Saudi Arabia

"KSA" redirects here. For other uses, see KSA (disambiguation).

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
المملكة العربية السعودية
al-Mamlaka al-ʿArabiyya as-Suʿūdiyya
Motto: لا إله إلا الله، محمد رسول الله
Lā ilāha illallāh, Muḥammadun rasūlullāh
"There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God"[1][a] (shahada)
Anthem: النشيد الوطني السعودي
"an-Našīd al-Waṭanīy as-Saʿūdī"
"Chant of the Saudi Nation"
Capital
and largest city
Riyadh
24°39′N 46°46′E / 24.650°N 46.767°E / 24.650; 46.767
Official languagesArabic[5]
Ethnic groups
(2014)[6][b]
90% Arab
10% Afro-Arab
(for Saudi citizens only)
Religion
(2010)[7]
  • 4.4% Christianity
  • 1.1% Hinduism
  • 0.7% unaffiliated
  • 0.3% Buddhism
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary Islamic absolute monarchy
• King
Salman
Mohammed bin Salman
Legislaturenone[c]
Establishment
1727
1824
13 January 1902
23 September 1932
24 October 1945
31 January 1992
Area
• Total
2,149,690[11] km2 (830,000 sq mi) (12th)
• Water (%)
0.0
Population
• 2022 census
Neutral increase 32,175,224[12] (46th)
• Density
15/km2 (38.8/sq mi) (174th)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $2.112 trillion[13] (17th)
• Per capita
Increase $63,117[13] (15th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $1.100 trillion[13] (19th)
• Per capita
Increase $32,881[13] (34th)
Gini (2013)Steady 45.9[14]
medium inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.875[15]
very high (40th)
CurrencySaudi riyal (SR)[d] (SAR)
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy (AH)
Drives onright
Calling code+966
ISO 3166 codeSA
Internet TLD

Saudi Arabia,[e] officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),[f] is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it is one of the countries situated in the Gulf region. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East, and the 12th-largest in the world.[17] It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain,[18] Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. The capital and largest city is Riyadh; other major cities include Jeddah and the two holiest cities in Islam, Mecca and Medina. With a population of almost 32.2 million, Saudi Arabia is the fourth most populous country in the Arab world.

Pre-Islamic Arabia, the territory that constitutes modern-day Saudi Arabia, was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations; the prehistory of Saudi Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity outside Africa.[19] Islam, the world's second-largest religion,[20] emerged in what is now Saudi Arabia in the early seventh century. Islamic prophet Muhammad united the population of the Arabian Peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers expanded Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering territories in North Africa, Central, South Asia and Iberia within decades.[21][22][23] Arab dynasties originating from modern-day Saudi Arabia founded the Rashidun (632–661), Umayyad (661–750), Abbasid (750–1517), and Fatimid (909–1171) caliphates, as well as numerous other dynasties in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by King Abdulaziz (also known as Ibn Saud), who united the regions of Hejaz, Najd, parts of Eastern Arabia (Al-Ahsa) and South Arabia ('Asir) into a single state through a series of conquests, beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. Saudi Arabia has since been an absolute monarchy governed by an authoritarian regime without public input.[24] In its Basic Law, Saudi Arabia defines itself as a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its official religion and Arabic as its official language. The ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam was the prevailing political and cultural force in the country until the 2000s.[25][26] The Saudi government has attracted criticism for various policies such as its intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, alleged sponsorship of terrorism, and widespread human rights abuses.[27][28]

Saudi Arabia is considered both a regional and middle power.[29][30] Since petroleum was discovered in the country in 1938,[31][32] the kingdom has become the world's third-largest oil producer and leading oil exporter, controlling the world's second-largest oil reserves and the sixth-largest gas reserves.[33] Saudi Arabia is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy and is the only Arab country among the G20 major economies.[34][35] The Saudi economy is the largest in the Middle East and the world's nineteenth largest by nominal GDP and seventeenth largest by PPP. Ranking very high in the Human Development Index,[36] Saudi Arabia offers tuition-free university education, no personal income tax,[37] and free universal health care. With its dependency on foreign labour, Saudi Arabia has the world's third-largest immigrant population. Saudi Arabians are among the world's youngest people, with approximately half being under 25 years old.[38][39] Saudi Arabia is an active and founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, and OPEC, as well as a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

  1. ^ "About Saudi Arabia: Facts and figures". The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012.
  2. ^ "God". Islam: Empire of Faith. PBS. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. ^ 'Islam and Christianity', Encyclopedia of Christianity (2001): Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also refer to God as Allah.
  4. ^ L. Gardet. "Allah". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference BLG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "The World Factbook". 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Religious Composition by Country" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Saudi Arabia – The World Factbook". CIA. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  9. ^ Hefner, Robert W. (2009). Remaking Muslim Politics: Pluralism, Contestation, Democratization. Princeton University Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-4008-2639-1.
  10. ^ "Analysts: Saudi Arabia Nervous About Domestic Discontent". www.voanews.com. VoA News – English. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference CIA World Factbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Saudi Census 2022". portal.saudicensus.sa. General Statistics Authority - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Saudi Arabia)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  14. ^ "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. p. 288. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  16. ^ Strohecker, Karin (27 April 2016). "Saudi riyal peg pressure eases, but not gone". reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  17. ^ Saudi Arabia has a total area of 829,995 square miles and ranks 13th in the world according to the list of the total areas of the world's countries, dependencies, and territories, but since Greenland is a territory, this makes is the 12th largest country (https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-the-total-areas-of-the-worlds-countries-dependencies-and-territories-2130540).
  18. ^ Through a maritime border marked by an artificial island.
  19. ^ "88,000-Year-Old Finger Bone Pushes Back Human Migration Dates". National Geographic.
  20. ^ "The Global Religious Landscape". Pew Forum. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Abbas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reichl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barber was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Alhussein, Eman (2023), "Saudi Arabias centralized political structure: prospects and challenges", Handbook of Middle East Politics, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 144–157, ISBN 978-1-80220-563-3
  25. ^ Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p. 14
  26. ^ Malbouisson, p. 23
  27. ^ "Saudi Arabia has carried out 800 executions since 2015, says rights group". Independent.co.uk. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Death Penalty Worldwide". Archived from the original on 16 June 2019.
  29. ^ Buzan, Barry (2004). The United States and the Great Powers. Cambridge: Polity Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-7456-3375-6.
  30. ^ "The erosion of Saudi Arabia's image among its neighbours". Middle East Monitor. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
  31. ^ Caryl, Sue (20 February 2014). "1938: Oil Discovered in Saudi Arabia". National Geographic. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  32. ^ Learsy, Raymond (2011). Oil and Finance: The Epic Corruption. p. 89.
  33. ^ "International – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". eia.gov. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  34. ^ Wynbrandt, James (2004). A Brief History of Saudi Arabia. Infobase Publishing. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-4381-0830-8. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  35. ^ Soldatkin, Vladimir; Astrasheuskaya, Nastassia (9 November 2011). "Saudi Arabia to overtake Russia as top oil producer-IEA". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  36. ^ Human Development Report 2014 (PDF). United Nations. 2013. p. 159. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  37. ^ "Tax in Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia Tax Guide – HSBC Expat". www.expat.hsbc.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  38. ^ "بوابة الهيئة - الصفحة الرئيسية". portal.saudicensus.sa (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  39. ^ "Why Saudi Arabia". Invest Saudi. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2019.


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