ARAB STATEHOOD- SAUDI ARABIA

% of population Arab

90%

% of population afro-arab

10%

% of population migrant workers

almost 50%

% population Sunni

90%, mostly Wahhabi

almost 100% muslim

ibn Saud unites tribes of arabia

1901-1925

territory named Saudi Arabia

1932

ibn saud dies

1953

reason for success of Saudi rule, and consequences

alliance with the Ulema (Wahhabi religious leaders) ensures Sauds remain in power and popular

therefore law-making is largely up to them

politics of Saudi Arabia

absolute monarchy, same family of rulers from 1932 onwards

Generally anti-Israel but anti-Communist, managed to maintain good diplomatic relations with the USA whilst remaining relevant in the Arab world

Government remains highly authoritarian with no formal national assembly or parliament

who did saudis back in Yemen Civil war 1962

royalists

economic dominance

dominant from the mid-1960s onwards, especially after the final nationalisation of oil in 1980

Oil discovered in Saudi Arabia

1938

fraction of world's oil under Saudi Arabia

1/3

saudi regional dominance

financier of region- no direct involvement in 6 day war but financed Egypt, Jordan and Syria

Showed great regional dominance with the foundation of OPEC and the trade embargo of 1973

Oil wealth used to support Muslim charities

Large financiers of the PLO in 1950s-60s

Condemned Sadat's peace treaty with Israel in 1979

life expectancy 1959

45

life expectancy 2009

75

success in meeting economic needs of their people

Oil money allowed modern infrastructure to develop- in 1960s improved transportation networks, port facilities and basic water/ sanitation services

% increase of road network 1960-1969

63%

Qatif Uprising

shiite minority revolt lack of religious freedom in 1979-80, particularly influenced by Iranian revolution

success at meeting social needs of people

Saudi people were healthier, better housed and more educated than most in the Arab world from 1960-2010

failures in meeting social needs of people

many people still lacked running water into the 21st century

Seizure of the Grand Mosque by Islamic extremists in 1979, who opposed the monarchy

and wanted more religious freedoms

Women's rights continue to be restricted

first girls private school opened

1955

women issued personal id cards

1999

first female government minister

appointed 2009

literacy rate in 1960

2.5

literacy rate 1980

47.9