Western Asia · AsiaSaudi Arabia
Discover Saudi Arabia - guardian of Islam's two holiest cities, the world's top oil exporter, and a vast desert kingdom undergoing the most ambitious transformation on Earth.
Where Is Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is a country in Western Asia. Its capital is Riyadh.
- Capital Riyadh
- Population 37M
- Area 2,149,690 km²
Saudi Arabia is a country built on two things: oil and faith. It is the guardian of Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam, which draw over 15 million pilgrims annually for the Hajj and Umrah. It sits on top of the world's second-largest proven oil reserves and has been the planet's largest oil exporter for decades. These two facts alone make Saudi Arabia one of the most consequential countries on Earth, regardless of what you think of its politics.
But the Saudi Arabia of the 2020s is not the Saudi Arabia of even ten years ago. Vision 2030, the kingdom's transformation plan, is rewriting the country at a speed that makes your head spin. Women now drive. Cinemas have reopened after a 35-year ban. Tourism visas exist for the first time. NEOM, a $500 billion futuristic mega-city being built from scratch in the desert, is the most ambitious construction project in human history. Whether it all works remains to be seen, but the scale of ambition is undeniable.
Beyond the headlines, Saudi Arabia is a vast country - the largest in the Middle East, roughly the size of Western Europe. The Empty Quarter in the south is the largest sand desert on Earth. AlUla in the northwest holds the stunning Nabatean tombs of Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Hejazi coast along the Red Sea has coral reefs rivaling the Great Barrier Reef. The country is far more geographically diverse than most people imagine.
At a glance
Largest cities in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
Jeddah
Mecca
Medina
Dammam
Famous people from Saudi Arabia
King Abdulaziz ibn Saud
PoliticsFounder of modern Saudi Arabia who united the warring tribes of the Arabian Peninsula into a single kingdom in 1932
Ahmed Zewail
ScienceEgyptian-born scientist who spent formative years in Saudi Arabia, pioneer of femtochemistry - though primarily associated with Egypt and the US
Haifa al-Mansour
FilmFirst female Saudi filmmaker whose debut Wadjda was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and premiered at Venice
Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily
SportWon Saudi Arabia's first-ever Olympic medal - silver in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
Traditional cuisine of Saudi Arabia
- Kabsa
- Saudi Arabia's national dish of fragrant spiced rice with chicken or lamb, flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, and dried lime
- Jareesh
- Crushed wheat cooked slowly with yogurt and meat into a creamy porridge, a traditional Najdi comfort food
- Mandi
- Tender meat and rice cooked in a tandoor-like underground pit, originally from Yemen but beloved across the Arabian Peninsula
- Dates with Arabic Coffee
- Cardamom-infused coffee served in tiny cups alongside dates, the cornerstone of Saudi hospitality offered to every guest
- Mutabbaq
- Thin pastry stuffed with spiced meat or egg and pan-fried until crispy, a popular Hejazi street food found everywhere in Jeddah
Nature and landmarks in Saudi Arabia
- Empty Quarter (Rub' al Khali)Desert
- The largest sand desert on Earth covering 650,000 square kilometers, with dunes reaching 250 meters high in an otherworldly landscape of silence and heat
- Hegra (Mada'in Salih)Landmark
- Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, with over 100 monumental Nabatean tombs carved into sandstone cliffs, the sister city of Petra
- Farasan IslandsIsland
- Protected archipelago in the Red Sea with pristine coral reefs, mangroves, and one of the largest populations of Arabian gazelles
- Asir MountainsMountain
- Green mountain range in the southwest reaching 3,000 meters, with terraced farms, juniper forests, and a climate dramatically different from the desert below
- Edge of the World (Jebel Fihrayn)Canyon
- Dramatic cliff face near Riyadh where the plateau drops away to reveal an endless flat expanse stretching to the horizon
Sports in Saudi Arabia
- Football
- Most popular sport in the kingdom, the Saudi national team shocked the world by beating Argentina 2-1 at the 2022 World Cup in one of the greatest upsets ever
- Camel Racing
- Traditional Bedouin sport with robot jockeys and prize camels worth millions, the King's Cup is one of the most prestigious races
- Motorsport
- Hosts Formula 1, Formula E, and the Dakar Rally, rapidly becoming a global hub for international motorsport events
Did you know?
Saudi Arabia has no rivers - it is the largest country in the world without a single permanent natural river
The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is the largest annual gathering of people on Earth, with over 2 million pilgrims in a single week
Saudi Arabia's oil reserves were discovered in 1938, and within decades transformed a poor desert kingdom into one of the wealthiest nations on Earth
NEOM, the planned mega-city in the northwest, includes The Line - a 170-kilometer-long mirrored city designed to house 9 million people with zero cars
The country has the world's largest desalination capacity, converting seawater into the majority of its drinking water
Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the king declared a national holiday to celebrate the historic victory
The Hejaz Railway, built in 1908 to transport pilgrims from Damascus to Medina, was famously attacked by T.E. Lawrence during World War I
Read more about Saudi Arabia
Can you find Saudi Arabia on a map?
Drop a pin where you think it is and see how close you got. A few rounds and you will place Saudi Arabia and its neighbours without a second thought.
