Saudi Arabia
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia المملكة العربية السعودية ( Arabic )al-Mamlaka al-ʿArabiyya al-Suʿūdiyya | |
---|---|
Motto: لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰه، مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ ٱللَّٰه Lā ilāha illa llāh, Muḥammadun rasūlu llāh "There is no god but | |
Religion (2010)[8] |
|
Demonym(s) |
|
Government | Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy |
• King | Salman |
• Crown Prince and Prime Minister | Mohammed |
Legislature | none[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 (%) | 0.7 |
Population | |
• 2022 census | 32,175,224[12] (46th) |
• Density | 15/km2 (38.8/sq mi) (174th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $2.246 trillion[13] (17th) |
• Per capita | $68,452[13] (15th) |
GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $1.069 trillion[13] (19th) |
• Per capita | $32,586[13] (34th) |
Gini (2013) | 45.9[14] medium |
HDI (2022) | 0.875[15] very high (40th) |
Currency | Saudi riyal (SR)[d] (SAR) |
Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AH) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +966 |
ISO 3166 code | SA |
Internet TLD |
Saudi Arabia,[e] officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),[f] is a country in West Asia and the Middle East. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2150000 km2 (830000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia and the largest in the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. Bahrain is an island country off its east coast. 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; the kingdom also hosts Islam's two holiest cities of Mecca and Medina.
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.[17] The world's second-largest religion,[18] Islam, emerged in what is now Saudi Arabia. In the early 7th century, the Islamic prophet Muhammad united the population of the Arabian Peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity.[19] Following his death in 632, his followers expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering territories in North Africa, Central, South Asia and Iberia in a matter of decades.[20][21][22] 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 area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of mainly four distinct historical regions:
The Saudi government has attracted criticism for various policies such as its intervention in the Yemeni Civil War,[36] alleged sponsorship of terrorism[37][38] as well as for its use of executions.[39][40]
Saudi Arabia is considered both a
Etymology
Following the amalgamation of the
The word "Saudi" is derived from the element as-Suʿūdīyya in the Arabic name of the country, which is a type of adjective known as a
History
Prehistory
There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 125000 years ago.[54] A 2011 study found that the first modern humans to spread east across Asia left Africa about 75000 years ago across the Bab-el-Mandeb connecting the Horn of Africa and Arabia.[55] The Arabian Peninsula is regarded as central to the understanding of evolution and dispersals of Man. Arabia underwent an extreme environmental fluctuation in the Quaternary that led to profound evolutionary and demographic changes. Arabia has a rich Lower Paleolithic record, and the quantity of Oldowan-like sites in the region indicate a significant role that Arabia had played in the early hominin colonization of Eurasia.[56]
In the Neolithic period, prominent cultures such as Al-Magar, whose centre lay in modern-day southwestern Najd, flourished. Al-Magar could be considered a "Neolithic Revolution" in human knowledge and handicraft skills.[57] The culture is characterized as being one of the world's first to involve the widespread domestication of animals, particularly the horse, during the Neolithic period.[58][59] Al-Magar statues were made from local stone, and it seems that the statues were fixed in a central building that might have had a significant role in the social and religious life of the inhabitants.[60]
In November 2017, hunting scenes showing images of most likely domesticated dogs (resembling the Canaan Dog) and wearing leashes were discovered in Shuwaymis, a hilly region of northwestern Saudi Arabia. These rock engravings date back more than 8000 years, making them the earliest depictions of dogs in the world.[61]
At the end of the 4th millennium BC, Arabia entered the Bronze Age; metals were widely used, and the period was characterized by its 2 m high burials which were simultaneously followed by the existence of numerous temples that included many free-standing sculptures originally painted with red colours.[62]
In May 2021, archaeologists announced that a 350000-year-old
Pre-Islamic
The earliest sedentary culture in Saudi Arabia dates back to the Ubaid period at Dosariyah. Climatic change and the onset of aridity may have brought about the end of this phase of settlement, as little archaeological evidence exists from the succeeding millennium.[68] The settlement of the region picks up again in the period of Dilmun in the early 3rd millennium. Known records from Uruk refer to a place called Dilmun, associated on several occasions with copper, and in later periods it was a source of imported woods in southern Mesopotamia. Scholars have suggested that Dilmun originally designated the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, notably linked with the major Dilmunite settlements of Umm an-Nussi and Umm ar-Ramadh in the interior and Tarout on the coast. It is likely that Tarout Island was the main port and the capital of Dilmun.[67] Mesopotamian inscribed clay tablets suggests that, in the early period of Dilmun, a form of hierarchical organized political structure existed. In 1966, an earthwork in Tarout exposed an ancient burial field that yielded a large statue dating to the Dilmunite period (mid 3rd millennium BC). The statue was locally made under the strong Mesopotamian influence on the artistic principle of Dilmun.[67]
By 2200 BC, the centre of Dilmun shifted for unknown reasons from Tarout and the Saudi Arabian mainland to the island of Bahrain, and a highly developed settlement emerged there, where a laborious temple complex and thousands of burial mounds dating to this period were discovered.[67]
By the late Bronze Age, a historically recorded people and land (
At the end of the 7th century BC, an emerging kingdom appeared in north-western Arabia. It started as a sheikdom of Dedan, which developed into the kingdom of Lihyan.[75][76] During this period, Dedan transformed into a kingdom that encompassed a much wider domain.[75] In the early 3rd century BC, with bustling economic activity between the south and north, Lihyan acquired large influence suitable to its strategic position on the caravan road.[77] The Lihyanites ruled over a large domain from Yathrib in the south and parts of the Levant in the north.[78] In antiquity, Gulf of Aqaba used to be called Gulf of Lihyan, a testimony to the extensive influence that Lihyan acquired.[79]
The Lihyanites fell into the hands of the Nabataeans around 65 BC upon their seizure of Hegra then marching to Tayma, and to their capital Dedan in 9 BC. The Nabataeans ruled large portions of north Arabia until their domain was annexed by the Roman Empire, which renamed it Arabia Petraea, and remained under the rule of the Romans until 630.[80]
Middle Ages and rise of Islam
Shortly before the advent of Islam, apart from urban trading settlements (such as Mecca and Medina), much of what was to become Saudi Arabia was populated by nomadic pastoral tribal societies.[83] The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca in about 570 CE. In the early 7th century, Muhammad united the various tribes of the peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity.[19] Following his death in 632, his followers expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering territory in the Iberian Peninsula in the west to parts of Central and South Asia in the east[citation needed] in a matter of decades.[20][21][22] Arabia became a more politically peripheral region of the Muslim world as the focus shifted to the newly conquered lands.[19]
For much of the 10th century, the Isma'ili-Shi'ite Qarmatians were the most powerful force in the Persian Gulf. In 930, the Qarmatians pillaged Mecca, outraging the Muslim world, particularly with their theft of the Black Stone.[86] In 1077–1078, an Arab sheikh named Abdullah bin Ali Al Uyuni defeated the Qarmatians in Bahrain and al-Hasa with the help of the Seljuq Empire and founded the Uyunid dynasty.[87][88] The Uyunid Emirate later underwent expansion with its territory stretching from Najd to the Syrian Desert.[89] They were overthrown by the Usfurids in 1253.[90] Usfurid rule was weakened after Persian rulers of Hormuz captured Bahrain and Qatif in 1320.[91] The vassals of Ormuz, the Shia Jarwanid dynasty came to rule eastern Arabia in the 14th century.[92][93] The Jabrids took control of the region after overthrowing the Jarwanids in the 15th century and clashed with Hormuz for more than two decades over the region for its economic revenues, until finally agreeing to pay tribute in 1507.[92] Al-Muntafiq tribe later took over the region and came under Ottoman suzerainty. The Bani Khalid tribe later revolted against them in the 17th century and took control.[94] Their rule extended from Iraq to Oman at its height, and they too came under Ottoman suzerainty.[95][96]
Ottoman Hejaz
In the 16th century, the Ottomans added the Red Sea and Persian Gulf coast (the Hejaz, Asir and Al-Ahsa) to the empire and claimed suzerainty over the interior. One reason was to thwart Portuguese attempts to attack the Red Sea (hence the Hejaz) and the Indian Ocean.[97] The Ottoman degree of control over these lands varied over the next four centuries with the fluctuating strength or weakness of the empire's central authority.[98][99] These changes contributed to later uncertainties, such as the dispute with Transjordan over the inclusion of the sanjak of Ma'an, including the cities of Ma'an and Aqaba.[citation needed]
Saud dynasty and unification
The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal family, known as the Al Saud, began at the town of
The Emirate of Diriyah established in the area around Riyadh rapidly expanded and briefly controlled most of the present-day territory of Saudi Arabia, sacking Karbala in 1802, and capturing Mecca in 1803. In 1818, it was destroyed by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, Mohammed Ali Pasha.[105] The much smaller Emirate of Nejd was established in 1824. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the Al Saud contested control of the interior of what was to become Saudi Arabia with another Arabian ruling family, the Al Rashid, who ruled the Emirate of Jabal Shammar. By 1891, the Al Rashid were victorious and the Al Saud were driven into exile in Kuwait.[84]
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire continued to control or have a suzerainty over most of the peninsula. Subject to this suzerainty, Arabia was ruled by a patchwork of tribal rulers,
In 1916, with the encouragement and support of
Ibn Saud avoided involvement in the Arab Revolt and instead continued his struggle with the Al Rashid. Following the latter's final defeat, he took the title Sultan of Nejd in 1921. With the help of the Ikhwan, the Kingdom of Hejaz was conquered in 1924–25, and on 10 January 1926, Ibn Saud declared himself king of Hejaz.[112] For the next five years, he administered the two parts of his dual kingdom as separate units.[84]
After the conquest of the Hejaz, the Ikhwan leadership's objective switched to expansion of the Wahhabist realm into the British protectorates of Transjordan, Iraq and Kuwait, and began raiding those territories. This met with Ibn Saud's opposition, as he recognized the danger of a direct conflict with the British. At the same time, the Ikhwan became disenchanted with Ibn Saud's domestic policies which appeared to favour modernization and the increase in the number of non-Muslim foreigners in the country. As a result, they turned against Ibn Saud and, after a two-year struggle, were defeated in 1929 at the
20th century
The new kingdom was reliant on limited agriculture and pilgrimage revenues.[115] In 1938, vast reserves of oil were discovered in the Al-Ahsa region along the coast of the Persian Gulf, and full-scale development of the oil fields began in 1941 under the US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company). Oil provided Saudi Arabia with economic prosperity and substantial political leverage internationally.[84]
Cultural life rapidly developed, primarily in the Hejaz, which was the centre for newspapers and radio. However, the large influx of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia in the oil industry increased the pre-existing propensity for xenophobia. At the same time, the government became increasingly wasteful and extravagant. By the 1950s this had led to large governmental deficits and excessive foreign borrowing.[84]
In 1953,
By 1976, Saudi Arabia had become the largest oil producer in the world.
In 1980, Saudi Arabia bought out the American interests in Aramco.[123] King Khalid died of a heart attack in June 1982. He was succeeded by his brother, King Fahd, who added the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" to his name in 1986 in response to considerable fundamentalist pressure to avoid the use of "majesty" in association with anything except God. Fahd continued to develop close relations with the United States and increased the purchase of American and British military equipment.[84]
The vast wealth generated by oil revenues was beginning to have an even greater impact on Saudi society. It led to rapid technological (but not cultural) modernization, urbanization, mass public education, and the creation of new media. This and the presence of increasingly large numbers of foreign workers greatly affected traditional Saudi norms and values. Although there was a dramatic change in the social and economic life of the country, political power continued to be monopolized by the royal family[84] leading to discontent among many Saudis who began to look for wider participation in government.[124]
In the 1980s, Saudi Arabia spent $25 billion in support of
Saudi Arabia's relations with the West was one of the issues that led to
Islamism was not the only source of hostility to the government. Although extremely wealthy by the 21st century, Saudi Arabia's economy was near stagnant. High taxes and a growth in unemployment have contributed to discontent and have been reflected in a rise in civil unrest, and discontent with the royal family. In response, a number of limited reforms were initiated by King Fahd. In March 1992, he introduced the "Basic Law", which emphasized the duties and responsibilities of a ruler. In December 1993, the Consultative Council was inaugurated. It is composed of a chairman and 60 members—all chosen by the King. Fahd made it clear that he did not have democracy in mind, saying: "A system based on elections is not consistent with our Islamic creed, which [approves of] government by consultation [shūrā]."[84]
In 1995, Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke, and the Crown Prince, Abdullah, assumed the role of de facto regent; however, his authority was hindered by conflict with Fahd's full brothers (known, with Fahd, as the "Sudairi Seven").[128]
21st century
Signs of discontent included, in 2003 and 2004, a series of bombings and armed violence in Riyadh, Jeddah, Yanbu and Khobar.[129] In February–April 2005, the first-ever nationwide municipal elections were held in Saudi Arabia. Women were not allowed to take part.[84]
In 2005, King Fahd died and was succeeded by Abdullah, who continued the policy of minimum reform and clamping down on protests. The king introduced economic reforms aimed at reducing the country's reliance on oil revenue: limited deregulation, encouragement of foreign investment, and privatization. In February 2009, Abdullah announced a series of governmental changes to the judiciary, armed forces, and various ministries to modernize these institutions including the replacement of senior appointees in the judiciary and the Mutaween (religious police) with more moderate individuals and the appointment of the country's first female deputy minister.[84]
On 29 January 2011, hundreds of protesters gathered in Jeddah in a rare display of criticism against the city's poor infrastructure after flooding killed 11 people.[130] Police stopped the demonstration after about 15 minutes and arrested 30 to 50 people.[131]
Since 2011, Saudi Arabia has been affected by its own
Politics
Saudi Arabia is an
In the absence of national elections and political parties,[142] politics in Saudi Arabia takes place in two distinct arenas: within the royal family, the Al Saud, and between the royal family and the rest of Saudi society.[152] Outside of the Al Saud, participation in the political process is limited to a relatively small segment of the population and takes the form of the royal family consulting with the ulema, tribal sheikhs, and members of important commercial families on major decisions.[153] This process is not reported by the Saudi media.[154]
By custom, all males of full age have a right to petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the majlis.[155] In many ways the approach to government differs little from the traditional system of tribal rule. Tribal identity remains strong, and outside of the royal family, political influence is frequently determined by tribal affiliation, with tribal sheikhs maintaining a considerable degree of influence over local and national events.[153] In recent years there have been limited steps to widen political participation such as the establishment of the Consultative Council in the early 1990s and the National Dialogue Forum in 2003.[156] In 2005, the first municipal elections were held. In 2007, the Allegiance Council was created to regulate the succession.[156] In 2009, the king made significant personnel changes to the government by appointing reformers to key positions and the first woman to a ministerial post;[157][158] however, these changes have been criticized as being too slow or merely cosmetic.[159]
The rule of the Al Saud faces political opposition from four sources: Sunni Islamist activism; liberal critics; the
Monarchy and royal family
The king combines legislative, executive, and judicial functions[153] and royal decrees form the basis of the country's legislation.[162] Until 2022, the king was also the prime minister, and presided over the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia and Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia. The royal family dominates the political system. The family's vast numbers allows it to control most of the kingdom's important posts and to have an involvement and presence at all levels of government.[163] The number of princes is estimated to be at least 7000, with most power and influence being wielded by the 200 or so male descendants of Ibn Saud.[164] The key ministries are generally reserved for the royal family,[142] as are the 13 regional governorships.[165]
The Saudi government
In its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2010, Transparency International gave Saudi Arabia a score of 4.7 (on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is "highly corrupt" and 10 is "highly clean").[180] Saudi Arabia has undergone a process of political and social reform, such as to increase public transparency and good governance, but nepotism and patronage are widespread when doing business in the country; the enforcement of the anti-corruption laws is selective and public officials engage in corruption with impunity. As many as 500 people, including prominent Saudi Arabian princes, government ministers, and businesspeople, were arrested in an anti-corruption campaign in November 2017.[181]
Al ash-Sheikh and role of the ulema
Saudi Arabia is unique in giving the ulema (the body of Islamic religious leaders and jurists) a direct role in government.[182] The preferred ulema are of the Salafi movement. The ulema have been a key influence in major government decisions, for example the imposition of the oil embargo in 1973 and the invitation to foreign troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990.[183] In addition, they have had a major role in the judicial and education systems[184] and a monopoly of authority in religious and social morals.[185]
By the 1970s, as a result of oil wealth and the modernization initiated by King Faisal, important changes to Saudi society were underway, and the power of the ulema was in decline.[186] However, this changed following the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979 by Islamist radicals.[187] The government's response to the crisis included strengthening the ulema's powers and increasing their financial support:[121] in particular, they were given greater control over the education system[187] and allowed to enforce the stricter observance of Wahhabi rules of moral and social behaviour.[121] After his accession to the throne in 2005, King Abdullah took steps to reduce the powers of the ulema, for instance transferring control over girls' education to the Ministry of Education.[188]
The ulema have historically been led by the Al ash-Sheikh,[189] the country's leading religious family.[185] The Al ash-Sheikh are the descendants of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the 18th-century founder of the Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam which is today dominant in Saudi Arabia.[190] The family is second in prestige only to the Al Saud (the royal family)[191] with whom they formed a "mutual support pact"[192] and power-sharing arrangement nearly 300 years ago.[183] The pact, which persists to this day,[192] is based on the Al Saud maintaining the Al ash-Sheikh's authority in religious matters and upholding and propagating Wahhabi doctrine. In return, the Al ash-Sheikh support the Al Saud's political authority[193] thereby using its religious-moral authority to legitimize the royal family's rule.[194] Although the Al ash-Sheikh's domination of the ulema has diminished in recent decades,[195] they still hold the most important religious posts and are closely linked to the Al Saud by a high degree of intermarriage.[185]
Legal system
The primary source of law is the Islamic
Royal decrees are the other main source of law but are referred to as regulations rather than laws because they are subordinate to the Sharia.[162] Royal decrees supplement Sharia in areas such as labour, commercial and corporate law. Additionally, traditional tribal law and custom remain significant.[202] Extra-Sharia government tribunals usually handle disputes relating to specific royal decrees.[203] Final appeal from both Sharia courts and government tribunals is to the king, and all courts and tribunals follow Sharia rules of evidence and procedure.[204]
Retaliatory punishments, or
Foreign relations
Saudi Arabia joined the UN in 1945
Since 1960, as a founding member of OPEC, its oil pricing policy has been generally to stabilize the world oil market and try to moderate sharp price movements so as to not jeopardize the Western economies.[47][209] In 1973, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations imposed an oil embargo against the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and other Western nations which supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973.[210] The embargo caused an oil crisis with many short- and long-term effects on global politics and the global economy.[211]
Saudi Arabia and the United States are strategic allies, and Saudi Arabia is considered to be pro-Western.[212][213][214][215] On 20 May 2017, President Donald Trump and King Salman signed a series of letters of intent for Saudi Arabia to purchase arms from the United States totaling $350 billion over 10 years.[216][217] Saudi Arabia's role in the 1991 Gulf War, particularly the stationing of US troops on Saudi soil from 1991, prompted the development of a hostile Islamist response internally.[218] As a result, Saudi Arabia has, to some extent, distanced itself from the US and, for example, refused to support or to participate in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.[153]
The consequences of the 2003 invasion and the Arab Spring led to increasing alarm within the Saudi monarchy over the rise of Iran's influence in the region.[225] These fears were reflected in comments of King Abdullah,[188] who privately urged the United States to attack Iran and "cut off the head of the snake".[226]
Saudi Arabia has been seen as a moderating influence in the
In 2017, as part of its nuclear power program, Saudi Arabia planned to extract uranium domestically, taking a step towards self-sufficiency in producing nuclear fuel.[230]
Allegations of sponsoring global terrorism
According to Iraq Prime Minister
Relations with the U.S. became strained following
According to Sir William Patey, former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the kingdom funds mosques throughout Europe that have become hotbeds of extremism. "They are not funding terrorism. They are funding something else, which may down the road lead to individuals being radicalised and becoming fodder for terrorism," Patey said. He said that Saudi has been funding an ideology that leads to extremism and the leaders of the kingdom are not aware of the consequences.[242]
However, since 2016 the kingdom began backing away from Islamist ideologies.[243] Several reforms took place including curbing the powers of religious police,[244] restricting the volume of loudspeakers in mosques,[245][246] reducing the number of hours spent on Islamic education in schools,[247] stopping funding mosques in foreign countries,[248] and allowing the first mixed-gender concert performed by women.[249] In 2017, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declared a return to "moderate Islam".[250]
Military
Saudi Arabia's military forces include the
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest percentages of military expenditure in the world, spending around 8% of its GDP in its military, according to the 2020 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimate,[254] which places it as the world's third largest military spender behind the United States and China,[255] and the world's largest arms importer from 2015 to 2019, receiving half of all the U.S. arms exports to the Middle East.[256][257] Spending on defence and security has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and was about US$78.4 billion as of 2019.[255] According to the BICC, Saudi Arabia is the 28th most militarized country in the world and possesses the second-best military equipment qualitatively in the region, after Israel.[258] Its modern high-technology arsenal makes Saudi Arabia among the world's most densely armed nations.[259]
The kingdom has a long-standing military relationship with Pakistan; it has long been speculated that Saudi Arabia secretly funded Pakistan's atomic bomb programme and seeks to purchase atomic weapons from Pakistan in the near future.[260][261]
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia mobilized 150,000 troops and 100 fighter jets to support its intervention in the civil war in neighboring Yemen.[262] By early 2016, Saudi ground forces and their coalition allies captured Aden and parts of southwest Yemen, though the Houthis continued to control northern Yemen and the capital city Sanaa. From there the Houthis launched successful attacks across the border into Saudi Arabia.[263] The Saudi military has also carried out an aerial bombing campaign and a naval blockade aimed at stopping weapons shipments to the Houthis.[264][265]
Human rights
This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. (June 2023) |
The Saudi government, which mandates Muslim and non-Muslim observance of Sharia law under the absolute rule of the House of Saud, has been denounced by various international organizations and governments for violating human rights within the country.[266] The authoritarian regime is consistently ranked among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights.[267] According to Amnesty International, security forces continue to torture and ill-treat detainees to extract confessions to be used as evidence against them at trial.[268] Saudi Arabia abstained from the United Nations vote adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, saying it contradicted Sharia.[269] Mass executions, such as those carried out in 2016, in 2019, and in 2022, have been condemned by international rights groups.[270]
Since 2001, Saudi Arabia has engaged in widespread internet censorship. Most online censorship generally falls into two categories: one based on censoring "immoral" (mostly pornographic and LGBT-supportive websites along with websites promoting any religious ideology other than Sunni Islam) and one based on a blacklist run by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media, which primarily censors websites critical of the Saudi regime or associated with parties that are opposed to or opposed by Saudi Arabia.[271][272][273]
Saudi Arabian law does not recognize sexual orientations or religious freedom, and the public practice of non-Muslim religions is actively prohibited.[275] The justice system regularly engages in capital punishment, which has included public executions by beheading.[276][277] In line with Sharia in the Saudi justice system, the death penalty can theoretically be imposed for a wide range of offenses,[278] including murder, rape, armed robbery, repeated drug use, apostasy,[279] adultery,[280] witchcraft and sorcery,[281] and can be carried out by beheading with a sword,[279] stoning or firing squad,[280] followed by crucifixion (exposure of the body after execution).[281] In 2022, the Saudi Crown Prince stated that capital punishments will be removed "except for one category mentioned in the Quran", namely homicide, under which certain conditions must be applied.[282] In April 2020, Saudi Supreme Court issued a directive to eliminate the punishment of flogging from the Saudi court system, replaced by imprisonment or fines.[283][284]
Historically, Saudi women faced discrimination in many aspects of their lives and under the male guardianship system were effectively treated as legal minors.[285] The treatment of women had been referred to as "sex segregation"[286][287] and "gender apartheid".[288][289] As of June 2023, the kingdom has reportedly reversed its ban on women "becoming lawyers, engineers, or geologists" and established "aggressive affirmative action programs", doubling the female labor force participation rate. It has added "its first female newspaper editors, diplomats, TV anchors and public prosecutors", with a female head of the Saudi stock exchange and member on the board of Saudi Aramco.[290]
Saudi Arabia is a notable destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of slave labour and commercial sexual exploitation.[291] Migrants from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are employed in the country's construction, hospitality, and domestic work sectors under the kafala system which human rights groups say is linked to abuses including modern slavery.[292][293]
Geography
Saudi Arabia occupies about 80% of the Arabian Peninsula (the world's largest peninsula),[296] lying between latitudes 16° and 33° N, and longitudes 34° and 56° E. Because the country's southern borders with the United Arab Emirates and Oman are not precisely marked, the exact size of the country is undefined.[296] The United Nations Statistics Division estimates 2149690 km2 (830000 sq mi) and lists Saudi Arabia as the world's 12th largest state. It is geographically the largest country in the Middle East and on the Arabian Plate.[297]
Saudi Arabia's geography is dominated by the
The main topographical feature is the central plateau which rises abruptly from the Red Sea and gradually descends into the
Except for the southwestern regions such as Asir, Saudi Arabia has a desert climate with very high day-time temperatures during the summer and a sharp temperature drop at night. Average summer temperatures are around 45 °C (113 °F) but can be as high as 54 °C (129 °F). In the winter the temperature rarely drops below 0 °C (32 °F) with the exception of mostly the northern regions of the country where annual snowfall, in particular in the mountainous regions of Tabuk Province, is not uncommon.[300] The lowest recorded temperature, −12.0 °C (10.4 °F), was measured in Turaif.[301]
In the spring and autumn the heat is temperate, temperatures average around 29 °C (84 °F). Annual rainfall is very low. The southern regions differ in that they are influenced by the Indian Ocean
Biodiversity
Saudi Arabia is home to five terrestrial ecoregions:
The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem with more than 1,200 species of fish[308] around 10% of which are endemic.[309] This also includes 42 species of deep water fish.[308] The rich diversity is partly owed to the 2000 km (1240 mi) of coral reef extending along the coastline; these fringing reefs are largely formed of stony acropora and porites corals. The reefs form platforms and sometimes lagoons along the coast and occasional other features such as cylinders (such as the Blue Hole at Dahab). These coastal reefs are also visited by pelagic species, including some of the 44 species of shark. There are many offshore reefs including several atolls. Many of the unusual offshore reef formations defy classic (i.e., Darwinian) coral reef classification schemes and are generally attributed to the high levels of tectonic activity that characterize the area.
Reflecting the country's dominant desert conditions, plant life mostly consists of herbs, plants, and shrubs that require little water. The date palm (
Administrative divisions
Saudi Arabia is divided into 13
Economy
As of October 2018[update], Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East and the 18th largest in the world.[311] It has the world's second-largest proven petroleum reserves and is the largest exporter of petroleum.[312][313] The country has the world's second-largest oil reserves[314] and the sixth-largest proven natural gas reserves.[33] Saudi Arabia is considered an "energy superpower,"[315][316] having the second highest total estimated value of natural resources, valued at US$34.4 trillion in 2016.[317]
The
OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) limits its members' oil production based on their "proven reserves." Saudi Arabia's published reserves have shown little change since 1980, with the main exception being an increase of about 100 billion barrels (1.6×1010 m3) between 1987 and 1988.[323] Matthew Simmons has suggested that Saudi Arabia is greatly exaggerating its reserves and may soon show production declines (see peak oil).[324]
From 2003 to 2013, "several key services" were privatized—municipal water supply, electricity, telecommunications—and parts of education and health care, traffic control and car accident reporting were also privatized. According to Arab News columnist Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg, "in almost every one of these areas, consumers have raised serious concerns about the performance of these privatized entities."
In addition to petroleum and gas, Saudi has a significant gold mining sector in the Mahd adh Dhahab region and significant other mineral industries, an agricultural sector (especially in the southwest) based on vegetables, fruits, dates etc. and livestock, and large number of temporary jobs created by the roughly two million annual hajj pilgrims.[322] Saudi Arabia has had five-year "Development Plans" since 1970. Among its plans were to launch "economic cities" (e.g. King Abdullah Economic City) in an effort to diversify the economy and provide jobs. The cities will be spread around Saudi Arabia to promote diversification for each region and their economy, and the cities are projected to contribute $150 billion to the GDP.
Saudi Arabia is increasingly activating its ports in order to participate in trade between Europe and China in addition to oil transport. To this end, ports such as Jeddah Islamic Port or King Abdullah Economic City are being rapidly expanded, and investments are being made in logistics. The country is historically and currently part of the Maritime Silk Road.[328][329][330][331]
Statistics on poverty in the kingdom are not available through the UN resources because the Saudi government does not issue any.[332] The Saudi state discourages calling attention to or complaining about poverty. In December 2011, the Saudi interior ministry arrested three reporters and held them for almost two weeks for questioning after they uploaded a video on the topic to YouTube.[333][334][335] Authors of the video claim that 22% of Saudis may be considered poor.[336] Observers researching the issue prefer to stay anonymous[337] because of the risk of being arrested.
The unexpected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, along with Saudi Arabia's poor human rights records, laid unforeseen challenges before the development plans of the kingdom, where some of the programs under 'Vision 2030' were also expected to be affected.[338] On 2 May, the Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia admitted that the country's economy was facing a severe economical crisis for the first time in decades, because of the pandemic as well as declining global oil markets. Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that the country will take "painful" measures and keep all options open to deal with the impact.[339]
Agriculture
Serious large-scale agricultural development began in the 1970s. The government launched an extensive program to promote modern farming technology; to establish rural roads, irrigation networks and storage and export facilities; and to encourage agricultural research and training institutions. As a result, there has been a phenomenal growth in the production of all basic foods. Saudi Arabia is self-sufficient in numerous foodstuffs, including meat, milk, and eggs. The country exports dates, dairy products, eggs, fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Dates, once a staple of the Saudi diet, are now mainly grown for global humanitarian aid. In addition, Saudi farmers grow substantial amounts of other grains such as barley, sorghum, and millet. As of 2016, in the interest of preserving precious water resources, domestic production of wheat, which it used to export, ended.[340] Consuming non-renewable groundwater resulted in the loss of an estimated four-fifths of the total groundwater reserves by 2012.[341]
The kingdom has some of the most modern and largest dairy farms in the Middle East. Milk production boasts a remarkably productive annual rate of 6,800 litres (1,800 US gallons) per cow, one of the highest in the world. The local dairy manufacturing company Almarai is the largest vertically integrated dairy company in the Middle East.[342]
The olive tree is indigenous to Saudi Arabia. The Al Jouf region has millions of olive trees, and the number is expected to increase to 20 million trees.[343]
Water supply and sanitation
One of the main challenges for Saudi Arabia is water scarcity. Substantial investments have been undertaken in seawater desalination, water distribution, sewerage and wastewater treatment. Today about 50% of drinking water comes from desalination, 40% from the mining of non-renewable groundwater, and 10% from surface water in the mountainous southwest of the country.[344] Saudi Arabia is suffering from a major depletion of the water in its underground aquifers and a resultant break down and disintegration of its agriculture as a consequence.[345][346] As a result of the catastrophe, Saudi Arabia has bought agricultural land in the United States,[347][348] Argentina,[349] and Africa.[350][351][352][353] Saudi Arabia ranked as a major buyer of agricultural land in foreign countries.[354][355]
According to the Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation of the
Tourism
Although most tourism largely involves religious pilgrimages, there is growth in the leisure tourism sector. According to the World Bank, approximately 14.3 million people visited Saudi Arabia in 2012, making it the world's 19th-most-visited country.[360] Tourism is an important component of the Saudi Vision 2030, and according to a report conducted by BMI Research in 2018 both religious and non-religious tourism have significant potential for expansion.[361]
The kingdom offers an electronic visa for foreign visitors to attend sports events and concerts.[362] In 2019, the kingdom announced its plans to open visa applications for visitors, where people from about 50 countries would be able to get tourist visas to Saudi.[363] In 2020 it was announced that holders of a US, UK or Schengen visa are eligible for a Saudi electronic visa upon arrival.[364]
-
Thee Ain village located in Al Bahah Province
-
The desert of Al-Rub' Al-Khali (The Empty Quarter)
-
Elephant Rock inAl-'Ula
-
The Square atBoulevard Riyadh City
-
Salwa Palace in At-Turaif District, Diriyah
-
Rijal Almaa historic village
-
Qasr al-Farid Tomb in Mada'in Salih
Demographics
Saudi Arabia's reported population is 32,175,224 as of 2022,[365] making it the fourth most populous country in the Arab world.[366] Close to 42% of inhabitants are immigrants,[367] mostly from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.[368]
The Saudi population has grown rapidly since 1950, when it was estimated at 3 million.[369] For much of the 20h century, the country had one of the highest population growth rates in the world, at around 3% annually;[370] it continues to grow at a rate of 1.62% per year,[371] slightly higher than the rest of the Middle East and North Africa. Consequently, the Saudi people are quite young by global standards, with over half the population under 25 years old,[372]
The ethnic composition of Saudi citizens is 90%
Largest cities or towns in Saudi Arabia
Data.gov.sa (2013/2014/2016) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Name
|
Regions
|
Pop. | Rank | Name
|
Regions
|
Pop. | ||
Riyadh Jeddah |
1 | Riyadh | Riyadh |
[381] 6,506,700 | 11 | Qatif | Eastern | [382] 559,300 | Mecca Medina |
2 | Jeddah | Mecca |
[383] 3,976,400 | 12 | Khamis Mushait | Asir |
[384] 549,000 | ||
3 | Mecca | Mecca | [383] 1,919,900 | 13 | Ha'il |
Ha'il |
[385] 441,900 | ||
4 | Medina | Medina | [386] 1,271,800 | 14 | Hafar al-Batin | Eastern | [382] 416,800 | ||
5 | Hofuf | Eastern | [382] 1,136,900 | 15 | Jubail | Eastern | [382] 411,700 | ||
6 | Ta'if |
Mecca | [383] 1,109,800 | 16 | Kharj |
Riyadh |
[387] 404,100 | ||
7 | Dammam | Eastern | [382] 975,800 | 17 | Abha | Asir |
[384] 392,500 | ||
8 | Buraidah | Al-Qassim |
[388] 658,600 | 18 | Najran | Najran |
[389] 352,900 | ||
9 | Khobar | Eastern | [382] 626,200 | 19 | Yanbu | Al Madinah |
[386] 320,800 | ||
10 | Tabuk | Tabuk |
[390] 609,000 | 20 | Al Qunfudhah | Mecca | [383] 304,400 |
Language
The official language is Arabic.[11][5] The four main regional variants spoken by Saudis are Najdi Arabic (about 14.6 million speakers[391]), Hejazi Arabic (about 10.3 million speakers[392]), Gulf Arabic (about 0.96 million speakers[393]), and Bahrani Arabic. Faifi is spoken by about 50000. The Mehri language is also spoken by around 20000 Mehri citizens.[394] Saudi Sign Language is the principal language of the deaf community, amounting to around 100000 speakers. The large expatriate communities also speak their own languages, the most numerous of which, according to 2018 data, are Bengali (~1,500000), Tagalog (~900000), Punjabi (~800000), Urdu (~740000), Egyptian Arabic (~600000), Rohingya, North Levantine Arabic (both ~500000)[395] and Malayalam.[396]
Religion
Virtually all Saudi citizens
There are an estimated 1.5 million Christians in Saudi Arabia, almost all foreign workers.[407] Saudi Arabia allows Christians to enter the country as temporary foreign workers but does not allow them to practice their faith openly. There are officially no Saudi citizens who are Christians,[408] as Saudi Arabia forbids religious conversion from Islam (apostasy) and punishes it by death.[409] According to Pew Research Center, there are 390000 Hindus in Saudi Arabia, almost all foreign workers.[410] There may be a significant fraction of atheists and agnostics,[411][412] although they are officially called "terrorists".[413] In its 2017 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department named Saudi Arabia a Country of Particular Concern, denoting systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.[414]
Education
Education is free at all levels, although higher education is restricted to citizens only.[415] The school system is composed of elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools. Classes are segregated by sex. At the secondary level, students are able to choose from three types of schools: general education, vocational and technical, or religious.[416] The rate of literacy is 99% among males and 96% among females in 2020.[417][418] Youth literacy rose to approximately 99.5% for both sexes.[419][420]
Higher education has expanded rapidly, with large numbers of
The
In 2018, Saudi Arabia ranked 28th worldwide in terms of high-quality research output according to the scientific journal Nature.[423] This makes Saudi Arabia the best performing Middle Eastern, Arab, and Muslim country.[citation needed] Saudi Arabia spends 8.8% of its gross domestic product on education, compared with the global average of 4.6%.[424] Saudi Arabia was ranked 48th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023, up from 68th in 2019.[425][426][427]
The Saudi education system has been accused of encouraging Islamic terrorism, leading to reform efforts.[428][429] Following the 9/11 attacks, the government aimed to tackle the twin problems of encouraging extremism and the inadequacy of the country's university education for a modern economy, by slowly modernising the education system through the "Tatweer" reform program.[428] The Tatweer program is reported to have a budget of approximately US$2 billion and focuses on moving teaching away from the traditional Saudi methods of memorization and rote learning towards encouraging students to analyse and problem-solve. It also aims to create an education system which will provide a more secular and vocationally based training.[430][431]
In 2021, the
Health care
Saudi Arabia has a national health care system in which the government provides free health care services through government agencies. Saudi Arabia has been ranked among the 26 best countries in providing high quality healthcare.[433] The Ministry of Health is the major government agency entrusted with the provision of preventive, curative, and rehabilitative health care. The ministry's origins can be traced to 1925, when several regional health departments were established, with the first in Makkah. The various healthcare institutions were merged to become a ministerial body in 1950.[434] The Health Ministry created a friendly competition between each of the districts and between different medical services and hospitals. This idea resulted in the creation of the "Ada'a" project launched in 2016. The new system is a nationwide performance indicator, for services and hospitals. Waiting times and other major measurements improved dramatically across the kingdom.[435]
A new strategy has been developed by the ministry, known as Diet and Physical Activity Strategy or DPAS for short,[436] to address bad lifestyle choices. The ministry advised that there should be a tax increase on unhealthy food, drink and cigarettes. This additional tax could be used to improve healthcare offerings. The tax was implemented in 2017.[437] As part of the same strategy, calorie labels were added in 2019 to some food and drink products. Ingredients were also listed as an aim to reduce obesity and inform citizens with health issues, to manage their diet.[438] As part of the ongoing focus on tackling obesity, women-only gyms were allowed to open in 2017. Sports offered in each of these gyms include bodybuilding, running and swimming to maintain higher standards of health.[439][440]
Smoking in all age groups is widespread. In 2009 the lowest median percentage of smokers was university students (~13.5%) while the highest was elderly people (~25%). The study also found the median percentage of male smokers to be much higher than that of females (~26.5% for males, ~9% for females). Before 2010, Saudi Arabia had no policies banning or restricting smoking.
The MOH has been awarded "Healthy City" certificates by the
In May 2019, the then Saudi Minister of Health
Saudi Arabia has a life expectancy of 74.99 years (73.79 for males and 76.61 for females) according to the latest data for the year 2018 from the World Bank.[444] Infant mortality in 2019 was 5.7 per 1000.[444] In 2016, 69.7% of the adult population was overweight and 35.5% was obese.[445]
Foreigners
The Central Department of Statistics & Information estimated the foreign population at the end of 2014 at 33% (10.1 million).
According to The Guardian, as of 2013[update] there were more than half a million foreign-born domestic workers. Most have backgrounds in poverty and come from Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.[450] To go to work in Saudi Arabia, they must often pay large sums to recruitment agencies in their home countries. The agencies then handle the necessary legal paperwork.[451]
As the Saudi population grows and oil export revenues stagnate, pressure for "Saudization" (the replacement of foreign workers with Saudis) has grown, and the Saudi government hopes to decrease the number of foreign nationals in the country.[452] Saudi Arabia expelled 800000 Yemenis in 1990 and 1991[453] and has built a Saudi–Yemen barrier against an influx of illegal immigrants and against the smuggling of drugs and weapons.[454] In November 2013, Saudi Arabia expelled thousands of illegal Ethiopian residents from the kingdom. Various Human Rights entities have criticized Saudi Arabia's handling of the issue.[455]
Over 500000
Foreigners cannot apply for
Culture
Saudi Arabia has millennia-old attitudes and traditions, often derived from
Religion in society
Religion is a core aspect of everyday life in Saudi Arabia; it plays a dominant role in the country's governance and legal system, and deeply influences culture and daily life, although the power of the religious establishment has been significantly eroded in the 2010s.[28] The Hejaz region, where the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina are located, is the destination of the Ḥajj pilgrimage, and often deemed to be the cradle of Islam.[466][h]
Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia. There is no law that requires all citizens to be Muslim, but non-Muslims and many foreign and Saudi Muslims whose beliefs are deemed not to conform with the government's interpretation of Islam must practice their religion in private and are vulnerable to discrimination, harassment, detention, and, for foreigners, deportation.
Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that have "
Women in society
Throughout history, women did not have equal rights to men in the kingdom; the
Under previous Saudi law, all females were required to have a male guardian (wali), typically a father, brother, husband, or uncle (mahram). In 2019, this law was partially amended to exclude women over 21 years old from the requirement of a male guardian.[486] The amendment also granted women rights in relation to the guardianship of minor children.[486][487] Previously, girls and women were forbidden from traveling, conducting official business, or undergoing certain medical procedures without permission from their male guardians.[488] In 2019, Saudi Arabia allowed women to travel abroad, register for divorce or marriage, and apply for official documents without the permission of a male guardian.
In 2006, Wajeha al-Huwaider, a leading Saudi feminist and journalist said "Saudi women are weak, no matter how high their status, even the 'pampered' ones among them, because they have no law to protect them from attack by anyone."[489] Following this, Saudi Arabia implemented the anti-domestic violence law in 2014.[490] Furthermore, between 2017 and 2020, the country addressed issues of mobility, sexual harassment, pensions, and employment-discrimination protections.[491][492][493] al-Huwaider and other female activists have applauded the general direction in which the country was headed.[494]
Women face discrimination in the courts, where the testimony of one man equals that of two women
Heritage sites
Saudi Wahhabism is hostile to any reverence given to historical or religious places of significance for fear that it may give rise to
In June 2014, the Council of Ministers approved a law that gives the
In 2017, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman promised to return Saudi Arabia to the "moderate Islam" of the era before the 1979 Iranian revolution.[515] A new centre, the King Salman Complex for the Prophet's Hadith, was established that year to monitor interpretations of the Prophet Mohammed's hadiths to prevent them being used to justifying terrorism.[516]
In March 2018, the Crown Prince met the Archbishop of Canterbury during a visit to the UK, pledging to promote interfaith dialogue. In Riyadh the following month King Salman met the head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.[517] In July 2019, UNESCO signed a letter with the Saudi Minister of Culture in which Saudi Arabia contributed US$25 million to UNESCO for the preservation of heritage.[518]
Dress
Saudi Arabian dress strictly follows the principles of hijab (the Islamic principle of modesty, especially in dress). The predominantly loose and flowing, but covering, garments are suited to Saudi Arabia's desert climate. Traditionally, men usually wear a white ankle-length garment woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb), with a keffiyeh (a large checkered square of cotton held in place by an agal) or a ghutra (a plain white square made of a finer cotton, also held in place by an agal) worn on the head. For rare chilly days, Saudi men wear a camel-hair cloak (bisht) over the top. In public women are required to wear a black abaya or other black clothing that covers everything under the neck with the exception of their hands and feet, although most women cover their head in respect of their religion. This requirement applies to non-Muslim women too and failure to abide can result in police action, particularly in more conservative areas of the country. Women's clothes are often decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliques.[519]
Arts and entertainment
During the 1970s, cinemas were numerous in the kingdom although they were seen as contrary to Wahhabi norms.[520] During the Islamic revival movement in the 1980s, and as a political response to an increase in Islamist activism including the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the government closed all cinemas and theatres. However, with King Abdullah and King Salman's reforms, cinemas re-opened,[521] including one in KAUST.
From the 18th century onward, Wahhabi fundamentalism discouraged artistic development inconsistent with its teaching. In addition, Sunni Islamic prohibition of creating representations of people have limited the visual arts, which tend to be dominated by geometric, floral, and abstract designs and by calligraphy. With the advent of the oil-wealth in the 20th century came exposure to outside influences, such as Western housing styles, furnishings, and clothes. Music and dance have always been part of Saudi life. Traditional music is generally associated with poetry and is sung collectively. Instruments include the rabābah, an instrument not unlike a three-string fiddle, and various types of percussion instruments, such as the ṭabl (drum) and the ṭār (tambourine). The national dance is a native sword dance known as ardah. Originating from Najd, it involves lines or circles of men and singing poetry.[522] Bedouin poetry, known as nabaṭī, is popular.[153]
Censorship has limited the development of Saudi literature, although several
Developments in the arts in 2018 included Saudi Arabia's debut appearances at the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Biennale.[530]
Cuisine
Sport
Scuba diving, windsurfing, sailing and basketball (which is played by both men and women) are also popular with the
Women's sport is controversial because of the suppression of female participation in sport by conservative Islamic religious authorities,[534] however the restrictions have eased.[535][536][537] Until 2018 women were not permitted in sport stadiums. Segregated seating, allowing women to enter, has been developed in three stadiums across major cities.[538] Since 2020, the progress of women's integration into the Saudi sport scene began to develop rapidly.[539][540] 25 Saudi sport federations established a national women's team,[541] including a national football and basketball team. In November 2020, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced the launch of the first nationwide Saudi women's premier league.[542]
In its vision for modernization the nation has introduced many international sporting events, bringing sports stars to the kingdom. However, in August 2019, the kingdom's strategy received criticism for appearing as a method of sportswashing soon after Saudi's US-based 2018 lobbying campaign foreign registration documentations got published online. The documents showed Saudi Arabia as allegedly implementing a sportswashing strategy, including meetings and official calls with authorities of associations like Major League Soccer, World Wrestling Entertainment, and the National Basketball Association.[543]
TV and media
Television was introduced in Saudi Arabia in 1954. Saudi Arabia is a major market for
Most of the early newspapers in the Persian Gulf region were established in Saudi Arabia.[546] The first newspaper founded in the country and in the Persian Gulf area is Al Fallah, which was launched in 1920,[546] and the first English-language newspaper is Arab News, which was launched in 1975.[547] All of the newspapers published in Saudi Arabia are privately owned.[548]
According to World Bank, as of 2020, 98% of the population of Saudi Arabia are internet users which puts it in the 8th rank among countries with the highest percentage of internet users.[549] Saudi Arabia has one of the fastest 5G internet speeds in the world.[550][551] The kingdom is the 27th largest market for e-commerce with a revenue of US$8 billion in 2021.[552]
See also
Notes
- ^ For Saudi citizens only.
- ^ There is a Consultative Assembly, or Shura Council, which has no legislative power.[9] As its role is only consultative it is not considered to be a legislature.[10]
- Pegged to the United States dollar (USD) at 3.75 riyals per USD since 1986[16]
- Arabic: ٱلسُّعُودِيَّة, romanized: Suʿūdiyya
- ^ Proponents prefer the name Salafist, considering Wahhabi derogatory.
- ^ A number of Muslims, using justifications from the Quran,[467][468][469] insist that Islam did not begin with Muhammad, but that it represents even previous Prophets such as Abraham,[470][471][472][473] who is credited with having established the sanctuary of Mecca.[474][475][476]
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Saudi Arabia is not totalitarian. Travel outside the country is common, political crimes and violence are rare, people are not in constant fear of the police, and the state does not try to take over all existing organizations, such as philanthropic, religious, commercial, and industrial groups. Saudi rulers still see themselves in a parental role, much like a sheikh of a tribe who is in close touch with the concerns of his tribesmen and keeps those concerns in balance. For so long a time, a relatively benign monarchy has ruled over this populace that it has become used to being looked after in this manner. Therefore, until recently, calls for a more open, representative political system did not win wide support.
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External links
- Saudi Arabia. Archived 30 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine official government website.
- Saudi Arabia. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- Saudi Arabia at Curlie
- Saudi Arabia profile from the BBC News
- Wikimedia Atlas of Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia web resources provided by GovPubs at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries
- Key Development Forecasts for Saudi Arabia from International Futures