History

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia covers about 80 percent of the area of the Arabian Peninsula and extends from the Red Sea and the city of Jeddah in the west, via the capital Riyadh in the heart of the country to Dammam and the Arabian Gulf in the east.

In 1932, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud united the provinces of Nadjd and Hijaz and thus founded the State of Saudi Arabia. In 1938, with the help of the Americans, the exploitation of the large oil reserves that had been discovered five years earlier began. From 1944, this oil was exported and Saudi Arabia became a wealthy and economically influential country. In 1945, the country was one of the founding members of the "Arab League". The Kingdom had a very good standing within the league, not least as the guardian of the two holiest places in Islam (Mecca and Medina). In 1960, Saudi Arabia founded OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) together with Iraq, Iran, Venezuela and Kuwait.

Based on the oil sector in the eastern province of the country, other sectors have also been established, so the country meanwhile benefits from a strong petrochemical sector. Since 2016, further diversification of the economy has been initiated as part of the ambitious “Vision 2030” economic strategy. The country is now drawing on the potential of the young and well-educated population. The country has currently grown to almost 35 million inhabitants.