Backgrounder: Basic facts about Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
23/4/2006 9:38
Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Riyadh on Saturday for a three-day
state visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The following are some basic facts
about Saudi Arabia:
Situated on the Arabian Peninsular, the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia faces the Persian Gulf in the east and the Red Sea in the west. It
borders Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen.
Saudi
Arabia covers an area of 2.25 million square kilometers. It has a population of
22.67 million, of whom about 4 million live in the capital Riyadh.
The
kingdom is the cradle of Islam. In the 7th century A.D., successors of Prophet
Mohammed established the Arab Empire, which expanded to Europe, Africa and Asia
in the following century.
In 1932, King Abdul-Aziz bin Saud unified the
Arabian Peninsula and founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mecca, where
Prophet Mohammed was born, is the first holy site of Islam. Millions of Muslims
from across the world gather in Mecca for pilgrimage every year.
Saudi Arabia
has the richest oil resource in the world with a prospected reserve standing at
261.2 billion barrels, accounting for 26 percent of the world's total. It is
also the biggest crude producer and its annual oil output hits 400 million to
500 million tons. Oil products make up more than 90 percent of the kingdom's
exports.
The kingdom is also abundant in natural gas with prospected gas
reserves reaching 6.75 trillion cubic meters.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia
has made great efforts to diversify its economic structure and has developed
non-oil sectors such as mining, light industry and agriculture.
In 2004, the
kingdom registered US$11,800 in per capita gross domestic product
(GDP).
China and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendship. Followers of
Prophet Mohammed came to China in the 7th century A.D. to spread Islam. Zheng
He, a great Chinese navigator in the Ming Dynasty, sailed to Saudi Arabia as
part of his trips to Southeast Asia, West Asia and East Africa between 1405 and
1433.
Xinhua News
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