Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. 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.
The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and held about 16% of the world's proven oil reserves as of 2015.
Dry desert with great temperature extremes
Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Do not point at people, better to keep hands flattened and gesture instead.
Kabsa — water used to cook meat or fish is re-used to cook rice to impart flavor; the dish can be made with chicken, lamb, camel meat, fish, or shrimp; the meat or fish is usually placed on top of the rice and served on a large platter
High-income, oil-based Middle Eastern economy; OPEC leader; diversifying portfolio; declining per-capita incomes; young labor force; key human capital gaps; heavy bureaucracy and increasing corruption; substantial poverty; low innovation economy
Saudi Arabia