Saudi Arabia

Formal Name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah).

Short Form: Saudi Arabia.

Term for Citizen(s): Saudi Arabian(s) or Saudi(s).

Capital: Riyadh (estimated population 3.6 million).

Major Cities: Population estimates for 2006 show continued growth for Saudi Arabia’s major urban areas: Jiddah (2.9 million), Mecca (1.6 million), Ad Dammam/Khobar/Dhahran (1.6 million), and Medina (854,500). Mecca and Medina have religious significance that far outweighs their respective populations.

Independence: Following Ottoman dominance, Egypt controlled Arabia from 1818 to 1824. For the remainder of the nineteenth century, Egypt, Britain, and the Ottomans vied for control of the region. On September 23, 1932, Abd al Aziz ibn Abd ar-Rahman Al Saud established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Unification brought together competing tribes into a modern state, covering an area approximating present boundaries.

Public Holidays: In accordance with Wahhabi theology, Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha are Saudi Arabia's only national holidays. Both holidays are dependent on the Islamic lunar calendar, and thus the dates of celebration vary from year to year. In recent years, Shia Muslims have been allowed to celebrate the holiday of Ashura in select cities of Eastern Province and in the south. Ashura is not, however, a national holiday. Saudis commemorate September 23 as their Independence Day.

Flag: The Saudi flag features white lettering on a green background. The Arabic text reads: “There is no god but God: Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” Below the letters, also in white, is a sword.

Past

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman AL SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. A male descendent of Ibn Saud, his son ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz, rules the country today as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong on-going campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. King ABDALLAH has continued the cautious reform program begun when he was crown prince. To promote increased political participation, the government held elections nationwide from February through April 2005 for half the members of 179 municipal councils. In December 2005, King ABDALLAH completed the process by appointing the remaining members of the advisory municipal councils. The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds approximately 25% of the world's proven oil reserves. The government continues to pursue economic reform and diversification, particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in December 2005, and promotes foreign investment in the kingdom. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns.

Future

See 'Saudi Arabia: Future' in the Book section.

Environment

Location: Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East, occupying about 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula.

Size: Saudi Arabia has a land area of 1,960,582 square kilometers according to U.S. government statistics. Saudi figures, however, denote a land area of 2,250,000 square kilometers. Either way, Saudi Arabia is approximately one-fifth the size of the United States.

Land Boundaries: Saudi Arabia has a total of 4,431 kilometers of borders with Yemen (1,458 kilometers), Iraq (814 kilometers), Jordan (744 kilometers), Oman (676 kilometers), the United Arab Emirates (457 kilometers), Kuwait (222 kilometers), and Qatar (60 kilometers).

Climate: The climate in Saudi Arabia differs greatly between the country’s two distinct regions: the coast and the interior. High humidity coupled with more moderate temperatures is prevalent along the coast, whereas aridity and extreme temperatures characterize the interior. Temperatures along the coast rarely exceed 38° C. In the interior, mostly desert, the average daytime temperature in the summer is 45° C, but it is not uncommon for temperatures to reach 54° C. The capital, Riyadh, has an average temperature of 42° C in July and 14° C in January. Temperatures rarely drop below freezing. Most of Saudi Arabia receives only infrequent rainfall. However, the southwestern province of Asir experiences monsoons between May and October, bringing an average of 300 millimeters of precipitation.

Natural Resources: Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources have shaped the kingdom’s development. The country also has large natural gas reserves, as well as deposits of bauxite, coal, copper, gold, iron, phosphates, platinum, silver, tungsten, uranium, and zinc. Non-mineral resources include limestone, glass sand, and stone.

Land Use: Most of Saudi Arabia consists of arid or semi-arid land. Uninhabitable desert covers nearly half the country. According to 2005 statistics, only 1.67 percent of Saudi land is classified as arable, and only 0.09 percent of the country’s land is planted to permanent crops. Irrigated land totaled an estimated 16,200 square kilometers in 1998. In the more temperate regions of the kingdom, adequate forage exists to support cattle grazing.

Environmental Factors: Saudi Arabia faces numerous environmental challenges. The country has very little arable land. Water scarcity is a constant concern, as are the related issues of desertification and creeping sands. The region’s dryness results in frequent dust and sand storms that can cripple transportation. The lack of perennial rivers or permanent bodies of water poses a continual challenge, as does the depletion of underground water resources. Additionally, coastal oil spills, though infrequent, contribute to pollution.

Business

Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses more than 20% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 5.5 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors. High oil prices have boosted growth, government revenues, and Saudi ownership of foreign assets, while enabling Riyadh to pay down domestic debt. The government is encouraging private sector growth - especially in the power generation, telecom, natural gas, and petrochemical industries - to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and to increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Unemployment is high, with a large youth population - 40% are under 15 years old- lacking technical skills the private sector needs. Riyadh has substantially boosted spending on job training and education, infrastructure development, and government salaries. As part of its effort to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy, Saudi Arabia acceded to the WTO in December 2005 after many years of negotiations. The government has announced plans to establish six "economic cities" in different regions of the country to promote development and diversification.

Updated September 2006 with partial Update January 2008