Saudi Arabia: A Country Profile

Capital: Riyadh (estimated population 3.6 million).
Major Cities: Population estimates for 2006 show continued growth for Saudi Arabia's major
urban areas: Jiddah (2.9 million), Mecca (1.6 million), Ad Dammam/Khobar/Dhahran (1.6
million), and Medina (854,500). Mecca and Medina have religious significance that far
outweighs their respective populations.
Independence: Following Ottoman dominance, Egypt controlled Arabia from 1818 to 1824. For
the remainder of the nineteenth century, Egypt, Britain, and the Ottomans vied for control of the
region. On September 23, 1932, Abd al Aziz ibn Abd ar-Rahman Al Saud established the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Unification brought together competing tribes into a modern state,
covering an area approximating present boundaries.