“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion; God’s Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, God’s prayers and peace be upon him, are its constitution, Arabic is its language and Riyadh is its capital.”

(Article One from the Basic Law of Government)

Saudi Arabia is often referred to as the cradle of Islam. Home to the two most holy cities in the Islamic faith, Mecca and Medina, it is a land held sacred by an estimated 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide. It also holds 25% of the known global oil reserves, arguably the most precious economic resource in the world.

Below is an overview of the historical, political, social and economic factors that influence and define Saudi Arabia and its people. There is also a list of links to further reading and sources of information on the Kingdom:

Basic Facts and Figures:

[NOTE: These are taken from the CIA world fact book unless otherwise quoted]

Population:

26,417,599 of which 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 38.2% (male 5,149,960/female 4,952,138)
15-64 years: 59.4% (male 8,992,348/female 6,698,633)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 334,694/female 289,826) (2005 est.)

Median age:

total: 21.28 years
male: 22.84 years
female: 19.28 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.31% (2005 est.)

Birth Rate:

29.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:

2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 75.46 years
male: 73.46 years
female: 77.55 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.05 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Ethnic groups:

Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Religions:

100% Muslim

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.8%
male: 84.7%
female: 70.8% (2003 est.)

Language:

Arabic

Geographical Data:

Area:

total: 1,960,582 sq km
land: 1,960,582 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Land boundaries:

total: 4,431 km
border countries: Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km

Coastline:

2,640 km

Extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal

Climate:

harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes

Terrain:

mostly uninhabited, sandy desert

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m

Natural resources:

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper

Land Use:

arable land: 1.67%
permanent crops: 0.09%
other: 98.24% (2001)

Environmental Issues:

desertification; depletion of underground water resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills

International Environmental Agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Historical Context:

Saudi Arabia is divided into four historical regions: Asir, El Hasa, Hejaz and Nejd. These regions did not have formal borders, were not politically unified and do not represent the administrative regions used as the basis for the 2005 municipal elections. The Saudi people still refer to these regions as sources of identity and tribal background. The Nejd is the central region where the Al-Saud family originated, while the Hijaz contains the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as well as the important trade port of Jeddah.

The Al-Saud – Al-Wahhab Alliance:

The Al-Saud family settled in Ad Diriyah in the central Nejd region of Arabia, near to what is today Riyadh, some time around 1500. The Arabian Peninsula traditionally had a complex tribal structure, with many of its people living a nomadic lifestyle. Although the western Hijaz region came under prolonged periods of control and administration by successive Islamic empires, the central Nejd area proved difficult to administer given its harsh climate and wide expanses of open desert.

The rise to power of the Al-Saud family is linked to their alliance with Muhammad Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab (Ibn Wahhab), founder of the Wahhabi Islamic movement. Ibn Wahhab was a Muslim scholar who grew up in Uyayah, an oasis in the Southern Nejd. He was brought up with the teachings of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence, one of the strictest Islamic schools.

Wahhabi or Muwahidi (Unitarian) doctrine emphasises a strict, literal interpretation of the Quran and direct adherence to the word of God as expressed therein. It is anti-pluralist and exists in constant ideological conflict with other Islamic schools of thought.

In 1744 Ibn Wahhab and Muhammad Ibn Saud formed an alliance, the aim of which was the eventual formation of an Islamic state based on Muwahidi principles and encompassing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In this way, Muhammad Ibn Saud and his descendents would claim religious legitimacy over the years.

Early attempts at state formation in the Arabian Peninsula (1700-1900):

The path to the eventual formation of Saudi Arabia in 1932 was not straightforward. By 1765, Muhammad Ibn Saud had gained control over most of the Nejd. His son Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud captured the Hijaz in 1803, bringing the Al-Saud into conflict with the Ottoman Empire. In 1816, an Egyptian-led army sanctioned by the Ottomans recaptured the Hijaz and continued into the Nejd, eventually conquering Ad-Diriyah in 1818. At this time, Abdullah Ibn Saud Ibn Abd al-Aziz was the head of the Al-Saud dynasty. Captured by the Egyptians, he was sent to Istanbul where he was beheaded, and Ad-Diriyah was all but destroyed.

However the uncle of Abdullah Ibn Saud, Turki Ibn Abdullah, managed to escape the Egyptians, and after two years in exile in Southern Arabia he rallied new forces and set about undermining Egyptian control. Ad-Diriyah was recaptured in 1821, followed by Riyadh and the whole of the Nejd by 1824. This was an indicator of the level of support for the Al-Saud from the tribes of the Nejd who aided them. This support would not be forgotten when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was eventually formed. The Al-Saud family forged connections through marriage to other powerful tribal groupings in the region, in order to consolidate their control and ensure tribal allegiance.

Turki recognised the authority of the Ottoman Empire in order to avoid being attacked, and paid them part of the tax he collected to ensure security. At the same time he looked to forge new alliances with Britain, the major colonial power of the period. Britain viewed the Ottoman Empire as hostile, and was therefore keen to secure influence in Arabia because of its proximity to India and the Suez Canal. Turki effectively played the British and the Ottomans off against each other, exploiting their mutual distrust in his favour.

However a member of the Al-Saud family assassinated Turki in 1834, and his son only held power for a short time before being expelled from Riyadh by Khalid Ibn Saud, another family member who had been in exile in Cairo and returned with Egyptian backing. For a number of years, there was chaos in the region as rival branches of the Al-Saud family vied for control. This coincided with the progressive deterioration of the Ottoman Empire and Egypt’s independence. In 1845 Faisal Ibn Turki took control of Riyadh, ruling until 1865. However when he died, chaos returned as the different branches of the Al-Saud family again sought to take control. 

In this period another prominent family in the region, Al-Rashid, grew in strength in the Northern Nejd, and although they had been allied to Khalid Ibn Saud, their relationship with the Al-Saud family had deteriorated in the ensuing chaos after his death. Muhammad Ibn Rashid took control of Riyadh and the Al-Saud family were forced to flee, taking refuge in Kuwait.

Ibn Saud and the founding of modern Saudi Arabia (1900-1932):

Abdul Aziz Ibn Rahman Al-Saud (1880-1953), better known as Ibn Saud, spent most of his younger years living in exile in Kuwait. He gathered together a band of troops, with whom he conducted raids into the Rashidi-controlled Northern Nejd. He emphasised the idea of religious legitimacy brought about through his relationship with the decedents of Ibn Wahhab. This gained him further support, and he eventually succeeded in retaking the Nejd in 1905. From this position Ibn Wahhab managed to gain the alliance of the Ikhwan, or Brotherhood, a radical army of Islamic zealots who followed the teachings of Ibn Wahhab. 

At this stage Ibn Saud had succeeded in establishing his rule over most of Eastern Arabia, some from under Ottoman control, up to the borders of British protectorates such as Oman and the Island of Bahrain. The British-supported Sharif family ruled the Hijaz from their base in Mecca, and Ibn Saud initially avoided conflict with them. However in 1919, the Sharif family sent an army to meet Ibn Saud near the town of Turabah on the border between the Hijaz and the Nejd. Ibn Saud engaged the help of the Ikhwan who overwhelmed the Sharif’s troops, leaving most of them dead and the Hijaz effectively undefended. Eventually, in 1924 Ibn Saud and his army conquered Mecca, Medina and the entire region of the Hijaz.

Control over the Hijaz provided new problems as Ibn Saud set about with the state-formation process. Control over the Nejd had been largely the result of tribal agreements, and there was little in the way of a formal state structure. Ibn Saud had fewer allies in the Hijaz, and therefore needed a stronger basis for the legitimacy of his control and his ability to maintain some form of order. Central to this legitimacy was gaining the support of the local religious authorities – the ‘Ulama – for his position as Khadim al-Haramayn (protector of the two holy shrines – Mecca and Medina).

At this stage, one of the biggest threats to Ibn Saud’s control came from his own army, the Ikhwan, who disagreed with the forging of alliances with Britain, a Christian colonial power, and the tolerance of non-Muwahidi Muslims. They were also keen to push the conquest on further into Iraq in the north that had strong ties with Britain. In 1929 the Ikhwan rose up against Ibn Saud, but were crushed by tribal forces loyal to the new regime and strengthening Ibn Saud’s position as ruler of the region.

Struck by food shortages and a lack of exportable resources, Ibn Saud relied heavily on his manipulation of the tribal structures of Arabia to maintain and consolidate his control. In 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was officially formed and recognised by the international community as a sovereign state. It was around this time that Britain and the US began to show a strong interest in the region in the knowledge that there could be vast, exploitable quantities of oil beneath the sands of the desert. Another chapter in the history of Saudi Arabia was about to begin.