Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. One of his male descendants rules the country today as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. 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. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong ongoing campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism.
From 2005 to 2015 King ABDALLAH incrementally modernized the Kingdom. Driven by personal ideology and political pragmatism he introduced a series of social and economic initiatives including expanding employment and social opportunities for women attracting foreign investment increasing the role of the private sector in the economy and discouraging businesses from hiring foreign workers. Saudi Arabia saw protests during the 2011 Arab Spring but not the level of bloodshed seen in protests elsewhere in the region. Shia Muslims in the Eastern Province protested primarily against the detention of political prisoners endemic discrimination and Bahraini and Saudi Government actions in Bahrain. Riyadh took a cautious but firm approach by arresting some protesters but releasing most of them quickly and by using its state-sponsored clerics to counter political and Islamist activism.
The government held its first-ever elections in 2005 and 2011 when Saudis went to the polls to elect municipal councilors. In December 2015 women were allowed to vote and stand as candidates for the first time in municipal council elections with 19 women winning seats. King SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud ascended to the throne in 2015 and placed the first next-generation prince MUHAMMAD BIN NAIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud in the line of succession as Crown Prince. He designated his son MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud as the Deputy Crown Prince. In March 2015 Saudi Arabia led a coalition of 10 countries in a military campaign to restore the government of Yemen which had been ousted by Huthi forces allied with former president ALI ABDULLAH al-Salih. The war in Yemen has led to civilian casualties and shortages of basic supplies which has drawn considerable international criticism. In December 2015 Deputy Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN announced Saudi Arabia would lead a 34-nation Islamic Coalition to fight terrorism (it has since grown to 41 nations). In January 2016 Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on charges of terrorism including Shia Muslim cleric NIMR al-Nimr. Iranian protesters overran Saudi diplomatic facilities in Iran to protest al-NIMR’s execution and the Saudi government responded by cutting off diplomatic ties with Iran.
The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds about 16% of the world's proven oil reserves as of 2015. The government continues to pursue economic reform and diversification particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in 2005 and promotes foreign investment in the Kingdom. In April 2016 the Saudi government announced a broad set of socio-economic reforms known as Vision 2,030 Low global oil prices throughout 2015 and 2016 significantly lowered Saudi Arabia’s governmental revenue. In response the government cut subsidies on water electricity and gasoline; reduced government employee compensation packages; and announced limited new land taxes. In coordination with OPEC and some key non-OPEC countries Saudi Arabia agreed cut oil output in early 2017 to regulate supply and help elevate global prices.

arable land: 1.5%
permanent crops: 0.1%
permanent pasture: 79.1%

rural: 3% of population
total: 3% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses about 16% of the world's proven petroleum reserves ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 87% of budget revenues 42% of GDP and 90% of export earnings.
Saudi Arabia is encouraging the growth of the private sector in order to diversify its economy and to employ more Saudi nationals. Over 6 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy particularly in the oil and service sectors; at the same time however Riyadh is struggling to reduce unemployment among its own nationals. Saudi officials are particularly focused on employing its large youth population which generally lacks the education and technical skills the private sector needs.
In 2016 the Kingdom incurred a budget deficit estimated at 13.6% of GDP which was financed by bond sales and drawing down reserves. Although the Kingdom can finance high deficits for several years by drawing down its considerable foreign assets or by borrowing it has cut capital spending. Plans to cut deficits include introducing a value-added tax and reducing subsidies on electricity water and petroleum products. In January 2016 Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN announced that Saudi Arabia intends to list shares of its state-owned petroleum company ARAMCO - another move to increase revenue and outside investment. The government has also looked at privatization and diversification of the economy more closely in the wake of a diminished oil market. Historically Saudi Arabia has focused diversification efforts on power generation telecommunications natural gas exploration and petrochemical sectors. More recently the government has approached investors about expanding the role of the private sector in the health care education and tourism industries. While Saudi Arabia has emphasized their goals of diversification for some time current low oil prices may force the government to make more drastic changes ahead of their long-run timeline.

$1.756 trillion (2016 est.)
$1.705 trillion (2015 est.)
$1.62 trillion (2014 est.)

1.7% (2016 est.)
4.1% (2015 est.)
3.7% (2014 est.)

$55,300 (2016 est.)
$55,700 (2015 est.)
$53,900 (2014 est.)

25.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
26.1% of GDP (2015 est.)
38.5% of GDP (2014 est.)

5.6% (2016 est.)
11.4% (2015 est.)

22.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
14.8% of GDP (2015 est.)

3.5% (2016 est.)
2.2% (2015 est.)

7.1% (31 December 2016 est.)
6.9% (31 December 2015 est.)

$305.2 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$305.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$476.6 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$472.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$221.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$134.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$421.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$483.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$467.4 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$-27.54 billion (2016 est.)
$-56.72 billion (2015 est.)

$183.6 billion (2016 est.)
$203.5 billion (2015 est.)

$127.8 billion (2016 est.)
$159.3 billion (2015 est.)

$535.8 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$616.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$189.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$171.5 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$258.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$250.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$46.45 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$37.85 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Saudi riyals (SAR) per US dollar -
3.75 (2016 est.)
3.75 (2015 est.)
3.75 (2014 est.)
3.75 (2013 est.)
3.75 (2012 est.)

9.85% of GDP (2016)
13.33% of GDP (2015)
10.68% of GDP (2014)
8.98% of GDP (2013)
7.68% of GDP (2012)