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. A male descendent of Ibn Saud, his son Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz, 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 U.S. troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong on-going campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. King Abdallah has continued the cautious reform program begun when he was crown prince. To promote increased political participation, the government held elections nationwide from February through April 2005 for half the members of 179 municipal councils.

In December 2005, King Abdallah completed the process by appointing the remaining members of the advisory municipal councils. The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds approximately 25 percent of the world's proven oil reserves. The government continues to pursue economic reform and diversification, particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in December 2005, and promotes foreign investment in the kingdom. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 27,601,038 note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 5,369,285/female 5,162,585) 15-64 years: 59.4% (male 9,316,694/female 7,089,370) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 348,827/female 314,277) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 21.4 years male: 22.9 years female: 19.6 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.06% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 29.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 2.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -5.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.314 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1.196 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 12.41 deaths/1,000 live births male: 14.24 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.88 years male: 73.85 years female: 78.02 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 3.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: Saudi(s) adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian

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Ethnic groups: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

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Religions: Muslim 100%

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Languages: Arabic

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.8% male: 84.7% female: 70.8% (2003 est.)

Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses 25% 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 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 5.5 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors. The government is encouraging private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and to increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. The government is promoting private sector and foreign participation in the power generation, telecom, natural gas, and petrochemical industries. As part of its effort to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy, Saudi Arabia acceded to the WTO in December 2005 after many years of negotiations. With high oil revenues enabling the government to post large budget surpluses, Riyadh has substantially boosted spending on job training and education, infrastructure development, and government salaries. The government has announced plans to establish six "economic cities" in different regions of the country to promote development and diversification.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $366.2 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $276.9 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 2.4% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $13,600 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.3% industry: 67% services: 29.8% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 7.125 million note: more than 35% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 12% industry: 25% services: 63% (1999 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 13% among Saudi males only (local bank estimate; some estimates range as high as 25%) (2004 est.)

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.9% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 16.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $189.2 billion expenditures: $107.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 32.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus; mutton, chickens, eggs, milk

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Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals; ammonia, industrial gases, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), cement, fertilizer, plastics; metals, commercial ship repair, commercial aircraft repair, construction

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Industrial production growth rate: 1.9% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 155.2 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 144.4 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 9.475 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 1.845 million bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - exports: 8.554 million bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - imports: 0 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - proved reserves: 261.9 billion bbl (1 January 2005 est.)

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Natural gas - production: 65.68 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 65.68 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 6.654 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: $103.8 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $204.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 90%

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Exports - partners: Japan 17.6%, US 15.8%, South Korea 9.6%, China 7.2%, Singapore 4.4%, Taiwan 4.4% (2006)

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Imports: $64.16 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles

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Imports - partners: US 12.2%, Germany 8.5%, China 7.9%, Japan 7.2%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.8% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $31.63 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $47.39 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - donor: since 2000, Saudi Arabia has committed $307 million for assistance to the Palestinians; pledged $230 million to development in Afghanistan; pledged $1 billion in export guarantees and soft loans to Iraq; pledged $133 million in direct grant aid, $187 million in concessional loans, and $153 million in export credits for Pakistan earthquake relief; pledged a total of $1.59 billion to Lebanon in assistance and deposits to the Central Bank of Lebanon in 2006 and pledged an additional $1.1 billion in early 2007

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Currency (code): Saudi riyal (SAR)

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Exchange rates: Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.745 (2006), 3.747 (2005), 3.75 (2004), 3.75 (2003), 3.75 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year