Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia [officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in Western Asia by land area (approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi)), which constitutes the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and geographically second largest in the Arab world. It is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, northeast Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. It is the only nation with both a coast of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf coast and much of its terrain consists inhospitable deserts.

The area of present-day Saudi Arabia previously consisted of four distinct regions: Hijaz, Najd and parts of eastern Arabia (Al-Ahsa) and southern Arabia ('Asir). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud. He joined the four regions in one state through a series of conquests that began in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. The country has since been an absolute monarchy ruled along Islamic lines. Wahhabi Islam has been called "the predominant feature of the Saudi culture." Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam. The kingdom has a total population of 28.7 million, of which 20 million are Saudis and 8 million foreign citizens.

Saudi Arabia is the second largest oil producer in the world and the largest exporter, and controls the second largest reserves in the world hydrocarbons. Backed by its fossil fuels, the kingdom is classified as a high income economy with high human development index (HDI), and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies. However, Saudi Arabia has the least diversified economy in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). It is ruled by an authoritarian regime and is classified as "not free" by Freedom House. Saudi Arabia has the fourth of the world's highest military expenditure, and in 2010-14, SIPRI found that Saudi Arabia was the second largest arms importer in the world. Saudi Arabia is considered a regional and average power. In addition to the GCC, is an active member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC.