Name: Saudi Arabia Continent: Asia Population: 23,500,000 Religion: Muslim 100%

In 1902 Abd al-Aziz Ibn SAUD captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. In the 1930s, the discovery of oil transformed the country. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all major governmental concerns. Information from the CIA World Fact Book

Timeline of Events Date Event 622 16 July 622 Muhammad forced to flee Mecca for Medina; Becomes basis for Islamic tradition of the hijra 1744   1744 Mohammed Ibn Saud founds first Saudi State 1982 13 June 1982 Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz Saud Becomes King of Saudi Arabia Go here for timeline sources.