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Country : Saudi Arabia Official name: Mamlaka al Arabiya as Sa'udiya (The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Head of State: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud (from 1 Aug 2005); Crown Prince: Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud Head of government: King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud Ruling party: No political parties – absolute monarchy. Area: 2,149,690 square km (approximately) Population: 23.34 million (2004) Capital: Riyadh Official language: Arabic Currency: Saudi riyal (SR) = 100 halalas Exchange rate: SR3.75 per US$ (fixed) GDP per capita: US$8,879 (2003) GDP real growth: 2.90% (2003) Labour force: 7.00 million (2003) Unemployment: 25.00% (2003) Inflation: 0.70% (2003) Oil production: 9.82 million bpd (2003) Balance of trade: US$50.15 billion (2003) Foreign debt: US$25.90 billion (2003)

Historical profile

The Arabian peninsula, including modern day Saudi Arabia, became part of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. Although under the overall rule of the Ottoman Sultan, local leaders developed varying degrees of autonomy.

The Wahhabi movement, dedicated to the reform of Islam, was founded in the eighteenth century. A Wahhabi kingdom under the House of Sa'ud expanded to include the Hejaz on the west coast of Arabia.

1890 The Rashidi family seized control of Riyadh from the Sa'ud family.

1902 Members of the deposed Sa'ud family regained control of Riyadh, expelling the Rashidis. Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud proclaimed himself ruler of Najd. Once the Sa'ud family was entrenched as the ruling dynasty, Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud became known as ibn Sa'ud.

1919–25 Ibn Sa'ud defeated four Arabian states: Hejaz, Asir, Ha'il and Jauf. Makkah, Islam's holiest city, was captured in 1924.

1926 Ibn Sa'ud was proclaimed King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Najd.

1932 The dual monarchy system was merged and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established.

1945 The end of the Second World War saw the beginning of significant oil exploration and exploitation. The country's infrastructure was modernised and developed with the growing oil revenues.

1953 Ibn Sa'ud died and was succeeded by Crown Prince Sa'ud ibn Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud.

1964 Al Sa'ud was replaced by his brother, Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud, previously the Crown Prince and prime minister.

1975 King Faisal was assassinated by one of his nephews and was succeeded by Khalid ibn Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud.

1982 King Khalid died and Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz al Sa'ud, his brother, became King.

1991 Saudi Arabia was the launch pad for a US-led military operation which ejected Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait.

2000 A Royal Family Council (RFC) held its first meeting, and Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed a treaty resolving 65 years of dispute over land and sea boundaries.

2002 Crown Prince Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz put forward a peace initiative on Israel and Palestine to the Beirut Summit of the Arab League. It suggested a settlement between Israel and the whole Arab world if Israel withdrew from all Palestinian territories it had occupied in the 1967 Middle East War.

2003 In September, more than 300 Saudi intellectuals, including women, signed a petition calling for far-reaching political reforms and in October, more than 270 people were arrested on suspicion of having taken part in a rally in Riyadh, calling for political reform. On 30 November, King Fahd granted wider powers to the Majlis al Shura (Consultative Council), enabling it to initiate legislation without first seeking his permission. In December, around 100 leading Saudis signed a petition urging the government to speed up political reform.

2004 There was a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in February, in which 251 people died.

2005 In February, for the first time, Saudis (men only) voted in local elections. Security forces killed 14 Islamist militants in April, including Abdulkarim al Mejjati, accused of masterminding the bombings in Casablanca, Morocco, in 2003, and whose role in the 2004 bombing in Madrid, Spain, was being investigated.

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