Independence Year : 1932
Population : 21607000
Life Expectancy : 67.8
Capital : 3173
GNP : 137635.00
GNP Old : 146171.00
Local Name : Al-´Arabiya as-Sa´udiya
Government Form : Monarchy
Location : Asia, Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
Terrain : Deserts, plateaus, mountains in the southwest.
Climate : Arid, with great extremes of temperature in the interior; humidity and temperature are both high along the coast.
Ethnic Group : Arab (90% of native pop.), Afro-Asian (10% of native pop.)
Religions : Islam
Official Website :
www.kingfahdbinabdulaziz.com
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General Information - Saudi Arabia
Background
In 1902 Abdul al-Aziz Ibn SAUD captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian peninsula. In the 1930s, the discovery of oil transformed the country from an underdeveloped desert kingdom to one of the wealthiest nations in the region. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year.
A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all major governmental concerns.
On the morning of the 1st of August, 2005, it was announced that King Fahd had died. Crown Prince Abdullah was affirmed as King and Prince Sultan appointed Crown Prince.
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