Facts About the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia shares borders with Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Yemen. Their primary industry is petroleum, although they also produce natural gas, iron ore, gold and copper. 90% of their export dollars are from oil. Population is 26,417,599 (Jul. 2005 est.) Life expectancy is 75.46 years. Ethnicity is 90% Arab and 10% Afro-Asian. Religion is Muslim (100%) and the language spoken is Arabic. Literacy rate is 78.8%.
The Government of Saudi Arabia is a Monarchy. The chief of state and head of government is King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982). Crown Prince and First Depuly Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud is the de facto ruler since early 1996.
The flag is gree, a traditiona color in Islamic flags, with the Shahada or Muslim creed in large white Arabic script (translated as "there is no god but God; Muhamad is the Messenger of God") above a white horizontal saver.

Important cities in Saudi Arabia

Mecca: The birthplace of the Prophet Mohamad

Medina: To where the Prohpet moved in 622 AD.

Jubail: The biggest and most important of the eight industrial cities built by Saudi Arabia as an effort to expand their non-oil economy.

Jeddah: The location of Eve's Tomb. The name of the city could come from the word for grandmother: Jaddah.
About Mecca and Medina: Mecca and Medina are the two most holy places for Muslims.
Among the improvements added during the enlargement and renovation of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina are twenty-seven automated sliding domes in the roof which can be opened to admit light and air.
Saudi Arabia has a unique responsibility to the world of Islam since one of the Five Pillars of Islam or religious duties of every Muslim is the Pilgrimage, or Hajj, to the Holy City of Mecca once in his or her lifetime. About one million foreign visitors a year attend Al Hajj or The Pilgrimage. In 1998 more than twenty thousand buses, six thousand hospital beds and ten thousand doctors were on standby for the millions of pilgrims expected to make The Pilgrimage to Mecca. The Holy Mosque in Mecca was also the first place of worship for Muslims: "The first house of worship appointed for men was that at Bakka". Non-Muslims are not allowed to visit Mecca.

Interesting Facts about Saudi Arabia

The British explorer, Richard Burton, entered Mecca in 1853 disguised as a Muslim.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer of desalinated water: thirty-three plants produce nearly two million cubic meters of fresh water from the sea.
Saudi Arabia is one of the world's driest countries, with rain only in the extreme north and south.
Miswak, the root of the arak tree, is used to clean teeth.
Many of the words we use today originate from Arabic, among them alcohol, alkali, admiral and alchemy.
Colonel T.E. Lawrence, a British soldier, known as Lawrence of Arabia, helped defeat the Turks in the 1914-1918 war. His account of the campaign is written in his book, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Modern Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Company, ARAMCO, is the world's largest producer of oil. Saudi Arabia has twenty-six percent of the world's share of present oil production.
Saudi Arabia was a founding member of OPEC.
The King Fahd Causeway, linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, is fifteen and a half miles long and is the second longest causeway in the world.
The first university in Saudi Arabia was founded in 1957 and had twenty-one students; now there are seven universities and ninety-four colleges with more than one hundred and seventy thousand students.
One of the ways in which the Arab world is investing its oil revenues in growing non-oil economic enterprises can be seen in the use of information technology.
Public housing is provided for students and people with low incomes and public employees.
Saudi Arabia is a generous provider of aid to the developing world.