Saudi Arabia

I

INTRODUCTION

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy in southwestern Asia, occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is a land of vast deserts and little rainfall. Huge deposits of oil and natural gas lie beneath the country’s surface. Saudi Arabia was a relatively poor nation before the discovery and exploitation of oil, but since the 1950s income from oil has made the country wealthy. The religion of Islam developed in the 7th century in what is now Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, and it has been ruled by his descendants ever since.

Saudi Arabia is bounded on the north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; on the east by the Persian Gulf and Qatar; on the southeast by the United Arab Emirates and Oman; on the south by Yemen; and on the west by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The country’s border with the United Arab Emirates is not precisely defined. Saudi Arabia has an area of about 2,240,000 sq km (about 864,900 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Riyadh.

II

POPULATION

People of Saudi Arabia

Population	28,161,417 (2008 estimate)
Population density	13 persons per sq km 34 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban population distribution	88 percent (2005 estimate)
Rural population distribution	12 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population	Riyadh, 5,126,000 (2003 estimate) Jiddah, 2,801,481 (2004 estimate) Mecca (Makkah), 1,294,168 (2004 estimate)
Official language	Arabic
Chief religious affiliations	Muslim (official, mostly Sunni Muslim), 94 percent Christian, 3 percent Hindu, 1 percent
Life expectancy	76.1 years (2008 estimate)
Infant mortality rate	12 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate	80.5 percent (2005 estimate)

In 2008 Saudi Arabia had an estimated population of 28.2 million and a population density of 13.1 persons per sq km (33.9 persons per sq mi). About 23 percent of the population (amounting to about 5.4 million people) is made up of foreign nationals living in Saudi Arabia. The country’s population growth rate is one of the fastest in the world, at 1.95 percent (2008). The rapid rate of population growth and the large percentage of foreign workers and their dependents have significant political, social, and economic implications on Saudi Arabia. Foreign workers play an important role in the country, making up a large portion of the labor force and the consumer base. However, due mainly to a series of economic downturns, the government has pursued a policy of Saudi-ization to reduce its reliance on expatriates in the workforce. For more information.

Riyadh, in the central Najd region, is Saudi Arabia’s capital and largest city, followed by Jiddah, in Al Hijāz. Also located in Al Hijāz are the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca and first gained a large following in Medina in the early 7th century. Once a year, close to 2 million Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca, a religious duty known as the hajj. Other major cities include the ports of Ad Dammām and Al Jubayl on the Persian Gulf; Al Hufūf, in the oasis of Al Hasa in eastern Saudi Arabia; and Aţ Ţā’if, close to Mecca.

A

Religion

Islam is the country’s official religion. An estimated 89 percent of Saudis are Sunni Muslims (Sunni Islam), and about 5 percent are Shia Muslims. The government employs the Sharia (Islamic law) as a guiding principle of rule. Consequently, Islamic tenets not only govern spirituality and religious practice, but also guide practices of law, business, taxation, and government.

The form of Islam supported by the government is socially and theologically conservative. While Saudis and foreigners may behave as they wish behind closed doors, they must observe many strict religious requirements while in public. These include conservative dress for men and women, segregation of the sexes, mandatory daily prayers for Muslim men, and the closing of offices and businesses during the five daily prayer times. A government agency called the Committee to Prevent Vice and Promote Virtue sends out official enforcers called mutawwa’in to ensure observance of these rules. Punishments for transgressions can be summary and harsh, including public flogging.

Saudi Arabia’s conservative form of Islam is strongly influenced by a puritanical Islamic movement formed in the 18th century. This movement is often referred to by Westerners and other non-Saudis as Wahhabism, after its founder, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. However, the movement’s adherents have never referred to themselves as Wahhabis, and within Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi is often used by non-Saudis or reform-minded Saudis in reproach to refer to conservative Muslims. In modern-day Saudi Arabia, strong adherents of the movement may call themselves muwahhidun (unitarians, from al-muwahhid, Arabic for “those who proclaim the unity of God”) or ahl al-tawhid (people of unity). Less strident followers—a significant portion of the population, including some members of the royal family—may simply say they are part of the harakat al-salafiyya, roughly translated as “the movement following the ways of the Prophet.”

The country’s Shia Muslims are concentrated around the oases of Al Hasa and Al Qaţīf in eastern Saudi Arabia. Strict muwahhidun do not recognize the Shias as true Muslims. Therefore, historically, Saudi authorities have subjected them to discrimination and oppression, arousing resentment and opposition to the regime among the Shias. Other religions are represented among the expatriate population. However, the government does not allow public practice of non-Islamic religions and prohibits missionary activity.

B

Education

The Saudi government has built an education system that provides free schooling at all levels to a large portion of the population. School is not compulsory, but 67 percent of primary school-age children are enrolled in school (2002–2003), as well as 67 percent of secondary school-age children. A dramatic increase in literacy over the last decades of the 20th century is one indicator of the success of the government’s efforts. According to a 1970 estimate, Saudis had one of the lowest literacy rates in the Middle East: 15 percent for men and 2 percent for women. In 2005, 86 percent of all men and 73 percent of all women were literate. The government operates most primary and secondary schools, but also permits privately owned schools. The Saudi curriculum heavily emphasizes the study of Islam.

Saudi Arabia has several universities and teacher training colleges, and a large number of other higher education institutions. Major universities include King Saud University (1957) and the Islamic University of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud (1953), in Riyadh; the Islamic University at Medina (1961); King Faisal University (1975), with colleges in both Ad Dammām and Al Hufūf King Abdul Aziz University (1967), in Jiddah; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (1963), in Ad Dammām; and Umm Al-Qura University (1979), in Mecca. The government funds university and graduate education abroad, and many Saudi students attend educational institutions in the United States and United Kingdom. This has helped create an English-speaking technocratic elite, some of whom are advocates of political reform and social liberalization.

III

ECONOMY

Economy of Saudi Arabia

Gross domestic product (GDP in U.S.$)	$349 billion (2006)
GDP per capita (U.S.$)	$14,744.70 (2006)
Monetary unit	1 Saudi riyal (SR), consisting of 100 halalah
Number of workers	8,438,029 (2006)
Unemployment rate	6.2 percent (2006)

When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932 its economy was fragmented and small. People in the Al Hijāz cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jiddah derived most of their income from the annual influx of thousands of hajj pilgrims. Coastal settlements on the Red Sea relied on trade and fishing, while those on the Persian Gulf grew dates and other produce. In the central Najd region, economic activity revolved around trade between nomads—who raised camels, sheep, goats, and horses—and settled groups, who grew crops and produced handicrafts. Principal Saudi exports were dates and livestock, and imports included textiles, grains, other foodstuffs, and various manufactured products.

Oil revenue transformed the Saudi economy in the mid-20th century. In addition to bringing tremendous personal wealth to the royal family and their merchant friends, oil money was eventually channeled by government development programs into areas such as transportation, housing, health, education, and defense.

A

Oil, Natural Gas, and Mining

The oil industry is the most important sector of the Saudi economy. Saudi Arabia’s proven petroleum reserves amount to one-fourth of the world total. The major oil fields are in the eastern part of the country and offshore in the Persian Gulf. Because the country has relatively small internal demand for oil, it exports most of its production. It is the largest exporter of petroleum in the world—in 2002 Saudi Arabia exported about 6 million barrels per day—and has the power to influence world oil prices.

Commercial quantities of oil were discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, but World War II (1939-1945) delayed large-scale exports until the 1950s. Initial exploration and drilling were carried out by the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco), the operating company of Standard Oil of California (Socal). Several other U.S. oil companies acquired shares in Aramco in 1948. The Saudi government bought a 25 percent share of the company in 1973, then took complete control in 1980, after which the company was called Saudi Aramco. Production rose steadily from about 1.3 million barrels per day in 1960 to 3.8 million barrels per day in 1970. The increased production coupled with rising oil prices, especially in 1973 and 1974, brought huge revenues to the Saudi government. Another rapid increase in revenues followed the Islamic Revolution of Iran (1978-1979), when Saudi Arabia increased production to compensate for the drop in Iranian production, and prices rose due to the uncertain market. Oil prices declined along with world demand for oil during the worldwide economic recession of the early 1980s. In 2004 Saudi Arabia produced 8.8 million barrels of oil per day.

Saudi Arabia began producing natural gas liquids in 1962. In 1982 the first phase of the so-called Master Gas System was put in place. This system was built to capture the natural gas that was released as a by-product of oil production and distribute it to power petrochemical plants, steel factories, and other manufacturing enterprises. By the late 1990s plans were put forward to exploit the kingdom’s other gas fields. In June 2001 Saudi Arabia awarded concessions for the projects to several foreign companies, marking the return of foreign companies for the first time since 1975. In 2003 Saudi Arabia produced 60 billion cu m (2.1 trillion cu ft) of natural gas.

B

Agriculture

Before the influx of oil money in the mid-20th century, agriculture was carried out in very few locations in Saudi Arabia. The largest cultivated areas were in the eastern oases of Al Hasa and Al Qaţīf, and these farms grew dates (in sufficient quantities for export), other fruits, vegetables, and grains. With increased oil revenues, the Saudi government attempted to make Saudi Arabia more self-sufficient in food production. At great expense, irrigation rapidly increased the amount of farmland available for cultivating a wider variety of crops. While agricultural production temporarily rose, economic realities eventually forced the government to cut back many farm subsidies.

Livestock products—mainly sheep, goats, and camels—have been important in the local economy for centuries. Large poultry and beef and dairy cattle farm industries were established in the 20th century to supply mainly domestic requirements. Nonetheless, domestic meat production has not kept pace with demand, and the country imports a significant amount of meat.

IV				HISTORY
A			Ancient Arabia

Arabia served as a crossroads between the major ancient civilizations that rose and fell nearby: Babylonia, in what is now Iraq; the Nile Valley kingdoms of Ancient Egypt and Kush; and the early states of Yemen. By 4000 bc an advanced trading culture known as Dilmun developed on the Persian Gulf islands of Bahrain and the nearby Arabian coast. Dilmun provided an important stop on trade routes linking Mesopotamia to Oman and the Indus Valley civilizations of South Asia. Dilmun reached the height of its power in about 2000 bc. It was occupied by the Kassites of Mesopotamia in about 1600 bc, and declined in importance over the next 1,000 years.

The next major Arabian power to develop was the Minaean kingdom, which was well established by 1000 bc in ‘Asīr and southern Al Hijāz along the Red Sea coast. Its capital was at Karna, also spelled Qarnah (present-day Şa‘dah, Yemen). The Minaeans were nomads and herders who came to dominate the Al Hijāz trade in incense—substances that were burned to honor gods in many of the region’s pre-Islamic religions. The Minaeans withdrew from their trading post at Dedān (now Al ‘Ulá, in northern Al Hijāz) in the 1st century bc; afterward the Nabataeans founded a commercial center nearby at Madā’in Şālih. The buildings of Madā’in Şāliḩ are carved from rock in the same manner as those of the Nabataean capital of Petra, in present-day Jordan. In the 6th century ad the Lakhmid dynasty of Hira, centered in southern Iraq, began to replace the Minaeans as the regional power of central Arabia.

B

Coming of Islam

Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca in about 570 to a family belonging to a branch of the Quraysh, the dominant tribe of Mecca. His first attempts to preach the oneness of God met with only partial success, gaining him both followers and opponents in his home city. Muhammad had more success with tribes in nearby Medina, and he moved there in 622. Muhammad’s emigration, known as the Hegira (hijrah in Arabic) marks the first year of the Islamic calendar. In 630 he returned with his followers and conquered Mecca.

After Muhammad’s death in 632, the Islamic community (ummah) was guided by caliphs (khalifah, Arabic for “successor”), who succeeded Muhammad in his role as Islam’s political leader. The first four caliphs ruled from Mecca and Medina, overseeing the rapid expansion of an Islamic empire through conversion and military conquest. By 650 an organized Islamic state ruled a newly unified Arabian Peninsula as well as the entire Fertile Crescent (what is now Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel) and Egypt. The Umayyad dynasty of caliphs moved the seat of the caliphate to Damascus in 661. The political center of the great Islamic empire would remain outside the peninsula from this point onward, pushing Arabia to the fringes of Islamic culture and power until modern times.

C

Abd al-Wahhab and the Rise of the Saudis

In the mid-18th century the Muslim leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab attempted to gain religious influence in Najd. Abd al-Wahhab aggressively propagated an Islamic doctrine that he felt was as pure and true as the one preached originally by Muhammad. His view of Islam emphasized the oneness of God and forbade practices such as the worship of saints and holy men. In 1744 Abd al-Wahhab found an ally in Muhammad ibn Saud, the leader of the tiny settlement of Ad Dir‘īyah in the central Najd region. Thanks to Abd al-Wahhab’s strident religious convictions and Muhammad ibn Saud’s political and military prowess, a powerful movement was born. Adherents, who called themselves muwahhidun (referred to as Wahhabis by outsiders), quickly spread far and wide. Villagers and nomads joined the movement out of either conviction or fear—the muwahhidun spread their message using soldiers as well as preachers.

In the first years of the 19th century, muwahhidun forces conquered the main cities and towns of Al Hijāz, including Mecca and Medina. In these cities, Abd al-Wahhab’s representatives attempted to destroy the tombs of Muhammad and the caliphs, believing such edifices encouraged idolatrous worship. The forces then advanced northward, plundering the Shia holy city of Karbalā’ and disrupting the major Ottoman trade routes in what is now Iraq and Syria. Faced with this growing threat, the Ottomans sent a force from Egypt to invade Arabia. Warfare raged across the peninsula from 1811 to 1818, when Egyptian forces defeated the muwahhidun and razed Ad Dir‘īyah.

After the Egyptian armies withdrew in 1824, the remaining forces of the Saudi family regrouped in the town of Riyadh, near Ad Dir‘īyah, and began reclaiming the Najd lands they had lost. Throughout most of the 19th century the Saudis and their followers faced opposition from several quarters: rival emirates ruled by the Rashidis of Hā’il, to the north; the sharifs (descendants of the Prophet), who ruled parts of Al Hijāz; and an Ottoman presence in Al Hasa, in the east. The Rashidis grew more powerful than the Saudis over the course of the second half of the 19th century. In 1891 the Rashidis seized Riyadh, took control of Najd, and drove the Saudi family into exile in Kuwait.

D

Persian Gulf War and Developments in the 1990s

Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait in August 1990 had significant military, political, and economic consequences for Saudi Arabia. Despite opposition from some religious leaders and their followers, the Saudi government provided for temporary deployment on its own territory of hundreds of thousands of U.S. and allied troops. It also contributed forces to the multinational coalition that fought Iraq in the Persian Gulf War in early 1991. In order to allay some of the domestic opposition to non-Muslim forces stationed in Islam’s holy land, the Saudi government emphasized that several other Islamic countries had also sent forces to fight Iraq. Through the late 1990s Saudi Arabia allowed some U.S. forces to remain in the country, mainly to enforce so-called no-fly zones over southern Iraq. Religious opposition groups viewed the continued U.S. presence as a major point of contention with the government.

Political reforms decreed by King Fahd in 1992 established a consultative council to serve in an advisory capacity, provided for a bill of rights, and changed the rules of succession. The Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) was convened for the first time in December 1993. Social reforms were less evident, however. Saudi men and women still were not permitted to attend public events together, and workplaces remained segregated. Government officials in the United States voiced continuing concern about human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, particularly the abuse of prisoners by guards and police.

King Fahd remained an active sponsor of Islamic causes worldwide in his second decade as Saudi leader. In 1992 he conducted an extensive campaign to end the bloodshed in the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The same year, Fahd’s government established diplomatic links with the Muslim republics formerly included in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In 1994 Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasir Arafat visited Riyadh to discuss with King Fahd the prospects for peace in the Middle East. The meeting represented a significant rapprochement between the two leaders, whose relations had been strained since the Persian Gulf War.

In 1995 the governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to negotiate a settlement to a long-standing dispute over their shared border; the agreement followed several months of small-scale fighting in the border region. Five years later, in 2000, the two countries finally announced an agreement settling the border dispute. Meanwhile, in 1998 Saudi Arabia began production in an oil field lying in the disputed region of its border with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Saudi Arabia failed to meet the UAE’s demand for a share of the oil and gas produced from the field. In 1999 the UAE protested by boycotting an oil ministers’ meeting in Saudi Arabia that was to formally inaugurate the field.