Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with the second-largest oil reserves in the world and the sixth-largest natural gas reserves. Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud, who conquered and united the various areas of the country and became the kingdom’s first ruler.

When it was created, Saudi Arabia was extremely poor and relied on some limited agriculture, old trade routes, and the revenue from pilgrims going to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. However, in 1938 oil reserves were discovered in the east of the country, and their extraction started in 1941. Many foreign experts come to work in the Saudi oil industry, entering a country that traditionally had been largely closed to foreign ...