Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Demographics

The ethnic composition of Saudi citizens is 91% Arab and 9% Afro-Asia. Most Saudis live in Hejaz (37%), Najd (29%), and the Eastern Province (13%). Hejaz is the most populated region in Saudi Arabia.
The official language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic. The three main regional variants spoken by Saudis are Hejazi Arabic, Najdi Arabic, and Gulf Arabic. Saudi Sign Language is the principal language of the deaf community. The large expatriate communities also speak their own languages, the most numerous of which are Tagalog, Rohingya, Urdu, and Egyptian Arabic.
Virtually all Saudi citizens are Muslim (officially, all are), and almost all Saudi residents are Muslim. Estimates of the Sunni population of Saudi Arabia range between 75% and 90%, with the remaining 10–25% being Shia Muslim. The official and dominant form of Sunni Islam in Saudi Arabia is commonly known as Wahhabism
According to estimates, there are over 2 million Christians in Saudi Arabia, almost all foreign workers. Saudi Arabia allows Christians to enter the country as foreign workers for temporary work but does not allow them to practice their faith openly. The percentage of Saudi Arabian citizens who are Christians is officially zero, as Saudi Arabia forbids religious conversion from Islam (apostasy) and punishes it by death.

Government

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. However, according to the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia adopted by royal decree in 1992, the king must comply with Sharia (Islamic law) and the Quran, while the Quran and the Sunnah (the traditions of Muhammad) are declared to be the country's constitution. No political parties or national elections are permitted.

Defences

The Royal Saudi Arabian Armed Forces consist of the Saudi Arabian Army, the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Royal Saudi Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Defense, and the Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force.
Saudi Arabian Army: 100,000 personnel
Royal Saudi Navy: 70,000 personnel; 300+ ships; 50+ aircraft
Royal Saudi Air Force: 70,000 personnel, 500 aircraft
Royal Saudi Air Defense: 100,000 personnel
Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force: 25,000 personnel

Industry & Trade

Saudi Arabian trade involved manufacturing and human involvement. It acquires raw materials and sells some of the best quality finished products in the world. The STO regulates most of the trade with the government and is a trans-national body.

History

Saudi Arabia was formed by the unification of the Kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd in 1932. The new kingdom was reliant on limited agriculture and pilgrimage revenues. 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. In 1953, Saud of Saudi Arabia succeeded as the king of Saudi Arabia, on his father's death, until 1964 when he was deposed in favor of his half-brother Faisal of Saudi Arabia, after an intense rivalry, fueled by doubts in the royal family over Saud's competence. In 1972, Saudi Arabia gained a 20% control in Aramco, thereby decreasing US control over Saudi oil. In 1973, Saudi Arabia led an oil boycott against the Western countries that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War against Egypt and Syria. Oil prices quadrupled. By 1976, Saudi Arabia had become the largest oil producer in the world.
Despite several anti-government demonstrations, the Saudi rule remains unchanged. In the 1980s, Saudi Arabia spent $25 billion in support of Saddam Hussein in the Iran–Iraq War. However, Saudi Arabia condemned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and asked the US to intervene. Saudi Arabia's relations with the West began to cause growing concern among some of the ulema and students of sharia law and was one of the issues that led to an increase in Islamist terrorism in Saudi Arabia, as well as Islamist terrorist attacks in Western countries by Saudi nationals. In 1995, Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke, and the Crown Prince, Abdullah, assumed the role of de facto regent, taking on the day-to-day running of the country. However, his authority was hindered by conflict with Fahd's full brothers. 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 a number of 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.
On 29 January 2011, hundreds of protesters gathered in the city of Jeddah in a rare display of criticism against the city's poor infrastructure after deadly floods swept through the city, killing eleven people. The Saudi Kings have slowly taken steps to provide concessions as the Arab Spring protests riddled the country. Saudi Arabia has drifted away from a pro-West policy to form a more neutral stance to global politics.
The country lost all leverage from petroleum in the Energy Crisis of 2065 but has a very strong military and a powerful political sphere of influence in the middle east. Though it has not participated in any conflict for nearly a century, the Saudi Arabian military is assumed to be one of the most powerful organisations in the world. The STO, or the Saudi Trade Organisation, is the richest government-affiliated trade organisation in the world. The Saudi stock exchange is thus the strongest in the world.
The Saudi Arabian government relies on trade for most of its energy and economic needs.

Geography

Saudi Arabia occupies about 80% of the Arabian Peninsula (the world's largest peninsula), 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. The CIA World Factbook estimates 2,149,690 sq km and lists Saudi Arabia as the world's 13th largest state. It is geographically the largest country in the Arabian Plate.
Saudi Arabia's geography is dominated by the Arabian Desert, associated semi-desert and shrubland and several mountain ranges and highlands. It is, in fact, a number of linked deserts and includes the 647,500 sq km Rub' al Khali in the southeastern part of the country, the world's largest contiguous sand desert.
There are a few lakes in the country but no permanent rivers, however, wadis are very numerous. The fertile areas are to be found in the alluvial deposits in wadis, basins, and oases. The main topographical feature is the central plateau which rises abruptly from the Red Sea and gradually descends into the Nejd and toward the Persian Gulf. On the Red Sea coast, there is a narrow coastal plain, known as the Tihamah parallel to which runs an imposing escarpment. The southwest province of Asir is mountainous and contains the 3,133 m Mount Sawda, which is the highest point in the country.
Except for the southwestern province of Asir, Saudi Arabia has a desert climate with very high day-time temperatures and a sharp temperature drop at night. Average summer temperatures are around 45 °C but can be as high as 54 °C. In the winter the temperature rarely drops below 0 °C. In the spring and autumn, the heat is temperate, temperatures average around 29 °C. Annual rainfall is extremely low. The Asir region differs in that it is influenced by the Indian Ocean monsoons, usually occurring between October and March. An average of 300 mm (12 in) of rainfall occurs during this period, which is about 60% of the annual precipitation.

Natural Resources

Very little of useful Saudi natural resources remain.

Population

47,783,855