Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has the world's largest oil reserves and is the world's largest oil exporter. Oil accounts for more than 90% of exports and nearly 75% of government revenues, facilitating the creation of a welfare state.

Saudi Arabia has an estimated population of 25.7 million of which 5.5 million are non-citizens, and its size is approximately 2,149,690 square kilometres (830,000 sq mi).

Saudi Arabia's government takes the form of an Islamic absolute monarchy. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest places in Islam.

Indonesia significantly higher than Saudi Arabia for women's equality. Saudis often invoke the life of Muhammad, to prove that Islam allows strong women. His first wife, Khadijah, was a powerful businesswoman who employed him and then initiated the marriage proposal on her own.

Saudi Arabia 130th out of 134 countries for gender parity. It was the only country to score a zero in the category of political empowerment.

They see Saudi Arabia as uniquely in need of conservative values because it is the center of Islam.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia is struggling to sell more crude to Asia because rival producer Russia has taken an expanding share of the world’s fastest-growing market by pumping more oil into the region.

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by a king chosen from and by members of the Al Saud family. The king rules through royal decrees issued in conjunction with the Council of Ministers, and with advice from the Consultative Council.

Saudi ArabiaCountry Specific Information * Print * Email * Recent Embassy Notices for American Citizens * Travel Warning for Saudi Arabia On this page »

Saudi Arabia has a modern and well-developed infrastructure, and facilities for travelers are widely available. Read the Department of State Background Notes on Saudi Arabia for additional information.

Saudi Arabia contains the holy Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina, to which all physically and financially able Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage at least once if possible (see Hajj).

Saudi Arabia is a Middle Eastern country that occupies most of the Arabian peninsula and has coastlines on the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world (26% of the proven reserves), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC.

Saudis cruise the streets with car covered with Saudi flags and pictures of the Saudi King Abdullad and Saudi Crown Prince Sultan after the convoy of the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia passes from the Airport and through the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011.

Marine Corps, returns the salute of a Saudi Arabian soldier as he departs Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Turkey on March 23, 2006. Pace was in Saudi Arabia to confer with civilian and military leader photo: U.S. Air ForceChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, U.S.

as he departs Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Turkey on March 23, 2006. Pace was in Saudi Arabia to confer with civilian and military leader SAUDI ARABIA - Defense Secretary Robert M.

in Saudi Arabia, having lived for five years in Riyadh, before relocating back to his country of origin, Pakistan, when he turned 13.

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia's finance minister on Wednesday urged Muslim countries to adopt suitable economic reform programs and adapt to the changing global economic atmosphere to confront the challenges facing them.

look at Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah’s family are in important positions." SOURCE: Harper's Magazine 22 hours ago 10.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (C) arrives for a combat skills demonstration by soldiers graduating from the Saudi Special Forces, at a base in Riyadh June 27, 2011.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (C) gestures as he watches combat skills demonstrations by soldiers graduating from the Saudi special forces at a base near Riyadh June 27, 2011.

Saudi Arabian torment of migrant workers at mercy of abusive 'madams' = Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia send £17bn to families back home annually.

tens of thousands of women will wake in the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah and go to work. Maybe 14 or 16 hours later, their day will be over. They are maids, almost all from the Philippines or Indonesia, working for £100-£200 a month.

In Saudi Arabia, the consent of employers or "sponsors" is needed before any worker can leave the country.

As for its own weapon, Saudi Arabia has declared it will spend $300bn on 16 nuclear reactors, for which it is about to open bids. But they would be turnkey projects with safeguards making it almost impossible to use the fuel to make weapons.

from within Saudi Arabia had reduced considerably. At mosques in Riyadh last week, religious students said they hoped to travel overseas as soon as possible.

the image of Saudi Arabia," said Abdalillah al'Ajmi, 18, after evening prayers at the al-Rajhi mosque in Riyadh. In his speech at Molesworth, Turki simply referred to Islam playing "a central … role" in ensuring Saudi security in the years to come.

beheading in Saudi Arabia of an Indonesian maid and accused Riyadh of breaking the "norms and manners" of international relations.

its ambassador in Saudi Arabia for "consultations." Indonesia also announced a moratorium on sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia, where hundreds of thousands of Indonesians toil as maids and labourers.

For more than 70 years, Saudi Arabia has maintained a positive and close relationship with the United States.

Saudi Arabia is a strong advocate of stability, security and constructive cooperation throughout the world. Hajj The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage during which millions of Muslims from around the world travel to Makkah.

Working with international partners, Saudi Arabia has taken a leading role in developing coordinated strategies to defeat terrorists at home and abroad.

Over recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been confronted with what many consider its greatest challenge: achieving modernity without surrendering its heritage, faith, or culture.

Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 provinces, each with a capital city and governor. Hajj Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam and the most significant manifestation of Islamic faith and unity.

The Saudi Arabian state was first established in the central region of the Arabian Peninsula in the early 18th century.

Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh has flown to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, a day after he was wounded, Saudi officials say. | Uncertainty surrounded Mr Saleh's whereabouts for much of Satur...

| Women in Saudi Arabia got behind the steering wheels of their cars today to challenge the world's only ban on driving by females. | Activists have not appealed for mass protests in any specific site...

* Saudi Arabia to link port with mining centres: Report The Times of India * Topaz awarded US$ 160 million worth of contracts Offshore Shipping Online * Royal Marines on standby off the coast of Yemen as

Saudi Arabia is known as the birthplace of Islam, which in the century following the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. spread west to Spain and east to India.

Saudi Arabia's 2010 population was estimated to be about 28 million, including about 5.6 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.

Vacationers are silhouetted at beach in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, with the landmark Jiddah fountain in background. May 7, 2004. Vacationers are silhouetted at beach in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, with the landmark Jiddah fountain in background. May 7, 2004. Stay Connected with State.

lead Saudi Arabia, according to an official from the team on Wednesday. Rijkaard is expected to a sign a three-year deal worth euro11 million (15.9 million) in London on Thursday, said Saudi Arabia official Mohamed al-Mesael.

Once among the top teams in Asia, Saudi Arabia has been without a coach since crashing out of the Asian Cup in January. A deal was signed with Ricardo Gomes but it was canceled after Saudi Arabia rejected his demands for taking over.

Saudi Arabia's low point came earlier this year after being knocked out of the Asian Cup, a tournament it has won three times, in the group stage after an opening loss to Syria. The team's Portuguese coach was fired after the loss.

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.

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.

population of Saudi Arabia is 90% Muslim Arab of the Wahhabi sect (a 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.

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.

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.

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.