Saudi Arabia, with its capital in Riyadh, is situated in the Middle East. It occupies 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula and borders Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, and the Republic of Yemen. The Saudi government estimates the country's size at 2,217,949 square kilometers (856,128 square miles). The country is the only one in the world named after its ruling family—in this case, the al-Saud, who came to power in the eighteenth century. The religious importance of the country lies in the fact that it includes the Hijaz region, which is the birthplace of the prophet Muhammed (C.E. 570–632) and the cradle of Islam. Each year Saudi Arabia receives millions of Muslims who make the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

The Saudi population as of 2004 is 25.7 million, 5.6 million of whom are foreigners and comprise a large portion of the labor force. The...