什麼是沙烏地阿拉伯

正式名稱沙烏地阿拉伯王國（Kingdom of saudi Arabia）

南亞國家，佔阿拉伯半島4/5，臨紅海和波斯灣。面積2,240,000平方公里。人口約22,757,000（2001）。首都︰利雅德。人口主要為阿拉伯人。語言︰阿拉伯語（官方語）。宗教︰伊斯蘭教（國教）（遜尼派）。貨幣︰沙烏地裏亞爾（SRls）。該國為一高原區，沿狹窄的紅海沿岸升起，形成一個高聳動高地帶。境內95%以上是沙漠，其中包括世界最大的不間斷沙地魯卜哈利沙漠（又稱礦區）。沙烏地阿拉伯是石油輸出國家組織中最大的石油生產國，也是世界第三大石油生產國，其儲量佔世界總量的1/4。其他產品包括天然氣、石膏、海棗、小麥和脱鹽水。為君主國家，國家元首暨政府首腦為國王。

沙烏地阿拉伯是伊斯蘭教的發祥地，622年穆罕默德創立於麥地那。中世紀時，本地和外來統治者爭奪半島的統治權，1517你鄂圖曼取得勝利。18～19世紀，伊斯蘭領袖支持宗教改革以奪回沙烏地阿拉伯領土，到1904你收復了全部領土。1915～1927年英國將沙烏地阿拉伯作為自己的保護國，隨後承認了漢志和內志王國的主權。1932年這兩個王國合併，成立了沙烏地阿拉伯王國。自第二次世界大戰，沙烏地阿拉伯一直支持中東的巴勒斯坦運動，與美國保持密切關係。2000年沙烏地阿拉伯與葉門解決了他們之間為時甚久的邊界糾紛。

Saudi Arabia

Country, South Asia. It occupies four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula and is bounded by the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Area: 865,000 sq mi (2.24 million sq km). Population (1997 est.): 19,072,000. Capital: Riyadh. The people are predominantly Arab. Language: Arabic (official). Religion: Islam (official) (Sunnite). Currency: Saudi riyal. The country is a plateau region, with bands of imposing highlands rising from the narrow Red Sea coast. More than 95% is desert, including the world's largest continuous sand area, the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter). The largest petroleum producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the third-largest producer in the world, its reserves represent one-fourth of the world total. Other products include natural gas, gypsum, dates, wheat, and desalinated water. It is a monarchy; its head of state and government is the king. Saudi Arabia is the historical home of Islam, founded by Muhammad in Medina in 622. During medieval times, local and foreign rulers fought for control of the peninsula; in 1517 the Ottomans prevailed. In the 18th-19th century Islamic leaders supporting religious reform struggled to regain Saudi territory, all of which was restored by 1904. The British held Saudi lands as a protectorate 1915-27; then they acknowledged the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Najd. The two kingdoms were unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Since World War II, it has supported the Palestinian cause in the Middle East and maintained close ties with the U.S. In 2000 Saudi Arabia and Yemen settled their longstanding border dispute.