Saudi Arabia, whose map is presentedbelow, is a country in the south-western part of Asia, occupying about 80% of the area of the Arabian Peninsula. The origin of its name is associated with the royal family Saud, who founded the state and continues to be in it under the authority to this day.
The area of Saudi Arabia is 2.15million square kilometers. The state borders on Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Yemen and Oman. In addition, it is washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Its capital is Riyadh, where more than five million people live. Other major cities in Saudi Arabia are Jeddah, Mecca and Medina. Their population exceeds the one million mark.
For the north of the country is characterized by subtropicalclimate, and for the south - dry, continental. Thus, the winter here is warm, and the summer is hot. It should be noted that there are no permanent rivers and water sources on the territory of the country, and temporary streams are formed only as a result of intense rains. The problem of providing fresh water is solved only through the development of companies engaged in desalination of water bodies, as well as drilling artesian wells.
In March 1992, the first documents were adopted,regulating the political structure of the state and the basic principles of its administration. Based on them, the country of Saudi Arabia is a theocratic absolute monarchy. The basis of its constitution is the Koran. The dynasty of the Saudis has been in power since 1932. The King has full legislative, executive and judicial power. Its powers are only theoretically limited by local traditions and norms of the Sharia. The government in its current form has been functioning since 1953. It is headed by the king, who determines the main directions of his activities. There is also a Council of Ministers in the country, which is entrusted not only with executive functions, but also with legislative functions. All decisions taken by this authority are approved by the decree of the King of the country, Saudi Arabia. The population of the state is obliged to fulfill them. In administrative terms, the country is divided into thirteen provinces.
The local economy is based on a privatefree enterprise. At the same time, it should be noted that control over key areas of activity is carried out by the government. The state can boast of the world's largest oil reserves. It accounts for about 75% of its revenues. In addition, Saudi Arabia is the world leader in the export of black gold and plays one of the leading roles in OPEC. The country also has reserves of zinc, chromium, lead, copper and iron ore.
The first census of local residents was conducted in1974. From that time to the present day, the population of Saudi Arabia has almost tripled. Now there are almost 30 million people in the country. The overwhelming majority of local residents are Arabs, much of which has been preserved by the tribal organization. Now there are more than 100 tribal associations and tribes in the country. One can not but note the fact that approximately one-fifth of the population falls to foreign workers. Based on official UN statistics, as of 1970, the infant mortality rate in the country was 204 babies per 1,000 newborns. Now in this indicator there has been a significant positive shift. In particular, thanks to the improvement of the standard of living and medical care in the state, out of a thousand newborns, only 19 children die.
Arabic is the official language incountry, like Saudi Arabia. The population in everyday life uses predominantly the Arabian dialect, which comes from el-fusch. Within it, several dialects, close to each other, stand out. Together with this, urban residents and descendants of nomads talk differently. Literary and spoken languages have minor differences between themselves. In a religious context, a classical Arabic dialect is used. Common languages among immigrants from other countries are English, Indonesian, Urdu, Tagalog, Farsi and others.
The center of the Islamic world isSaudi Arabia. The population of the country in almost full membership professes precisely this religion. According to various estimates, up to 93% of local residents are Sunni. The remainder of the representatives of Islam are predominantly Shiites. As for other religions, about 3% of the inhabitants of the country are Christians, and 0.4% are other denominations.
Higher education in the country, though free, butnot mandatory. A good job and a comfortable life in Saudi Arabia are possible without him. Whatever it was, there are a number of programs, the main purpose of which was to reduce the level of illiteracy of local residents. Currently, there are 7 universities and 16 higher educational institutions in the country. All of them are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education. Approximately 30 thousand students annually study abroad. In the past few decades, the government has significantly increased the cost of education. At the same time, the state requires universal reform in this sphere, which should create a new balance between modern and traditional methods of education.
One of the most advanced countries in the world in terms ofmedicine is Saudi Arabia. The population of the state has the right to receive services related to it free of charge. This applies to residents of megacities, as well as representatives of Bedouin tribes who wander in the desert. Annually, the government allocates about 8% of the local budget for health care, which is simply a huge amount. Mandatory immunization of newborns is fixed at the legislative level. The system of epidemiological control, which was established in 1986, has completely conquered and eliminated such terrible diseases as plague, yellow fever and cholera.
According to the research of scientists, if the currentthe rate of growth in the number of residents in the country will remain (over the past 30 years, they are about 4% of the inhabitants per year), then by 2050 the population of Saudi Arabia will reach 45 million. In other words, very soon the country's leadership will have to solve the problem, connected not only with the provision of jobs to citizens, but also with ensuring a decent old age for the now-working Saudis. This task is not so simple even for a state that has such impressive oil reserves. The emergence of this kind of problems is associated, first of all, with the positive shifts in the areas of nutrition and medical care, as well as with the improvement of living conditions in the country.
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