Saudi Arabia
Human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 125,000 years ago. A 2011 study found that the first modern humans to spread east across Asia left Africa about 75,000 years ago across the Bab-el-Mandeb connecting the Horn of Africa and Arabia. The Arabian Peninsula is regarded as central to the understanding of evolution and dispersals of humanity. Arabia underwent an extreme environmental fluctuation in the Quaternary that led to profound evolutionary and demographic changes. Arabia has a rich Lower Paleolithic record, and the quantity of Oldowan-like sites in the region indicate a significant role that Arabia had played in the early hominin colonization of Eurasia. In the Neolithic period, prominent cultures such as Al-Magar flourished. Al-Magar could be considered a "Neolithic Revolution" in human knowledge and handicraft skills. The culture is characterized as being one of the world's first to involve the widespread domestication of animals, particularly the horse. Al-Magar statues were made from local stone, and it seems that the statues were fixed in a central building that might have had a significant role in the social and religious life of the inhabitants. In 2017, hunting scenes showing images of most likely domesticated dogs (resembling the Canaan Dog) were discovered in northwestern Saudi Arabia. These rock engravings date back more than 9,000 years, making them the earliest depictions of dogs in the world. At the end of the 4th millennium BC, Arabia entered the Bronze Age; metals were widely used, and the period was characterized by its 2 m high burials which were simultaneously followed by the existence of numerous temples that included many free-standing sculptures originally painted with red colours. In May 2021, archaeologists announced that a 350,000-year-old Acheulean site named An Nasim in the Hail region could be the oldest human habitation site in northern Saudi Arabia. Paleolithic artefacts are similar to material remains uncovered at the Acheulean sites in the Nefud Desert.
The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal family, known as the Al Saud, began at the town of Diriyah in central Arabia with the accession as emir of Muhammad bin Saud on the 22nd of February 1727. In 1744 he joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, a strict puritanical form of Sunni Islam. This alliance provided the ideological impetus to Saudi expansion and remains the basis of Saudi Arabian dynastic rule today. The Emirate of Diriyah established in the area around Riyadh rapidly expanded and briefly controlled most of the present-day territory of Saudi Arabia, sacking Karbala in 1802, and capturing Mecca in 1803. In 1818, it was destroyed by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, Mohammed Ali Pasha. The much smaller Emirate of Nejd was established in 1824. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the Al Saud contested control of the interior of what was to become Saudi Arabia with another Arabian ruling family, the Al Rashid, who ruled the Emirate of Jabal Shammar. By 1891, the Al Rashid were victorious and the Al Saud were driven into exile in Kuwait. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire continued to control or have a suzerainty over most of the peninsula. Subject to this suzerainty, Arabia was ruled by a patchwork of tribal rulers, with the Sharif of Mecca having pre-eminence and ruling the Hejaz. In 1902, Abdul Rahman's son, Abdulaziz, later known as Ibn Saud, recaptured control of Riyadh bringing the Al Saud back to Nejd, creating the third "Saudi state". Ibn Saud gained the support of the Ikhwan, a tribal army inspired by Wahhabism and led by Faisal Al-Dawish, and which had grown quickly after its foundation in 1912. With the aid of the Ikhwan, Ibn Saud captured Al-Ahsa from the Ottomans in 1913.
The new kingdom was reliant on limited agriculture and pilgrimage revenues. In 1938, vast reserves of oil were discovered in the Al-Ahsa region along the coast of the Persian Gulf, and full-scale development of the oil fields began in 1941 under the US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company). Oil provided Saudi Arabia with economic prosperity and substantial political leverage internationally. Cultural life rapidly developed, primarily in the Hejaz, which was the centre for newspapers and radio. However, the large influx of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia in the oil industry increased the pre-existing propensity for xenophobia. At the same time, the government became increasingly wasteful and extravagant. By the 1950s this had led to large governmental deficits and excessive foreign borrowing. In 1953, Saud of Saudi Arabia succeeded as the king of Saudi Arabia. In 1964 he was deposed in favour of his half brother Faisal of Saudi Arabia, after an intense rivalry, fuelled by doubts in the royal family over Saud's competence. In 1972, Saudi Arabia gained a 20% control in Aramco, thereby decreasing US control over Saudi oil. In 1973, Saudi Arabia led an oil boycott against the Western countries that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War against Egypt and Syria, leading to the quadrupling of oil prices. In 1975, Faisal was assassinated by his nephew, Prince Faisal bin Musaid and was succeeded by his half-brother King Khalid. By 1976, Saudi Arabia had become the largest oil producer in the world. Khalid's reign saw economic and social development progress at an extremely rapid rate, transforming the infrastructure and educational system of the country; in foreign policy, close ties with the US were developed.
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy; however, according to the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia adopted by royal decree in 1992, the king must comply with Sharia (Islamic law) and the Quran, while the Quran and the Sunnah (the traditions of Muhammad) are declared to be the country's constitution. No political parties or national elections are permitted. While some critics consider it to be a totalitarian state, others regard it as lacking aspects of totalitarianism but nevertheless classify it as an authoritarian regime. The Economist ranked the Saudi government 150th out of 167 in its 2022 Democracy Index, and Freedom House gave it its lowest "Not Free" rating, giving it a score of 8 out of 100 for 2023. According to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy Indices, Saudi Arabia is the least democratic country in the Middle East, as well as the most closed autocratic country in Asia. In the absence of national elections and political parties, politics in Saudi Arabia takes place in two distinct arenas: within the royal family, the Al Saud, and between the royal family and the rest of Saudi society. Participation in the political process is limited to a relatively small segment of the population and takes the form of the royal family consulting with the ulema, tribal sheikhs, and business elite on major decisions. This process is not reported by the Saudi media. By custom, all males of full age have a right to petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the majlis. In many ways the approach to government differs little from the traditional system of tribal rule. Tribal identity remains strong, and outside of the royal family, political influence is frequently determined by tribal affiliation. Tribal sheikhs continue to exert a considerable degree of influence over local and national events.
The Saudi government, which mandates Muslim and non-Muslim observance of Sharia law under the absolute rule of the House of Saud, has been denounced by international organizations and governments for violating human rights. The authoritarian regime is consistently ranked among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights. According to Amnesty International, security forces torture and ill-treat detainees to extract confessions to be used as evidence against them. Mass executions, such as those carried out in 2016, 2019, and 2022, have been condemned by international rights groups. Since 2001, Saudi Arabia has engaged in internet censorship. Most censorship falls into two categories: "immoral" content (mostly pornographic and LGBT-supportive sites along with sites promoting any religion other than Sunni Islam) and blacklisted political content critical of the regime, as dictated by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media. Historically, Saudi women have faced discrimination in many aspects of their lives and were effectively treated as legal minors under the male guardianship system. The treatment of women has been referred to as "sex segregation" and "gender apartheid". In June 2018, the Saudi government issued a law allowing women to drive. However, an investigation by The Guardian newspaper in 2025 found that the Dar al-Reaya, officially "care homes", continued to be effectively "jails" for women whose families wished to institutionalize them for disobedience, extramarital sexual relations or being absent from home. Some women are sent to Dar al-Reaya to protect a family's reputation after a woman is sexually abused by a brother or father. Treatment was reported to be "hellish": with solitary confinement, flogging, and
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Common questions
When did human habitation begin in Saudi Arabia?
Human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 125,000 years ago. A 2011 study found that the first modern humans to spread east across Asia left Africa about 75,000 years ago across the Bab-el-Mandeb connecting the Horn of Africa and Arabia.
Who founded the Al Saud royal family in Saudi Arabia?
The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal family began at the town of Diriyah with the accession as emir of Muhammad bin Saud on the 22nd of February 1727. In 1744 he joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement.
What year were vast reserves of oil discovered in Saudi Arabia?
In 1938, vast reserves of oil were discovered in the Al-Ahsa region along the coast of the Persian Gulf. Full-scale development of the oil fields began in 1941 under the US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company).
When did women gain the right to drive in Saudi Arabia?
In June 2018, the Saudi government issued a law allowing women to drive. However, an investigation by The Guardian newspaper in 2025 found that care homes continued to be effectively jails for women whose families wished to institutionalize them.
Which country is Saudi Arabia considered to be the least democratic nation within Asia?
According to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy Indices, Saudi Arabia is the least democratic country in the Middle East and the most closed autocratic country in Asia. The Economist ranked the Saudi government 150th out of 167 in its 2022 Democracy Index.