Lying at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, Saudi Arabia has been transformed from a desert kingdom into one of the richest countries in the Middle East.

Nine times larger than the UK, Saudi Arabia is huge compared to its neighbours.

Visit http://www.saudinf.com/main/a.htm and http://www.arab.net/saudi/index.html for more maps, photos and background information about the country.

Prince Abdullah ©Sipa Press/Rex Saudi Arabia gets its name from the ruling Al Sa’ud family. In 1932, King Abdul-Aziz al Sa’ud took over the Hijaz region in the west after years of fighting. Since the current king suffered a series of strokes in 1995, his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah has been head of state. The Al Sa’ud family remain very powerful. Much of their power today is linked to Saudi Arabia’s main export, oil. Go to the economy page to find out more.

A risk of unrest
The royal family’s power base may be weakening. A growing number of Saudis have become Islamic fundamentalists. They accuse the royal family and their associates of abusing their power with wasteful, corrupt lifestyles that go against Islamic beliefs.

©Agence-France Presse/Popperfoto.com More trouble has come from King Fahd’s invitation to US troops to stay after the first Gulf War to maintain security in the region. Saudi Islamic fundamentalists, including Osama Bin Laden, believe that it is heretical that non-Muslims should be allowed to stay in the birthplace of Islam, and so close to Islam’s holiest sites.