沙乌地阿拉伯(Saudi Arabia)

正式名称沙乌地阿拉伯王国（Kingdom of Saudi Arabia）

南亚国家，占阿拉伯半岛4/5，临红海和波斯湾。面积2,240,000平方公里。人口约22,757,000（2001）。首都︰利雅德。人口主要为阿拉伯人。语言︰阿拉伯语（官方语）。宗教︰伊斯兰教（国教）（逊尼派）。货币︰沙乌地里亚尔（SRls）。该国为一高原区，沿狭窄的红海沿岸升起，形成一个高耸动高地带。境内95%以上是沙漠，其中包括世界最大的不间断沙地鲁卜哈利沙漠（又称矿区）。沙乌地阿拉伯是石油输出国家组织中最大的石油生产国，也是世界第三大石油生产国，其储量占世界总量的1/4。其他产品包括天然气、石膏、海枣、小麦和脱盐水。为君主国家，国家元首暨政府首脑为国王。

沙乌地阿拉伯是伊斯兰教的发祥地，622年穆罕默德创立於麦地那。中世纪时，本地和外来统治者争夺半岛的统治权，1517你鄂图曼取得胜利。18～19世纪，伊斯兰领袖支持宗教改革以夺回沙乌地阿拉伯领土，到1904你收复了全部领土。1915～1927年英国将沙乌地阿拉伯作为自己的保护国，随後承认了汉志和内志王国的主权。1932年这两个王国合并，成立了沙乌地阿拉伯王国。自第二次世界大战，沙乌地阿拉伯一直支持中东的巴勒斯坦运动，与美国保持密切关系。2000年沙乌地阿拉伯与叶门解决了他们之间为时甚久的边界纠纷。

English version：

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.