Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in <a href="/facts/West_Asia/xXM15vIz">West Asia</a>. Located in the centre of the <a href="/facts/Middle_East/8CD6pLWv">Middle East</a>, it covers the bulk of the <a href="/facts/Arabian_Peninsula/x1fDka2b">Arabian Peninsula</a> and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), making it the <a href="/facts/List_of_Asian_countries_by_area/xWhy4JPm">fifth-largest country</a> in <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a>, the largest in the <a href="/facts/Middle_East/8CD6pLWv">Middle East</a>, and the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area/XQWaBfYo">12th-largest</a> in the world. It is bordered by the <a href="/facts/Red_Sea/0dKWSgEe">Red Sea</a> to the west; <a href="/facts/Jordan/JC5sS1oJ">Jordan</a>, <a href="/facts/Iraq/pqYSFJw8">Iraq</a>, and <a href="/facts/Kuwait/HJLFQ59s">Kuwait</a> to the north; the <a href="/facts/Persian_Gulf/W78AfnC1">Persian Gulf</a>, <a href="/facts/Bahrain/ndXdWPhr">Bahrain</a>, <a href="/facts/Qatar/K4EkNXJE">Qatar</a> and the <a href="/facts/United_Arab_Emirates/o1bEjgbR">United Arab Emirates</a> to the east; <a href="/facts/Oman/yNr7BPbm">Oman</a> to the southeast; and <a href="/facts/Yemen/eDyoh4qV">Yemen</a> to <a href="/facts/Saudi_Arabia%25E2%2580%2593Yemen_border/vPzG8c1m">the south</a>. The <a href="/facts/Gulf_of_Aqaba/axWHgYhX">Gulf of Aqaba</a> in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a> and <a href="/facts/Israel/dEe3IcaY">Israel</a>. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of <a href="/facts/Geography_of_Saudi_Arabia/qtbHNwLH">its terrain</a> consists of <a href="/facts/Arabian_Desert/tTu0TbDK">arid desert</a>, lowland, steppe, and <a href="/facts/List_of_mountains_in_Saudi_Arabia/ByMDIRw9">mountains</a>. The capital and <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_Saudi_Arabia/nEod4VG5">largest city</a> is <a href="/facts/Riyadh/2e9UVxy5">Riyadh</a>; other major cities include <a href="/facts/Jeddah/JPlV41xo">Jeddah</a> and the two <a href="/facts/Holiest_sites_in_Islam/7ojI7NmR">holiest cities in Islam</a>, <a href="/facts/Mecca/udqyuk0k">Mecca</a> and <a href="/facts/Medina/nbDykVmK">Medina</a>. With <a href="/facts/Demographics_of_Saudi_Arabia/b2X0S2sV">a population of almost 32.2 million</a>, Saudi Arabia is the fourth most populous country in the <a href="/facts/Arab_world/F8Jouq98">Arab world</a>.
<a href="/facts/Pre-Islamic_Arabia/v6TGYKyB">Pre-Islamic Arabia</a>, the territory that constitutes modern-day Saudi Arabia, was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations; the <a href="/facts/History_of_Saudi_Arabia/Sdp4TYpH">prehistory of Saudi Arabia</a> shows some of the earliest traces of human activity outside Africa. <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a>, the world's second-largest religion, emerged in what is now Saudi Arabia in the early seventh century. Islamic prophet <a href="/facts/Muhammad/5VcA7XrT">Muhammad</a> united the population of the <a href="/facts/Arabian_Peninsula/x1fDka2b">Arabian Peninsula</a> and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers expanded Muslim rule beyond Arabia, <a href="/facts/Early_Muslim_conquests/HyPkljcc">conquering</a> territories in <a href="/facts/North_Africa/ItxQAfs7">North Africa</a>, <a href="/facts/Central_Asia/rB8k0CyT">Central</a>, <a href="/facts/South_Asia/7gTqe3hY">South Asia</a> and <a href="/facts/Iberian_Peninsula/ztFXI8zt">Iberia</a> within decades. Arab dynasties originating from modern-day Saudi Arabia founded the <a href="/facts/Rashidun_Caliphate/UBtWHvDj">Rashidun</a> (632–661), <a href="/facts/Umayyad_Caliphate/gdW8JwoK">Umayyad</a> (661–750), <a href="/facts/Abbasid_Caliphate/mPeLAbXt">Abbasid</a> (750–1517), and <a href="/facts/Fatimid_Caliphate/jgmF2I5C">Fatimid</a> (909–1171) caliphates, as well as <a href="/facts/List_of_Muslim_states_and_dynasties/DVfgkBu3">numerous other dynasties</a> in Asia, <a href="/facts/Islam_in_Africa/M9qnlqzr">Africa</a>, and <a href="/facts/Islam_in_Europe/lH1JPn25">Europe</a>.
Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by <a href="/facts/Ibn_Saud/4Hmo3To7">King Abdulaziz</a> (also known as Ibn Saud), who united the regions of <a href="/facts/Hejaz/elkPdQyh">Hejaz</a>, <a href="/facts/Najd/2a9D5azR">Najd</a>, parts of <a href="/facts/Eastern_Arabia/R7BfJIdS">Eastern Arabia</a> (Al-Ahsa) and <a href="/facts/South_Arabia/K651cYek">South Arabia</a> (<a href="/facts/Asir/ele9Vnzj">Aseer</a>) into a single state through <a href="/facts/Unification_of_Saudi_Arabia/kmr3oduz">a series of conquests</a>, beginning in 1902 with <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Riyadh_(1902)/6P1DbH8C">the capture of Riyadh</a>. Saudi Arabia has since been an <a href="/facts/Absolute_monarchy/bw15yYtX">absolute monarchy</a> governed by an <a href="/facts/Authoritarian/88Kfm2gU">authoritarian</a> regime without public input. In its <a href="/facts/Basic_Law_of_Saudi_Arabia/Qaz2U5jR">Basic Law</a>, Saudi Arabia defines itself as a sovereign Arab <a href="/facts/Islamic_state/1307qum3">Islamic state</a> with <a href="/facts/Islam_in_Saudi_Arabia/mKH1LmJp">Islam as its official religion</a> and <a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a> as its official language. The ultraconservative <a href="/facts/Wahhabism/FGAPQ20M">Wahhabi</a> religious movement within <a href="/facts/Sunni_Islam/WYo0zeq0">Sunni Islam</a> was the prevailing political and cultural force in the country until the 2000s. The Saudi government has attracted criticism for various policies such as its <a href="/facts/Saudi-led_intervention_in_the_Yemeni_civil_war/sy1ffXrP">intervention in the Yemeni Civil War</a> and widespread use of <a href="/facts/Capital_punishment_in_Saudi_Arabia/dc2PVVDx">capital punishment</a>.
Saudi Arabia is considered both a <a href="/facts/Regional_power/5sEzSjCx">regional</a> and <a href="/facts/Middle_power/ku44qNYY">middle</a> power. Since <a href="/facts/Petroleum/IQV0bHVd">petroleum</a> was <a href="/facts/Dammam_No._7/f4rImel6">discovered in the country in 1938</a>, the kingdom has become the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_oil_production/CaU6lTJV">second-largest oil producer</a> and leading oil exporter, controlling the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves/1TqTuhrp">second-largest oil reserves</a> and the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_natural_gas_proven_reserves/xEqpQMoE">sixth-largest gas reserves</a>. Saudi Arabia is categorized as a <a href="/facts/World_Bank_high-income_economy/KTrB8swr">World Bank high-income economy</a> and is the only Arab country among the <a href="/facts/G20/pFut6kJQ">G20</a> major economies. The <a href="/facts/Economy_of_Saudi_Arabia/PEztndVP">Saudi economy</a> is the <a href="/facts/Economy_of_the_Middle_East/zLKclRLL">largest in the Middle East</a> and the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)/k3Lf3RIL">nineteenth largest by nominal GDP</a> and <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)/fDw3Ibeo">seventeenth largest by PPP</a>. Ranking very high in the <a href="/facts/Human_Development_Index/hQpz064I">Human Development Index</a>, Saudi Arabia offers <a href="/facts/Higher_education_in_Saudi_Arabia/QL5AWb1L">free university tuition</a>, no personal income tax, and <a href="/facts/Health_care_in_Saudi_Arabia/Gmvtn06T">free universal health care</a>. With its <a href="/facts/Foreign_workers_in_Saudi_Arabia/9M3EHv6t">dependency on foreign labour</a>, Saudi Arabia has the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_immigrant_population/B07LKtAm">third-largest immigrant population</a>. Saudi Arabians are among <a href="/facts/Youth_in_Saudi_Arabia/CaRteEGc">the world's youngest people</a>, with approximately half being under 25 years old. Saudi Arabia is a member of the <a href="/facts/Gulf_Cooperation_Council/6DDyFPRX">Gulf Cooperation Council</a>, <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a>, <a href="/facts/Organisation_of_Islamic_Cooperation/wWSQSzfF">Organisation of Islamic Cooperation</a>, <a href="/facts/Arab_League/15f9WWWM">Arab League</a>, and <a href="/facts/OPEC/aQ9cxyG6">OPEC</a>, as well as a dialogue partner of the <a href="/facts/Shanghai_Cooperation_Organisation/8ovtWDzP">Shanghai Cooperation Organisation</a>.

Saudi Arabia open-in-new

Saudi Arabia