Saudi Arabia
The desert kingdom and birthplace of Islam
Saudi Arabia commands the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, a vast desert kingdom that holds the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, and some of the largest petroleum reserves on Earth. As the birthplace of Islam and custodian of its central sanctuaries, it draws millions of pilgrims each year, while its oil wealth has made it a heavyweight of the global economy. An absolute monarchy under the House of Saud, it is now pursuing a sweeping transformation of its society and economy.
The kingdom is overwhelmingly desert, including the great sand sea of the Rub al Khali, the Empty Quarter, the largest continuous sand desert in the world. The Asir mountains rise in the southwest near the Red Sea, where the highest peaks stand around 3,000 meters, while the Gulf coast holds the oil fields. The climate is hot and arid, with virtually no permanent rivers. Petroleum, refining, petrochemicals, and a state oil giant dominate an economy now diversifying under reform plans.
Unified under Abdulaziz Ibn Saud in 1932 from the heartland of the eighteenth-century Saudi-Wahhabi alliance, the kingdom struck oil in 1938 and rose to immense wealth and influence. It anchors OPEC and Arab politics, hosts the annual Hajj pilgrimage, and has long enforced a conservative religious order. Recent years have brought the Vision 2030 program, social liberalization, and giant projects, alongside scrutiny of its human rights record. Riyadh is the capital and seat of power.