Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . . .

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comprises almost four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula, an area approximately one-third the size of the continental United States. Geographically, it is situated in the southwestern part of Asia. The eastern part of Saudi Arabia is a plateau that begins with the great Nafud desert in the north, continues along the Arabian Gulf and culminates in the world's largest sand desert, the Rub Al-Khali (Empty Quarter), in the south. To the west of this plateau is the Najd, the heartland of the peninsula, known for its spectacular escarpments and gravel and sand deserts.
The capital city of Riyadh is located in Najd. A chain of mountains in western Saudi Arabia runs parallel to the Red Sea. The Hijaz region along the Red Sea contains the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, the port city of Jeddah and the summer capital of Taif.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made great progress in realizing the long-held objective of achieving self-sufficiency in food production. Saudi Arabia's agricultural development is one of the major accomplishments of modern agriculture in the Middle East. The country's leaders have always encouraged the growth of the agricultural sector, not only for its role in food security, but also for its contribution to diversifying the economy away from oil. Today, the agricultural sector employs a significant number of people and utilizes the latest techniques to produce a variety of goods, stocking shelves in stores in Saudi Arabia and exporting excess supplies to countries across the globe.
This agricultural success is all the more impressive considering the geography of the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is a large country without permanent rivers, and less than two percent of its land surface is under cultivation. The Rub Al-Khali (Empty Quarter), the largest sand desert in the world, stretches across the southern part of the Kingdom. Overall, only an average of about four inches of rain falls annually in the country - one of the lowest rates in the world. At the same time, the Arabian Peninsula has always harbored fertile regions. The farmers of Asir Province in the southwest have long practiced rain-fed agriculture, raising maize, wheat, barley and an array of vegetables and fruit in their terraced fields. Verdant palm oases, such as Al-Qatif and Al-Hasa in the Eastern Province, have always enlivened the brown of the desert. In the provinces of Hail and Qasim, long stretches of arable farmland yield grains and vegetables and are dotted today with chicken and dairy farms.
Water, of course, is the key to agriculture in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has successfully implemented a multifaceted program to provide the vast supplies of water necessary to achieve the spectacular growth of the agricultural sector. A network of dams has been built to trap and utilize precious seasonal floods. Vast underground water reservoirs have been tapped through deep wells. Desalination plants have been built to produce fresh water from the sea for urban and industrial use, thereby freeing other sources for agriculture. Facilities have also been put into place to treat urban and industrial run-off for agricultural irrigation. These efforts collectively have helped transform vast tracts of the desert into fertile farmland. Land under cultivation, less than 400,000 acres in 1976, reached millions of acres by the 21st century.

For thousands of years, the people of the Arabian Peninsula have been at the geographic, commercial and cultural crossroads of the world. As early as 3,000 BC, the people of the western region of the peninsula were part of a far-reaching commercial network extending to south Asia, the Mediterranean and Egypt. The discovery some 1,900 years ago of the cyclical pattern of trade winds known as the monsoon increased the importance of the peninsula. Trade flourished, with merchants of the peninsula acting as the vital link between India and the Far East on the one side and Byzantium and the Mediterranean states on the other. Interaction with other cultures of east and west over the centuries enriched the ancient traditions and culture of the people of the peninsula.

The introduction of Islam to the Arabian heartland in the seventh century AD further strengthened the region's cultural heritage. Within a century, Islam spread west to the Atlantic Ocean and as far east as the Indian subcontinent and China. With Makkah as its core, the Islamic world witnessed a flowering of culture, the sciences and the arts unparalleled in human history. Every year for the past fourteen centuries, Muslim pilgrims from around the world have traveled to Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah, helping further enrich the culture of the people of the peninsula.

With the formation of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, King Abdulaziz bin Abdelrahman Al-Saud directed his efforts to preserving and perpetuating Arab traditions and culture. His legendary dedication to this cause was emulated by his sons and successors at a crucial time when the nation was entering an era of rapid economic development.

That Saudi Arabia has successfully preserved and strengthened its cultural heritage while achieving the spectacular development and modernization of the past three decades is testimony to the resilience of Saudi culture and the nation's determination to cherish and protect it. Today amid the bustle of life in the 21st century in modern Saudi society contemporary Saudi writers look to the past for inspiration. Popular musicians incorporate ancient rhythms and instruments into their modern music and painters capture traditional scenes.

The accelerating pace of development in the 1970s, however, led Saudi leaders to take additional steps to preserve the nation's cultural and artistic heritage. When the General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW) was established in 1974, one of its main functions was to strengthen an understanding and respect for the nation's culture and arts among young people: this function was taken over by the Ministry of Culture and Information in April 2003.

In 1974, the Department of Museums and Antiquities was formed in the Ministry of Education. Today, in addition to the National Museum in Riyadh there are major museums in each of the Kingdom's thirteen provinces, and many smaller ones, some of them privately-owned.

Saudi Arabia's economic system is based on free and private enterprise. Saudi citizens have the opportunity to initiate and participate in economic activities and reap the rewards of their enterprise and hard work. Respect for private property, freedom to engage in the economic field of an individual's choice and encouragement of private investment in the development of the nation are principles upheld by Islam and observed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Opportunities for economic growth have increased steadily over the decades since King Abdulaziz bin Abdelrahman Al-Saud founded the Kingdom in 1932. At that time, prospects for growth and development seemed limited. There were no airports and the only seaports dealt primarily with pilgrimage travel. Transportation between cities separated by miles of barren desert was on rough unpaved roads. Agriculture was limited and industry was almost nonexistent. The primary source of revenue was from the annual pilgrimage of Muslims to the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Undaunted by these obstacles, the visionary King Abdulaziz began to make plans for the laying down of the country's infrastructure. Addressing the most fundamental concerns - education, health, transportation, agriculture and industry - he initiated the remarkable development that continues today. This development was enhanced by the discovery of oil in the late 1930s.
Having invested about one trillion U.S. dollars in developing its social and economic structure, Saudi Arabia has undergone a remarkable transformation over the relatively short time span of some seven decades. Where it once was obliged to import all of the manufactured products it consumed, Saudi Arabia now has a vast industrial base and its factories supply a large portion of the needs of the country's domestic markets. Fishing villages on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf that were once a collection of huts have been transformed into bustling centers of industry, producing everything from petrochemicals to electronics and exporting them to over 90 countries.
One of the fastest developing countries in the world, Saudi Arabia is the most dynamic economic power in the Arab world and ranks 20th globally in the size of its economy.

Formal primary education began in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. By 1945, King Abdulaziz bin Abdelrahman Al-Saud, the country's founder, had initiated an extensive program to establish schools in the Kingdom. Six years later, in 1951, the country had 226 schools with 29,887 students. In 1954, the Ministry of Education was established, headed by then Prince Fahd bin Abdulaziz as the first Minister of Education. The first university, now known as King Saud University, was founded in Riyadh in 1957.

Today, Saudi Arabia's nationwide public educational system comprises eight universities, more than 24,000 schools, and a large number of colleges and other educational and training institutions. Open to every citizen, the system provides students with free education, books and health services. A measure of the government's substantial commitment to this sector is the allocation of over 25 percent of the annual State budget for education including vocational training.

Saudi Arabia prizes education because of its critical importance in developing the country's human potential, and in the 21st century private education facilities are opening all over the Kingdom. King Fahd bin Abdulaziz often stressed how the young people of Saudi Arabia are the country's most valuable resource. Education is a central aspect of family and community life. Parents are deeply involved in their children's education, and the close links between home and school serve to reinforce the structure of the community and the nation.