Understand

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Saudi Arabia is one of two countries named for their royal families, along with The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The family were sheiks of Nejd, the area around Riyahd, but were driven out by a neighbouring tribe, hiding with their relatives, the sultan of Kuwait. Then in 1902, young Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud and a few dozen lads rode out to raid their home territory. As it turned out, the invaders had been ruling badly, so many locals joined them. They not only re-captured Riyadh, but much of the surrounding territory.

After that, Abdul Aziz set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. The area united under him became known as Saudi Arabia.

In the 1930s, the discovery of oil transformed the country. 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, unemployment, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all major governmental concerns.

Economy

Saudi Arabia is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world (26% of the proved reserves), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 25% of GDP comes from the private sector.

Roughly 4 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and service sectors. Riyadh expects to have a budget deficit in 2002, in part because of increased spending for education and other social programs.

The government in 1999 announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies, which follows the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications company. The government is expected to continue calling for private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Shortages of water and rapid population growth will constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products.

Unemployment among young Saudis is a very serious problem. While part of this can be explained by Saudi reluctance to take many types of work, it is also true that imported labor is much, much cheaper than that of the locals.

Geography

; 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: 1.72%
permanent crops: 0.06%
other: 98.22% (1998 est.)

Holidays

; National holiday : Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)*
Eid-Ul-Fitr
Eid-Ul-Adha

They vary according to Islamic calender.

Eat

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There are numerous American franchises operating in the various cities, including McDonalds, Burger King, Little Caesars, Cinnabon, Pizza Hut, Subway, and Dunkin' Donuts. In addition to chains well-known in Europe and North...