Results for Saudi Arabia
On this page:
 
Dictionary:

Saudi Arabia

  (sou'dē ə-rā'bē-ə, sô'dē, sä-ū'dē) pronunciation
Saudi Arabia
(Click to enlarge)
Saudi Arabia
(Mapping Specialists, Ltd.)

A country occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula. Inhabited since ancient times by nomadic Semitic tribes, the region was consolidated under Muhammed, who established a theocratic state at Medina and gained control of all Arabia by 630. After the caliphate was moved from Medina to Damascus in 661, the peninsula remained fragmented until most of it was united in the 18th century under the Saud family, who adopted the Wahhabi form of Islam. Crushed by Egyptian and Ottoman opposition in the 19th century, Saudi forces reconquered the peninsula in the early 20th century. The unified kingdom of Saudi Arabia was created in 1932 as an absolute monarchy under Wahhabi law. Oil was discovered in 1932 and soon became the mainstay of the economy. Riyadh is the capital and the largest city. Population: 27,600,000.

Saudi Sau'di or Sau'di A·ra'bi·an adj. & n.

 

 
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Saudi Arabia

Country, Middle East, southwestern Asia. It occupies four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula and is bounded by the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Area: 830,000 sq mi (2,149,690 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 23,230,000. Capital: Riyadh. The people are predominantly Arab. Language: Arabic (official). Religion: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni). Currency: Saudi rial. The country is a plateau region, with bands of imposing highlands rising from the narrow Red Sea coast. More than nine-tenths is desert, including the world's largest continuous sand area, the Rub' al-Khali ("Empty Quarter"). The largest petroleum producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and one of the leading oil exporters in the world, Saudi Arabia has reserves that represent one-fourth of the world total. Its other products include natural gas, gypsum, dates, wheat, and desalinated water. It is a monarchy; its head of state and government is the king, assisted by the crown prince. Saudi Arabia is the historical home of Islam. During premodern times, local and foreign rulers fought for control of the region; in 1517 the Ottoman Empire attained nominal control of most of the peninsula. In the 18th – 19th century an Islamic reform group known as the Wahhabi joined with the Sa'ud dynasty to take control of most of central Arabia; they suffered political setbacks but regained most of their territory by 1904. The British held Saudi lands as a protectorate (1915 – 27), after which they acknowledged the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd. The two kingdoms were unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Since World War II (1939 – 45), the kingdom's rulers have supported the Palestinian cause in the Middle East and maintained close ties with the U.S. In 2000 Saudi Arabia and Yemen settled a long-standing border dispute.

For more information on Saudi Arabia, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Saudi Arabia
(säū'dē ərā'bēə, sou'–, sô–) , officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom (2005 est. pop. 26,419,000), 829,995 sq mi (2,149,690 sq km), comprising most of the Arabian peninsula. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea; on the east by the Persian Gulf, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates; on the south by Yemen and Oman; and on the north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia formerly shared a neutral zone with Iraq and another with Kuwait; both are now divided between the countries. Riyadh is the capital and largest city. See also Arabia, Hejaz, and Nejd.

Land

The south and southeast of the country are occupied entirely by the great Rub al-Khali desert. Through the desert run largely undefined boundaries with Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to the Rub al-Khali, Saudi Arabia has four major regions. The largest is the Nejd, a central plateau, which rises from c.2,000 ft (610 m) in the east to c.5,000 ft (1,520 m) in the west. Riyadh is located in the Nejd. The Hejaz stretches along the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aqaba south to Asir and is the site of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Asir, extending south to the Yemen border, has a fertile coastal plain. Inland mountains in the Asir region rise to more than 9,000 ft (2,743 m). The Eastern Province extends along the Persian Gulf and is the oil region of the country. The oasis of Al-Hasa, located there, is probably the country's largest. Saudi Arabia's climate is generally hot and dry, although nights are cool, and frosts occur in winter. The humidity along the coasts is high.

People

The population of Saudi Arabia is about 90% Arab, with Asian and African minorities. The vast majority belong to the Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam, although there is a small percentage of Shiites, mainly in the northeast. Islam is the only officially recognized religion, and other faiths are not publicly tolerated. A large proportion of the population are farmers in the Hejaz. Nomads and seminomads raise camels, sheep, goats, and horses. The large number of foreigners living in Saudi Arabia work in the oil industry, as computer technicians and consultants, and as construction and domestic workers. Arabic is spoken by almost everyone.

Economy

Because of the scarcity of water, agriculture had been restricted to Asir and to oases strung along the wadis, but irrigation projects have reclaimed many acres of desert, particularly at Al Kharj, southeast of Riyadh, and Hofuf, in the eastern part of the country. Riyadh's desalinized water supply comes from a pipeline on the Persian Gulf. Wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, and citrus fruit are grown, and livestock is raised. Agriculture is a growing economic sector, and the country is approaching food self-sufficiency. Manufacturing, which has also increased, produces chemicals, industrial gases, fertilizer, plastics, and metals. Minerals include iron ore, gold, copper, phosphate, bauxite, and uranium. There is also ship and aircraft repair. Saudi Arabia has a growing banking and financial-services sector, and the country is beginning to encourage tourism, especially along the Red Sea coast. Mecca, Medina, and the port of Jidda have derived much income from religious pilgrims; the annual hajj brings more than 2 million pilgrims to Mecca.

The oil industry, located in the northeast along the Persian Gulf, dominates the economy, comprising 90% of Saudi export earnings. Imports include machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, and textiles. Major trading partners are the United States, Japan, China, South Korea, and Germany. Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1936, and the country is now the world's leading exporter. It contains about one quarter of the world's known reserves; 14 major oil fields exist. A huge petroleum industrial complex has been developed in the town of Al Jubayl, as well as at Yanbu on the Red Sea. There are refinery complexes at Ras Tanura and Ras Hafji on the Persian Gulf; oil also is shipped to Bahrain for refining. The oil boom after World War II led to the construction of the Al Dammam–Riyadh RR, the development of Al Dammam as a deepwater port, and, especially since the 1970s, the general modernization of the country. Saudi Arabia, like other oil-rich Persian Gulf countries, depends heavily upon foreign labor for its oil industry; workers are drawn from Arab countries as well as S and SE Asia.

Government

Saudi Arabia is governed according to Islamic law. The Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was promulgated by royal decree in 1992. The monarch is both head of state and head of government. The unicameral legislature consists of the Consultative Council, which has 150 members and a chairman, all appointed by the monarch for four-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into thirteen provinces.

History

Origins of Saudi Arabia

As a political unit, Saudi Arabia is of relatively recent creation. Its origins lay with the puritanical Wahhabi movement (18th cent.), which gained the allegiance of the powerful Saud family of the Nejd, in central Arabia. Supported by a large Bedouin following, the Sauds brought most of the peninsula under their control, except for Yemen and the Hadhramaut in the extreme south. The Wahhabi movement was crushed (1811–18) by an Egyptian expedition under the sons of Muhammad Ali. After reviving in the mid-19th cent., the Wahhabis were defeated in 1891 by the Rashid dynasty, which gained effective control of central Arabia.

It was Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, known as Ibn Saud, a descendant of the first Wahhabi rulers, who laid the basis of the present Saudi Arabian state. Beginning the Wahhabi reconquest at the turn of the century, Ibn Saud took Riyadh in 1902 and was master of the Nejd by 1906. On the eve of World War I he conquered the Al-Hasa region from the Ottoman Turks and soon extended his control over other areas. He was then ready for the conquest of the Hejaz, ruled since 1916 by Husayn ibn Ali of Mecca. The Hejaz fell to Saud in 1924–25 and in 1932 was combined with the Nejd to form the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy, ruled under Islamic law. In much of the country, King Ibn Saud compelled the Bedouins to abandon traditional ways and encouraged their settlement as farmers.

Development of the Modern State

Oil was discovered in 1936 by the U.S.-owned Arabian Standard Oil Company, which later became the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). Commercial production began in 1938. Saudi Arabia is a charter member of the United Nations. It joined the Arab League in 1945, but it played only a minor role in the Arab wars with Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973. An agreement with the United States in 1951 provided for an American air base at Dhahran, which was maintained until 1962. Ibn Saud died in 1953 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Saud, who soon came to rely on his brother, Crown Prince Faisal (Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud), to administer financial and foreign affairs.

King Saud at first supported the Nasser regime in Egypt, but in 1956, in opposition to Nasser, he entered into close relations with the Hashemite rulers of Jordan and Iraq, until then the traditional enemies of the Saudis. He opposed the union in 1958 of Egypt and Syria as the United Arab Republic and became a bitter foe of Nasser's pan-Arabism and reform program. When, in Sept., 1962, pro-Nasser revolutionaries in neighboring Yemen deposed the new imam and declared a republic, King Saud, together with King Hussein of Jordan, dispatched aid to the royalist troops. The Saudi family deposed Saud, and Prince Faisal became king in Nov., 1964.

Relations with Egypt were severed in 1962, but after the defeat of Egypt by Israel in June, 1967, an agreement was concluded between King Faisal and President Nasser. According to the agreement, the Egyptian army was to withdraw from Yemen and Saudi Arabia was to cease aiding the Yemeni royalists. By 1970, Saudi Arabia had withdrawn all its troops, and relations with Yemen were resumed. Saudi Arabia also agreed to give $140 million a year to Egypt and Jordan, which had been devastated in the 1967 war with Israel. In view of Britain's withdrawal from the Persian Gulf area, King Faisal pursued a policy of friendship with Iran, while encouraging the Arab sheikhdoms that had been under British rule to form the United Arab Emirates. King Faisal, however, maintained claims to the Buraimi oases, which were also claimed by the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi.

In 1972 the government of Saudi Arabia demanded tighter rein on its oil industry as well as participation in the oil concessions of foreign companies. Aramco (a conglomerate of several American oil companies) and the government reached an agreement in June, 1974, whereby the Saudis would take a 60% majority ownership of the company's concessions and assets. The concept of participation was developed by the Saudi Arabian government as an alternative to nationalization. King Faisal played an active role in organizing the Arab oil embargo of 1973, directed against the United States and other nations that supported Israel; as U.S. oil prices soared, Saudi revenues increased. Relations with the United States improved with the signing (1974) of cease-fire agreements between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Syria (both mediated by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger) and by the visit (June, 1974) of President Richard M. Nixon to Jidda.

Contemporary Saudi Arabia

As a result of Saudi Arabia's increased wealth, its quest for stability, and its improved relations with Western nations, the country began an extensive military build-up in the 1970s. On Mar. 25, 1975, King Faisal was assassinated by his nephew Prince Faisal. Crown Prince Khalid (Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Saud) then became the new king, stressing Islamic orthodoxy and conservatism while expanding the country's economy, its social programs, and its educational structures. Saudi Arabia denounced the 1979 agreement between Israel and Egypt and terminated diplomatic relations with Egypt (since renewed). Saudi leaders opposed both the leftist and radical movements that were growing throughout the Arab world, and in the 1970s sent troops to help quell leftist revolutions in Yemen and Oman.

Saudi religious interests were threatened by the fall of Iran's shah in 1979 and by the growth of Islamic fundamentalism. In Nov., 1979, Muslim fundamentalists calling for the overthrow of the Saudi government occupied the Great Mosque in Mecca. After two weeks of fighting the siege ended, leaving a total of 27 Saudi soldiers and over 100 rebels dead. Sixty-three more rebels were later publicly beheaded. In 1980, Shiite Muslims led a series of riots that were put down by the government, which promised to reform the distribution of Saudi wealth. Saudi Arabia supported Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War throughout the 1980s. In May, 1981, it joined Persian Gulf nations in the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to promote economic cooperation between the participating countries. Khalid died in June, 1982, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Prince Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz.

By the early 1980s, Saudi Arabia had gained full ownership of Aramco. Saudi support of Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War became increasingly problematic in the mid-1980s as Iran's threats, especially regarding oil interests, nearly led to Saudi entanglement in the war. Iranian pilgrims rioted in Mecca during the hajj in 1987, causing clashes with Saudi security troops. More than 400 people were killed. This incident, along with Iranian naval attacks on Saudi ships in the Persian Gulf, caused Saudi Arabia to break diplomatic relations with Iran.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in Aug., 1990, King Fahd agreed to the stationing of U.S. and international coalition troops on Saudi soil. Thousands of Saudi troops participated in the Persian Gulf War (1991) against Iraq. The country took in Kuwait's royal family and more than 400,000 Kuwaiti refugees. Though little ground fighting occurred in Saudi Arabia, the cities of Riyadh, Dhahran, and outlying areas were bombed by Iraqi missiles. Coalition troops largely left Saudi Arabia in late 1991; several thousand U.S. troops remained. In 1995 and 1996 terrorist bombings in Riyadh and Dharan killed several American servicemen.

Following the Gulf War, King Fahd returned to a conservative Arab stance, wary of greater Western cooperation. Reforms instituted in the wake of the Gulf War included the creation of a Shura (advisory council), with rights to review but not overrule government acts, promulgation of a bill of rights, and a revision in the procedures for choosing the king. However, these measures left the royal family's power basically undiminished. In 1995 the king created a Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, composed of royal family members and other appointees, in an apparent effort to establish a counterweight to the Ulemas Council, an advisory body of highly conservative Muslim theologians.

In the late 1990s, Crown Prince Abdullah, the king's half-brother and heir to the throne since 1982, effectively became the country's ruler because of King Fahd's poor health. Under the crown prince, the country has been more openly frustrated with and critical of U.S. support for Israel. A treaty with Yemen that ended border disputes dating to the 1930s was signed in 2000, and early the next year both nations withdrew their troops from the border area in compliance with the pact.

The Saudi government restricted the use of American bases in the country during the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), and by Sept., 2003, all U.S. combat forces were withdrawn from the country. Also in 2003, the king issued a decree giving the Shura the authority to propose new laws without first seeking his permission. The move was perhaps prompted in part by rare protests in favor of government reform; the kingdom also was shaken by violent incidents, including a massive car bomb attack against a residential compound in Riyadh, involving Islamic militants. Such terror attacks continued into 2005. The country held elections for municipal councils in Feb.—Apr., 2005, permitting voters (men only) to choose half the council members; the rest of the members were still appointed. King Fahd died in Aug., 2005, and was succeeded by Abdullah.

Bibliography

See C. L. Riley, Historical and Cultural Dictionary of Saudi Arabia (1972); E. A. Nakhleh, The United States and Saudi Arabia (1975); W. B. Quandt, Saudi Arabia in the 1980s (1981); A. Al-Yassini, Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1985); M. Abir, Saudi Arabia in the Oil Era (1988); H.-J. Philipp, Saudi Arabia, Pt. II: Bibliography on Society, Politics, Economics (1988), J. R. Presley and T. Westaway, A Guide to the Saudi Arabian Economy (2d. ed. 1989); S. al-Sowayan, ed., Encyclopedia of Folklore of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2000); J. Kechichian, Succession in Saudi Arabia (2001).

 
Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia: Saudi Arabia

Country in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occupies the greater part of the Arabian Peninsula, with a size of approximately 830,000 square miles (2,150,000 sq. km) and a population in 2002 of approximately 22 million. The country is bounded on the west by the Red Sea; on the north by Jordan and Iraq; on the east by the Gulf (also known as the Persian or Arabian Gulf) and the small states of Kuwait, the island state of Bahrain just off the Saudi shore, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates; and on the south by Oman and Yemen. The country forms a rough triangle, tilting from west to east. Al-Hijaz, the west-ernmost of the three principal regions, rises from a low, barren coastal plain to a craggy, mountainous spine before leveling out into a gravel plateau. As the birthplace of Islam, al-Hijaz contains Islam's holiest cities, Makka (Mecca) and al-Madina (Medina). It also contains Saudi Arabia's second-largest city, Jidda (Jedda), with the country's biggest port. The center of the country is occupied by the Najd, the historic center of modern Saudi Arabia and the location of its capital, Riyadh. The Eastern Province, lying between Riyadh and the Gulf, contains nearly all of the kingdom's massive oil deposits. Besides the conurbation of al-Zahran (Dhahran), al-Dammam, and al-Khubar (Khobar), the province also embraces the extensive and ancient oases of al-Ahsa (Hasa) and al-Qatif. Along the southeastern border, Saudi Arabia shares with Oman and Yemen the world's largest sand desert, al-Rub al-Khali (The empty quarter). In the southwest, the mountains of
al-Hijaz grow higher as they proceed south across Asir into Yemen. The country is divided into thirteen provinces.

Nearly all of the country is desert, and the climate is generally very hot in the summer and humid along the seashores. Although the coastal plains are mild in winter, the interior desert can be cold. Small juniper forests exist only in several spots in the western mountains. There are no rivers or permanent bodies of water. Rainfall is sparse.

Economy

Traditionally, the majority of the people were engaged in pastoral nomadism, herding camels, goats, and sheep. Subsistence agriculture was practiced in the extensive oases of al-Ahsa (Hasa) and al-Qatif in the Eastern Province, as well as in other smaller oases across the country. Cultivation was also intense in the southwest highlands, and fishing was a feature along both the Red Sea and Gulf coasts, The west, particularly Mecca, Jidda, and Medina, relied on the hajj (the annual Muslim pilgrimage) for income. Trade was important throughout the country, but especially for the small ports along the coastlines and for transshipment centers such as Burayda and Unayza in the Najd.

Oil exploration began in the Eastern Province in the 1930s, and commercially exploitable reserves were discovered in 1938. The advent of the Second World War delayed large-scale production until the late 1940s. Production levels reached 0.5 million barrels per day in 1949, doubling by 1955, and rising to 3.5 million barrels per day by 1968. By the beginning of the 1980s, Saudi Arabia was producing about 10 million barrels per day. This declined to less than 4 million barrels per day as a result of the decline in world demand for oil, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century the kingdom was again producing over 8 million barrels per day and had become the world's largest crude oil exporter. Total reserves were estimated at 262 billion barrels in 2002, giving Saudi Arabia about 25 percent of the world's total. Other natural resources are negligible, although several small gold mines were put into operation in the early 1990s.

Oil completely transformed the Saudi economy. Prior to oil, the nascent Saudi kingdom was a poor state, highly dependent on hajj revenues for the government's income. Since then, Saudi Arabia has become a highly developed social welfare state. In the 1980s, it also embarked on a large-scale program of industrialization, emphasizing petrochemical industries and other energy-intensive industrial programs that could make effective use of locally refined oil or gas for fuel. The small ports of al-Jubayl on the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea were selected as complementary sites for new industrial cities. Other industrial efforts have gone into import substitution and highly subsidized agricultural programs.

Language, Religion, and Education

Nearly all Saudi citizens are Arab, although there has been considerable ethnic mixing in al-Hijaz as a result of centuries of immigration connected with the hajj. Arabic is the sole indigenous language, but English is widely spoken. All Saudis are Muslims and most are Sunni. The Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence predominates because of Wahhabism, a movement within Sunni Islam, founded in eighteenth-century Najd by Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, emphasizing the ascetic values of early Islam and widely followed within the kingdom (its adherents prefer to be known as Muwahhidun, or Unitarians). Saudi Arabia also perceives itself as having a special responsibility for the protection of the Islamic holy places. As many as 500,000 inhabitants of al-Qatif and al-Ahsa oases are Jaʿfari (or Twelver) Shiʿa, and small Shiʿite communities are to be found in Medina and Najran.

Great strides were made in education over the last half of the twentieth century, and about 62 percent
of Saudi citizens are literate. The country has eight universities, the oldest of which dates from 1957. Three universities specialize in Islamic disciplines and the other five offer broader curricula. Several hundred thousand Saudis have received a university education abroad, notably in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Political Structure

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, headed by a king drawn from the Al Saʿud royal family. The country's four monarchs since 1953 all have been sons of King Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd al-Rahman (r. 1902 - 1953): Saʿud (r. 1953 - 1964), Faisal (r. 1964 - 1975), Khalid (r. 1975 - 1982), and Fahd (r. 1982 - ). King Fahd also holds the title of prime minister. His half-brother Abdullah is heir apparent and first deputy prime minister. Because of King Fahd's poor health, Abdullah serves as the de facto head of government. Although the king holds enormous power, he is not
an absolute monarch, being required to rule according to Islamic precepts and tribal tradition. Important decisions are made only after gaining the consensus of an inner circle of male members of the royal family. Generally, the process of consensus-building also includes the rest of the family, other key families (such as collateral branches of the Al Saʿud and the Al al-Shaykh, descendants of Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab), the religious establishment, tribal shaykhs, senior government officials, and prominent merchant families.

The Council of Ministers was established in 1953 and its ranks have expanded so that the majority is made up of commoners, in addition to members of the Al Saʿud. The family continues to hold the key portfolios of defense, interior, and foreign affairs. The armed forces are divided into four services: army, air force, air defense, and navy. There is also a large national guard, which serves as a counterbalance to the regular armed forces and is said to be particularly loyal to the Al Saʿud. Saudi Arabia's orientation in foreign policy traditionally has been first to the Arab states and then to the Islamic world. Since the 1940s, the United States has been a key partner in oil exploitation, socioeconomic development, trade, and military and security matters. Staunchly anti-Communist, the kingdom established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union only in 1990 (earlier relations in the 1920s and 1930s were allowed to lapse).

History

The present kingdom is the third Saudi state established since an alliance was struck in 1744 between Islamic reformer Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab and Muhammad ibn Saʿud Al Saʿud, then the head of the small town of al-Dirʿiyya in Najd. Imbued with the religious fervor of Wahhabism, Muhammad ibn Saʿud and his successors were able to extend their authority over much of Arabia, thus creating the first Saudi state. However, their success, and especially the occupation of Mecca, aroused the anxiety of the Ottoman Empire, which instructed its viceroy in Egypt, Muhammad Ali, to send an army to Arabia to sack al-Dirʿiyya in 1818, and the Al Saʿud family's seat was subsequently moved to Riyadh, where it has remained ever since. Saudi fortunes revived in the mid-nineteenth century under Turki ibn Abdullah, who founded the second Saudi state, and his son Faysal ibn Turki, who regained many of the territories won by his predecessors and added new ones. However, another disastrous period in the late nineteenth century saw the Al Saʿud forced to surrender Najd to a rival family, the Al Rashid of Haʾil, and flee to Kuwait.

The origins of the third Saudi state lie in a surprise attack by young Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd al-Rahman on Riyadh in 1902. With Riyadh restored to Al Saʿud control, Abd al-Aziz (commonly known in the West as Ibn Saʿud) was able to conquer the rest of southern Najd and most of the Eastern Province before the First World War. After the war, the Saudi leader first absorbed the Al Rashid state and then conquered the Hashimi kingdom in al-Hijaz. At the beginning of 1926, Abd al-Aziz was able to proclaim himself King of al-Hijaz and Sultan of Najd. Over the next decade, he gradually extended his boundaries to their present limits, being prevented from further expansion on all sides by British-protected states (apart from Yemen, with whom a border war was fought in 1934). In 1932, the name of the country was changed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The later years of King Abd al-Aziz's reign witnessed the infusion of oil income into a traditional society and the waste of much of it on consumer goods and the palaces of the Al Saʿud. Breaking with tradition, which held that succession should go to the strongest, King Abd al-Aziz appointed his weak son Saʿud as his heir instead of the more capable son Faisal. The early years of Saʿud's reign brought the kingdom to the brink of financial disaster, and his flirtation with Egypt's socialist leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, did not prevent Egyptian intervention in Yemen in 1962. In 1964, an Al Saʿud family council, with the backing of the powerful religious establishment, deposed King Saʿud and named Faisal king. Faisal was able to continue the reforms
he already had instituted as prime minister and to lay the foundations of a modern government and social welfare system. Although he resisted Arab demands for a Saudi oil boycott of the West during the 1956 Arab-Israel War, he was unable to do so during the October 1973 war. The resultant shortage sent the price of oil soaring and put the kingdom in the center of the world stage.

In 1975, King Faisal was assassinated by a cousin, and his half-brother Khalid succeeded him, but Khalid left much of the day-to-day governing to his half-brother Fahd. When Khalid died in 1982, King Fahd inherited a country faced with much-reduced oil revenues and increasingly severe external challenges. The government suffered sixteen consecutive years of budget deficits before recording a surplus in 2000. The Iranian Revolution
(1979) and Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988) had refocused both Saudi and Western assessments of the principal threat to the kingdom away from the Soviet Union to a resurgent Iran. Saudi-Iranian relations remained troubled through the 1980s but improved through the 1990s. An even more serious threat emerged in August 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait and raised fears that it had designs on Saudi oil fields as well. Riyadh invited Arab and Western governments to participate in a coalition to drive the invading forces out of Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm was launched from Saudi territory in early 1991 and accomplished the liberation of Kuwait and the destruction of much of Iraq's military and industrial capability. The kingdom participated fully in the subsequent economic sanctions against Iraq, although popular opinion increasingly turned against them.

The kingdom has relied heavily on its "special relationship" with the United States for more than fifty years. But ties were severely strained after the terrorist attacks on the United States of 11 September 2001. Al-Qaʿida, a radical Islamist network established by a Saudi national, Osama bin Ladin, apparently orchestrated the attacks and recruited fifteen Saudis to be among the nineteen hijackers. In the following years, many in the United States claimed that the kingdom was not doing enough to stop the flow of funding to terrorist groups and that the country encouraged anti-American beliefs. The Saudi government strenuously denied these allegations and the Saudi and U.S. governments continued to have close official relations. A May 2003 terrorist attack on residential areas in Riyadh sparked a Saudi campaign to eradicate extremists in the kingdom, and a number of arrests and shootouts occurred over the succeeding months.

Riyadh's refusal to allow the United States to use military facilities in the kingdom during the 2003 war against Iraq prompted Washington to establish alternative bases in Qatar. By the end of that summer, all U.S. military detachments (apart from elements involved in training Saudi forces) were removed from the kingdom; this had been a key alQaʿida demand.

Bibliography

Fandy, Mamoun. Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Helms, Christine Moss. The Cohesion of Saudi Arabia: Evolution of Political Identity. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.

Holden, David, and Johns, Richard, with Buchan, James. The House of Saud: The Rise and Rule of the Most Powerful Dynasty in the Arab World. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1982.

Kechichian, Joseph A. Succession in Saudi Arabia. New York: Palgrave, 2001.

Niblock, Tim, ed. State, Society, and Economy in Saudi Arabia. London: Croon Helm, for the University of Exeter Centre for Arab Gulf Studies, 1982.

Rasheed, Madawi Al-. A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

— J. E. PETERSON

 
Geography: Saudi Arabia
(sow-dee, saw-dee, sah-ooh-dee)

Monarchy occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula, where it is bordered by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the east and south; Yemen to the south; and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba to the west. Its capital and largest city is Riyadh.

  • Saudi Arabia sits on at least one-fourth of the world's known oil reserves, a geological gift that makes this otherwise resource-poor, desert nation very rich and important to the industrial nations of the world.
  • Overwhelmingly Muslim, the country is ruled by a royal family according to conservative Muslim law.
  • Saudi Arabia is the location of Mecca and Medina, the two most holy places in the world for Muslims, pilgrimage sites equivalent to the Catholic Rome and the Christian and Jewish Jerusalem.
  • Saudi Arabia became the major staging ground for United Nations forces seeking to expel Iraq from Kuwait in 1990-1991. (See Persian Gulf War.)

 
Dialing Code: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The international dialing code for Saudi Arabia is:   966


 
Maps: Saudi Arabia

 
Local Time: Saudi Arabia

Local Time: Jul 26, 6:14 AM

 
Currency: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Riyal


 
Statistics: Saudi Arabia
Click to enlarge

Introduction

Background: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.

Geography

Location:Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
Geographic coordinates:25 00 N, 45 00 E
Map references:Middle East
Area:total: 2,149,690 sq km
land: 2,149,690 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US
Land boundaries:total: 4,431 km
border countries: Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km
Coastline:2,640 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: not specified
Climate:harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes
Terrain:mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m
Natural resources:petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Land use:arable land: 1.67%
permanent crops: 0.09%
other: 98.24% (2005)
Irrigated land:16,200 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:frequent sand and dust storms
Environment - current issues:desertification; depletion of underground water resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal

People

Population:27,601,038
note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 38.2% (male 5,369,285/female 5,162,585)
15-64 years: 59.4% (male 9,316,694/female 7,089,370)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 348,827/female 314,277) (2007 est.)
Median age:total: 21.4 years
male: 22.9 years
female: 19.6 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:2.06% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:29.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:2.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:-5.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.314 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female
total population: 1.196 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 12.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.24 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 75.88 years
male: 73.85 years
female: 78.02 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:3.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:0.01% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:NA
Nationality:noun: Saudi(s)
adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic groups:Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Religions:Muslim 100%
Languages:Arabic
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.8%
male: 84.7%
female: 70.8% (2003 est.)

Government

Country name:conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
conventional short form: Saudi Arabia
local long form: Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
local short form: Al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
Government type:monarchy
Capital:name: Riyadh
geographic coordinates: 24 38 N, 46 43 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions: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
Independence:23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)
National holiday:Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)
Constitution:governed according to Islamic law; the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was promulgated by royal decree in 1992
Legal system:based on Shari'a law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:21 years of age; male
Executive branch:chief of state: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SULTAN bin Abd al- Aziz Al Saud (half brother of the monarch, born 5 January 1928) note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers is appointed by the monarch every four years and includes many royal family members
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; note - a new Allegiance Commission created by royal decree in October 2006 established a committee of Saudi princes that will play a role in selecting future Saudi kings, but the new system will not take effect until after Crown Prince Sultan becomes king
Legislative branch:Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura (150 members and a chairman appointed by the monarch for four-year terms); note - though the Council of Ministers announced in October 2003 its intent to introduce elections for half of the members of local and provincial assemblies and a third of the members of the national Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura, incrementally over a period of four to five years, to date no such elections have been held or announced
Judicial branch:Supreme Council of Justice
Political parties and leaders:none
Political pressure groups and leaders:none
International organization participation:ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BIS, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:chief of mission: Ambassador Adil al-Ahmad al-JUBAYR
chancery: 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 342-3800
FAX: [1] (202) 944-3113
consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:chief of mission: Ambassador Ford FRAKER
embassy: Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh
mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 61307, APO AE 09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693
telephone: [966] (1) 488-3800
FAX: [966] (1) 488-7360
consulate(s) general: Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)
Flag description:green, a traditional color in Islamic flags, with the Shahada or Muslim creed in large white Arabic script (translated as "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God") above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); design dates to the early twentieth century and is closely associated with the Al Saud family which established the kingdom in 1932

Economy

Economy - overview:Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses 25% 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. The government is encouraging private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and to increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. The government is promoting private sector and foreign participation in the power generation, telecom, natural gas, and petrochemical industries. 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. With high oil revenues enabling the government to post large budget surpluses, Riyadh has substantially boosted spending on job training and education, infrastructure development, and government salaries. The government has announced plans to establish six "economic cities" in different regions of the country to promote development and diversification.
GDP (purchasing power parity):$371.5 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):$282 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:4.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 3%
industry: 63.6%
services: 33.4% (2006 est.)
Labor force:6.311 million
note: more than 35% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:agriculture: 12%
industry: 25%
services: 63% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:13% among Saudi males only (local bank estimate; some estimates range as high as 25%) (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):2.2% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):17% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget:revenues: $174.8 billion
expenditures: $104.1 billion (2006 est.)
Public debt:32.2% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products:wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus; mutton, chickens, eggs, milk
Industries:crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals; ammonia, industrial gases, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), cement, fertilizer, plastics; metals, commercial ship repair, commercial aircraft repair, construction
Industrial production growth rate:1.9% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production:165.6 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:146.9 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production:9.475 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:1.845 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - exports:8.554 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:264.2 billion bbl (1 January 2006)
Current account balance:$104.1 billion (2006 est.)
Exports:$207.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:petroleum and petroleum products 90%
Exports - partners:Japan 17.7%, US 15.8%, South Korea 9%, China 7.2%, Taiwan 4.6%, Singapore 4.4% (2006)
Imports:$64.16 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities:machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles
Imports - partners:US 12.3%, Germany 8.6%, China 8%, Japan 7.3%, UK 4.9%, Italy 4.8%, South Korea 4.1% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$27.77 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external:$46.6 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid - donor:since 2000, Saudi Arabia has committed $307 million for assistance to the Palestinians; pledged $230 million to development in Afghanistan; pledged $1 billion in export guarantees and soft loans to Iraq; pledged $133 million in direct grant aid, $187 million in concessional loans, and $153 million in export credits for Pakistan earthquake relief; pledged a total of $1.59 billion to Lebanon in assistance and deposits to the Central Bank of Lebanon in 2006 and pledged an additional $1.1 billion in early 2007
Currency (code):Saudi riyal (SAR)
Exchange rates:Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.745 (2006), 3.747 (2005), 3.75 (2004), 3.75 (2003), 3.75 (2002)
Fiscal year:calendar year

Transportation

Airports:213 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 77
over 3,047 m: 32
2,438 to 3,047 m: 15
1,524 to 2,437 m: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 136
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 73
914 to 1,523 m: 39
under 914 m: 15 (2007)
Heliports:8 (2007)
Pipelines:condensate 212 km; gas 1,880 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,183 km; oil 4,531 km; refined products 1,150 km (2006)
Railways:total: 1,392 km
standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (with branch lines and sidings) (2006)
Roadways:total: 152,044 km
paved: 45,461 km
unpaved: 106,583 km (2000)
Merchant marine:total: 59 ships (1000 GRT or over) 847,094 GRT/1,059,026 DWT
by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 15, container 4, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 8
foreign-owned: 10 (Egypt 1, Greece 2, Kuwait 6, UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 63 (Bahamas 15, Comoros 1, Dominica 1, France 1, Liberia 24, Marshall Islands 4, Norway 3, Panama 14) (2007)
Ports and terminals:Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Jiddah, Yanbu' al Sinaiyah

Military

Military branches:Land Forces (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary)
Military service age and obligation:18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2004)
Manpower available for military service:males age 18-49: 7,648,999
females age 18-49: 5,417,922 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 18-49: 6,592,709
females age 18-49: 4,659,347 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:males age 18-49: 247,334
females age 18-49: 234,500 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:10% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the now fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue discussions on a maritime boundary with Iran
Refugees and internally displaced persons:refugees (country of origin): 240,015 (Palestinian Territories) (2006)
Trafficking in persons:current situation: Saudi Arabia is a destination country for workers from South and Southeast Asia who are subjected to conditions that constitute involuntary servitude including being subjected to physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, confinement, and withholding of passports as a restriction on their movement; domestic workers are particularly vulnerable because some are confined to the house in which they work unable to seek help; Saudi Arabia is also a destination country for Nigerian, Yemeni, Pakistani, Afghan, Somali, Malian, and Sudanese children trafficked for forced begging and involuntary servitude as street vendors; some Nigerian women were reportedly trafficked into Saudi Arabia for commercial sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 3 - Saudi Arabia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so
Illicit drugs:death penalty for traffickers; improving anti-money-laundering legislation and enforcement

 
Local Cuisine: Saudi Arabia

Recipes

Fatir (Flat Bread)
Hawayij (Spice Blend)
Haysa Al-Tumreya (Dip for Dates)
Kapsa (Chicken and Rice)
Kimaje (Flat Bread)
Laban Drink (Yogurt Drink)
Rice, Saudi Style
Tabbouleh (Bulgur Wheat Salad)
Hummus
Qahwa (Arabic Coffee)

Geographic Setting and Environment

Saudi Arabia, the third-largest country in Asia, constitutes about four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula. The other countries that share the peninsula—Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait—are all much smaller in area. A narrow plain runs along the Red Sea coast. The Hijaz Mountains (Al Hijaz) rise sharply from the sea. At least one-third of the total area is sandy desert. There are no lakes, and except for artesian wells (wells where water flows to the surface naturally) in the eastern oases, there are no rivers or streams where water flows.

History and Food

The people of Saudi Arabia are descended from tribes of nomadic sheep and goat herders and maintain many of the traditions of their past. Traditional foods like dates, fatir (flat bread), arikah (bread from the southwestern part of the country), and hawayij (a spice blend) are still eaten by Saudis today, although most Saudis have settled in towns and cities and no longer follow the nomadic lifestyle. Saudi Arabia is also home to Mecca, the origin and spiritual center of Islam. The culture, as well as the laws of Saudi Arabia, is founded on Islamic principles, including the dietary restrictions against eating pork or drinking alcohol.

In the 1930s, oil was discovered on the Arabian Peninsula. Income from oil has allowed Saudi Arabia to become modernized and to begin to develop stronger industries in other areas such as agriculture. Saudi Arabia now produces all of its own dairy products and most of its own vegetables. Many foreign workers are needed to maintain the new industries, and foreign foods as well as fast food chains are now available in Saudi Arabia. However, it is mostly the foreigners who eat those foods; most Saudis prefer traditional fare.

See Fatir (Flat Bread) recipe.

See Hawayij (Spice Blend) recipe.

See Haysa Al-Tumreya (Dip for Dates) recipe.

Foods of the Saudis

The people of Saudi Arabia are very traditional and eat the same foods they have eaten for centuries. The average meal of the Bedouin nomads who remain in Saudi Arabia is much simpler than that of the urban Saudis who make up the majority of Saudi Arabia's population today. However, the basic ingredients are the same: fava beans, wheat, rice, yogurt, dates, and chicken are staple foods for all Saudis. Saudi Arabia has over 18 million date palms that produce 600 million pounds of dates each year.

Saudis rank as the highest consumers of broiler chickens in the world, eating an average of 88.2 pounds of chicken per person per year. Saudis are strict Muslims and, following Islamic law, do not eat pork or drink alcohol. Lamb is traditionally served to honored guests and at holiday feasts. According to Islamic law, animals must be butchered in a particular way and blessed before they can be eaten, so Saudi Arabia is the world's largest importer of live sheep.

Camel (or sheep or goat) milk has long been the staple of the Bedouin diet, and dairy products are still favorites with all Saudis. Yogurt is eaten alone, used in sauces, and made into a drink called a lassi. Flat breads—fatir, a flat bread cooked on a curved metal pan over a fire, and kimaje, similar to pita—are the other mainstay of the nomadic diet that are eaten by all Saudis. These breads are used at every meal, in place of a fork or spoon, to scoop up other foods.

See Kapsa (Chicken and Rice) recipe.

See Kimaje (Flat Bread) recipe.

See Laban Drink (Yogurt Drink) recipe.

Food for Religious and Holiday Celebrations

Saudi Arabia is a Muslim nation. The national holidays are Islamic holidays, including Ramadan (a month of fasting from sunup to sundown), Eid al-Fitr (the feast at the end of Ramadan), and Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice). Two of the Five Pillars (requirements) of Islam are to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, and to give aid to the poor. Eid al-Adha, which occurs at the end of the month of pilgrimage, reenacts the story of God giving Abraham a ram to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac. It also fulfills the requirement to give to the poor, by having a lamb ritually slaughtered and donating the meat to those in need.

Most Saudi holiday meals include thick soups, stuffed vegetables, bean salads or tabbouleh (a salad made with bulgur wheat), hummus, rice, and the flat bread that is eaten with all meals. Dates, raisins, and nuts are served as appetizers or snacks, and sweet desserts finish off the meal. Ornate rugs are laid out on the floor and dishes of food placed on them. The feasters sit cross-legged on the floor around the rugs and eat with their fingers or bread, sharing from the same dishes. Hands are ritually washed, in accordance with Islamic law, before and after eating.

See Rice, Saudi Style recipe.

See Tabbouleh (Bulgur Wheat Salad) recipe.

See Hummus recipe.

Mealtime Customs

Saudi customs for mealtimes and table etiquette come from both their nomadic tribal heritage as well as their Islamic tradition. Based on nomadic habits of herding animals throughout daylight hours, daytime meals are small, with a large meal in the evening. The month-long celebration of Ramadan builds on this tradition, requiring a complete fast from sunup until sundown, with a large meal after sunset. Saudi meals are eaten sitting cross-legged on the floor or on pillows around a rug or low table (as though in a tent), sharing food out of the same dishes. Food is usually eaten with the fingers or a piece of bread. Following Islamic law, only the right hand is used for eating, as the left hand is considered "unclean" because it is used for personal hygiene. Ritual hand washing is completed before and after eating.

Dates and sweet tea are favorite snacks for Saudis, and buttermilk, cola, and a yogurt drink known as lassi are popular beverages. Coffee has been a central part of Saudi life for centuries, with an intricate ceremony to prepare and serve it. Preparing the coffee involves four different pots in which the coffee grounds, water, and spices are combined and brewed before being served in small cups. It is considered very rude to refuse a cup of coffee offered by the host, and it is most polite to accept odd numbers of cups (one, three, five, etc.). Saudi men spend a great deal of time in coffeehouses, drinking coffee or tea and talking.

See Qahwa (Arabic Coffee) recipe.

Politics, Economics, and Nutrition

The Saudis in general receive adequate nutrition. The country's agricultural practices have been modernized and the government has made significant investments in irrigation. Saudi farmers grow and raise almost enough crops and livestock to meet the needs of the population.

According to the World Bank, less than 4 percent of the population experiences inadquate nutrition, and nearly 90 percent of Saudi citizens have access to adequate sanitation.

Further Study

Books

Alford, Jeffrey, and Naomi Duguid. Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker's Atlas. New York: William Morrow, 1995.

Dosti, Rose. Mideast & Mediterranean Cuisines. Tucson, AZ: Fisher Books, 1993.

Honeyman, Susannah. Saudi Arabia. Country Fact Files series. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 1995.

Webb, Lois Sinaiko. Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1995.

Web Sites

4Arabs. [Online] Available at http://www.4arabs.com (accessed May 2, 2001).

ArabNet. [Online] Available at http://www.arab.net/saudi (accessed May 2, 2001).

Diana's Gourmet Corner. [Online] Available at http://belgourmet.com/cooking/index.html (accessed May 2, 2001).

Recipe Source. [Online] Available at http://www.recipesource.com (accessed April 19, 2001).

Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. [Online] Available at http://www.saudiembassy.net (accessed May 2, 2001).

Saudi Arabia—A Country Study. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. [Online] Available at http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/satoc.html (accessed May 5, 2001).

Saudi Arabia—Cultural Profiles Project. [Online] Available at http://cwr.utoronto.ca/cultural/english/arabia (accessed May 2, 2001).

The Saudi Arabian Directory. [Online] Available at http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~i9248809/saudia.html (accessed May 5, 2001).

The Saudi Arabian Information Resource. [Online] Available at http://www.saudinf.com (accessed May 5, 2001).

U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council. [Online] Available at http://www.us-saudi-business.org (accessed May 2, 2001).


 
Blogs: Related blogs on: Saudi Arabia

Add your blog to the Answers Directory.

 
Wikipedia: Saudi Arabia
"KSA" redirects here. For other uses of the term, please see KSA (disambiguation).
المملكة العربية السعودية
al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya as-Su’ūdiyya
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Flag of Saudi Arabia Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto
"There is no God but Allah; Muhammad is His messenger" (the Shahadah)
Anthem
"Aash Al Maleek"
"Long live the King"
Location of Saudi Arabia
Capital
(and largest city)		 Riyadh
24°39′N, 46°46′E
Official languages Arabic
Demonym Saudi, Saudi Arabian
Government Absolute monarchy
 -  King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
 -  Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz
Establishment
 -  Kingdom declared January 8, 1926 
 -  Recognized May 20, 1927 
 -  Unified September 23, 1932 
Area
 -  Total  km² (14th)
 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) negligible
Population
 -  2007 estimate 24,735,000[1] (46th)
 -  Density 11/km² (205th)
 /sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate
 -  Total $446 billion (27th)
 -  Per capita $21,200 (41st)
HDI (2004) Green_Arrow_Up_Darker.svg 0.777 (medium) (76th)
Currency Riyal (SAR)
Time zone AST (UTC+3)
 -  Summer (DST) (not observed) (UTC+3)
Internet TLD .sa
Calling code [[+966]]
1 Population estimate includes 5,576,076 non-nationals.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south, with the Persian Gulf to its northeast and the Red Sea to its west. It has an estimated population of 27.5 million, and its size is approximately 2,150,000 square km (830,000 square miles)

The Kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of The Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest places in Islam. In English, it is most commonly referred to as Saudi Arabia (pronounced /ˈsɒdɪ/ or /ˈsaudɪ əˈɹeɪ̯bɪə/). The Kingdom was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, whose efforts began in 1902 when he captured the Al-Saud’s ancestral home of Riyadh, and culminated in 1932 with the proclamation, and recognition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is the world's leading petroleum exporter and petroleum exports fuel the Saudi economy.[2] Oil accounts for more than 90 percent of exports and nearly 75 percent of government revenues, facilitating the creation of a welfare state,[3][4] which the government has found it difficult to fund during periods of low oil prices.[5]

History

Main article: History of Saudi Arabia