Saudi Arabia
Reina Awasum
People & Society
History
The birth of Islam is known to have occurred in Saudi Arabia by Muhammed in 610. Saudi Arabia is also known for being the home of two of the most popular and holy shrines in the Muslim religion: Mecca and Medina. In the 1700s, Saudi Arabia began to separate into small Muslim kingdoms. In the early 1800s, a man named Shaikh Muhammed bin Abdul Wahhab wanted to unify all of the kingdoms and become like Saudi Arabia had always been since the birth of Islam. Muhammed bin Abdul succeeded with the help of Muhammed bin Saud, the ruler of a town named Diriyah. The first Saudi state was built then. The second Saudi state was established and regained by the Al-Saud family in 1824. The modern Saudi state was taken and rebuilt by a man named Abdulaziz in 1932. He became king and reigned for 21 years. From then until now, the current Saudi state is the same as it was in 1932.
Current Statistics
- Population: 27,345,986
- A large mass of Saudi Arabia is Arabian, but there is a small portion of people who are Afro-Arabian.
- Languages: Arab
- The main religion of Saudi Arabia is Muslim, but a majority of the population is Sunni rather than Shia.
- The life expectancy in Saudi Arabia is 74.82 years old. This number is only about 5 years smaller than the life expectancy in the United States. High-income countries and countries that are developed, or almost close to being developed, typically have higher life expectancies. The statistic suggests that Saudi Arabia is a developed country with a profitable economy.
- Out of population of one thousand in Saudi Arabia, there are 3.32 deaths. The death rate of the country is ranked 219th out of 225 countries. This number is considerably low in comparison to many other counties. This must mean that the health care in the country is superb.
- Obesity in Saudi Arabia is 33%. In the United States, obesity is also at 33%. This percentage is considered large. Just as I previously mentioned, this percentage implies that Saudi Arabia's economy is fruitful and that there is enough food to cause 33% of the people to be overweight.
Daily Life in Saudi Arabia
Clothing
Women are forced to wear a black outer cloak called an abaya and a head covering called a hijab whenever going out in public. At their homes or other private places, women are allowed to wear what they like and uncover as much as they want.
Cuisine
It was recorded that Saudi Arabians have been eating the same food for thousands of years. Some items that are found common in Saudi Arabia are lamb, chicken, rice, wheat, potatoes, yogurt, and dates.
Housing
The housing styles in Saudi Arabia are very diverse. There are traditionally styled homes with mud-brick walls or where the people live in tents, and there are houses that are large and modern.
Weather
The climate of Saudi Arabia is the desert climate: the weather gets incredibly hot during the day and very cold in the night. The annual rainfall in Saudi Arabia is also low.
Marriage
In Saudi Arabia, the families typically arrange their son's or daughter's marriage. Families tend to marry within themselves, cousins and other relatives, to strengthen the family or the tribe. There are multiple steps into marrying another in the culture of Saudi Arabia.