Saudi Arabia

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya as-Su‘ūdiyya
Flag Emblem
Motto: لا إله إلا الله، محمد رسول الله "Lā ʾilāha ʾillāl–lāh, Muhammadun rasūl allāh" "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God."[1][a] (Shahada)
Anthem: السلام الملكي (as an instrumental) "as-Salâm al-Malaki" "The Royal Salute"
Capital and largest city	Riyadh
Official languages	Arabic
Demonym(s)	Saudi
Government	Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy
• King	Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
• Crown Prince	Mohammad bin Salman
Legislature	None - legislation by king's decree.
Establishment
• Kingdom founded	23 September 1932[5]
Area
• Total	2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi) (12th)
• Water (%)	0.7
Population
• 2010 estimate	27,136,977[6] (46th)
• Density	12/km2 (31.1/sq mi) (216th)
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
• Total	$677.663 billion[7]
• Per capita	$24,056.715
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
• Total	$560.294 billion
• Per capita	$19,890.183
HDI (2011)	0.770[8] high · 56th
Currency	Saudi riyal (SR) (SAR)
Time zone	UTC+3 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 ((not observed))
Driving side	right
Calling code	+966
ISO 3166 code	SA
Internet TLD	.sa, السعودية.

Saudi Arabia,^[b] officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),^[c] is a country in West Asia including most of the Arabian Peninsula. The land area is approximately 2,150,000 km² (830,000 sq mi), so Saudi Arabia is geographically the 5th-largest state in Asia and 2nd-largest state in the Arab world after Algeria. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast, and Yemen to the south. It is separated from Palestine and Egypt by The Red sea. It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and the Arabian Gulf coast, and most of its land is dry and barren. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Arabs and Islam ^[9] and sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam. Arabic is the exclusive official language in Saudi Arabia.

Sunni Islam is the state religion.^[10] The practice of non-Islamic religions is not allowed in public but it's allowed in private.^[11] The Hanbali school of faith has a big influence, and the ultra-conservative Wahhabism religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture".

Saudi Arabia is the largest state in western Asia by land area (most of the Arabian Peninsula) and the second-largest in the Arab World. It has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 8.8 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 1.5 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.^[12]

Saudi Arabia has the world's largest petroleum reserves and is the world's largest oil exporter.^[13] Oil accounts for more than 90% of exports and nearly 75% of government revenues, facilitating the creation of a welfare state.^[14] However, human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have expressed concern about the state of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has cities that are important to the Muslim religion. Many Muslims from around the world visit Mecca in Saudi Arabia to make a pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is one of the "pillars of Islam". Other big cities are Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. The pilgrimage is called hajj in the Arabic language. Somebody who makes a pilgrimage to Mecca is called a hajj in the Arabic language. People who are not Muslim are not allowed to enter Mecca.

Most people speak the Arabic language.

The currency of Saudi Arabia is referred to as the Saudi Riyal.^[15]

1. ↑ "About Saudi Arabia: Facts and figures". The royal embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C., United States. Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
2. ↑ "God". Islam: Empire of Faith. PBS.
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. ↑ "Saudi Arabia the country in Brief". Saudia-online.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-21. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
6. ↑ Central Department Of Statistics & information Archived 2012-09-22 at the Wayback Machine as updated 2010
7. ↑ "Saudi Arabia". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
8. ↑ "HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme" (PDF). United Nations. 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
9. ↑ "Cultural Dimension of Saudi Arabia". sauditourism. sauditourism. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
10. ↑ "The Basic Law of Government, Chapter one".
11. ↑ "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Saudi Arabia". U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
12. ↑ "Saudi Arabia". American Bedu. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
13. ↑ Soldatkin, Vladimir; Nastassia Astrasheuskaya (November 9, 2011). "Saudi Arabia to overtake Russia as top oil producer-IEA". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
14. ↑ "The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia – A Welfare State". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, London. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
15. ↑ Staff, Communicate. "The Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Brands in Saudi Arabia". www.communicateonline.me. Retrieved 2021-02-22.