudi Arabia





The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country on the Arabic Peninsula. It borders
Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

                                       Official language  Arabic
                                       Capital            Riyadh
                                       King               Fahd
History                                Area               Ranked 14th
                                       Ê- Total           1,960,582
                                       Ê- % water         km²
                                                          Negligible
The Saudi state began in central       Population         Ranked 45th
Arabia in about 1750. A local ruler,   Ê- Total (2003)    24,293,844
Muhammad bin Saud, joined forces with  Ê- Density         12/km²
an Islamic reformer, Muhammad Abd                         Unification
Al-Wahhab, to create a new political   Independence       September 23,
entity. Over the next 150 years, the                      1932
fortunes of the Saud family rose and   Currency           Riyal
fell several times as Saudi rulers
contended with Egypt, the Ottoman      Time zone          UTC +3
Empire, and other Arabian families for National anthem    Aash Al Maleek
control on the peninsula. The modern
Saudi state was founded by the late    Internet TLD       .SA
King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (known         Calling Code       966
internationally as Abdul al-Aziz Ibn
Saud).

In 1902 Abdul al-Aziz Ibn Saud captured Riyadh, the Al-Saud dynasty's
ancestral capital, from the rival Al-Rashid family. Continuing his
conquests, Abdul Aziz subdued Al-Hasa, the rest of Nejd, and the Hijaz
between 1913 and 1926. On January 8, 1926 Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud became the
King of Hejaz and renamed it Saudi Arabia. The Treaty of Jedda was signed on
May 20, 1927 making Saudi Arabia independent of the United Kingdom. In 1932,
these regions were unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The discovery of
oil on March 3, 1938 transformed the country.

Politics

The central institution of Saudi Arabian Government is the monarchy. The
Basic Law adopted in 1992 declared that Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by
the sons and grandsons of King Abd Al Aziz Al Saud, and that the Holy Qur'an
is the constitution of the country, which is governed on the basis of
Islamic law (Shari'a). There are no recognized political parties or national
elections. The king's powers are theoretically limited within the bounds of
Shari'a and other Saudi traditions. He also must retain a consensus of the
Saudi royal family, religious leaders (ulema), and other important elements
in Saudi society. The state's ideology is the Wahhabism. This flavour of
Islam is tried to spread further by funding build of mosques and Qur'an
schools around the world. The leading members of the royal family choose the
king from among themselves with the subsequent approval of the ulema.

Provinces

Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 provinces (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah).

   * Al Bahah
   * Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah
   * Al Jawf
   * Al Madinah
   * Al Qasim
   * Ar Riyad
   * Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province)
   * 'Asir
   * Ha'il
   * Jizan
   * Makkah
   * Najran
   * Tabuk

Geography

The kingdom occupies 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula. Most of the
country's boundaries with the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen are
undefined, so the exact size of the country remains unknown. The Saudi
government estimate is 2,217,949 square kilometers. Other reputable
estimates vary between 2,149,690 square kilometers and 2,240,000 square
kilometers. Less than 1 percent of the total area is suitable for
cultivation, and in the early 1990s population distribution varied greatly
among the towns of the eastern and western coastal areas, the densely
populated interior oases, and the vast, almost empty deserts.

The climate is harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature and the
terrain is mostly uninhabited, sandy desert.

Economy

Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over
major economic activities. Saudi Arabia is second in the world to Canada in
proven reserves of petroleum (24% of the proved total), ranks as the largest
exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum
sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 40% of GDP, and 90% of
export earnings. About 35% of GDP comes from the private sector. Saudi
Arabia was a key player in the successful efforts of OPEC and other oil
producing countries to raise the price of oil in 1999 to its highest level
since the Gulf War by reducing production. Although oil prices are expected
to remain relatively high in 2000, Riyadh expects to have a $7.5 billion
budget deficit in part because of increased spending for education and other
social problems. The government in 1999 announced plans to begin privatizing
the electricity companies, which follows the ongoing privatization of the
telecommunications company. The government is expected to continue calling
for private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and
increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population.
Shortages of water and rapid population growth will constrain government
efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products.

Demographics

Saudi Arabia's 2001 population is estimated to be about 22.7 million,
including about 6.4 million resident foreigners. Until the 1960s, most of
the population was nomadic or seminomadic; due to rapid economic and urban
growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. Some cities and
oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer.

Most Saudis are ethnically Arab. Some are of mixed ethnic origin and are
descended from Turks, Iranians, Indonesians, Indians, Africans, and others,
most of whom immigrated as pilgrims and reside in the Hijaz region along the
Red Sea coast. Many Arabs from nearby countries are employed in the kingdom.
There also are significant numbers of Asian expatriates mostly from India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. There are less than
100,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia.