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Saudi Arabia, officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom (1995 est. pop. 18,730,000), 829,995 sq mi (2,149,690 sq km), SW Asia, occupying most of the Arabian peninsula, bounded by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait (N), the Persian Gulf, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (E), Yemen and Oman (S), and the Red Sea (W). Riyadh is the capital, Jidda the principal port. Saudi Arabia has five major physical regions: the great Rub al-Khali, a sand desert occupying the entire south and southeast; the Nejd, a vast, barren plateau in the center; the Hejaz and Asir, along the Red Sea, with mountains rising from an arid coastal plain; and the Eastern Province, along the Persian Gulf, site of the country's rich oil resources. The climate is usually hot and dry, although the humidity along the coasts is high. Saudi Arabia has at least one quarter of the world's oil reserves, and the oil industry dominates the economy. Huge revenues from oil exports have been used to diversify the industrial base; metals, chemicals, plastics, cement, and fertilizer are now produced. Irrigation projects have reclaimed many acres of desert, and grains, dates, citrus fruits, and vegetables are grown. Nomadic Bedouins raise camels, sheep, goats, and horses. Income is also derived from Muslim pilgrims who travel from all parts of the world to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The overwhelming majority of the population are Arabs who adhere to the Wahhabi sect of Islam, but 27% of the population consists of resident foreigners. Arabic is the official language.
History
Arabia has been inhabited for thousands of years by nomadic Semitic tribes. With the birth (AD 570) of Muhammad, in Mecca, Arabia was briefly the center of Islam, but by the end of the 7th cent. the area was disunited. Modern Saudi Arabia owes its existence to Ibn Saud, an adherent of the Wahhabi Muslim sect. Beginning in 1902 he conquered the Nejd, Al Hasa, and Hejaz regions, and in 1932 he proclaimed himself king of a united Saudi Arabia. Oil was discovered in 1936; commercial production began in 1938. Ibn Saud died in 1953 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Saud. In 1964 Saud was deposed by Faisal, who secured (1974) an agreement giving the Saudis a 60% majority ownership of foreign oil concessions in their country. In 1975 Faisal was assassinated; he was replaced by Khalid, who inaugurated a program of industrialization and social welfare. In the conflict with Israel, Saudi Arabia has generally supported the Arab states, although as a friend of the U.S. it is a somewhat moderating force. Its moderating influence has also been felt in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in which it usually has acted to stabilize petroleum prices. Khalid died in 1982 and was succeeded as king by Fahd. Military clashes, oil-policy disputes, and rioting Iranian pilgrims in Mecca led Saudi Arabia to sever diplomatic relations with Iran in 1989. In 1990 the kingdom joined the coalition that opposed Iraq's forcible annexation of Kuwait, and the forces of the coalition were largely based in N Saudi Arabia. In 1992 King Fahd decreed a new constitution; among its features were an appointed national council (est. 1993) with the right to review, but not overrule, government acts. However, the royal family's power was basically undiminished. In the late 1990s, Crown Prince Abdullah, the king's half-brother and heir to the throne, effectively became the country's ruler due to King Fahd's poor health.
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Used by permission of Columbia University Press.
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