ABSTRACT
Saudi Arabia's geography and economy place it prominently in international rankings. It is the largest of the countries in the core region and is the twelfth largest in the world. It possesses the world's largest oil reserves, the largest single oil reservoir, the largest-capacity oil-export terminal, the largest oil-storage tanks, the longest natural gas liquids pipeline, the largest-capacity seawater desalination plant, and the largest airport. Saudi Arabia is a young nation, founded in 1932 on a core area dating from earlier in the century. It was born of a special combination of circumstances and has adhered to many of the traditions that were an integral part of its raison detre. In the mid-eighteenth century, the Al Saud leader Muhammad ibn Saud led his family into alliance with a religious reformer, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, linking Saudi political military power and Muslim puritanism.
