35 Interesting Cool Fun Facts about Saudi Arabia You Will Like

(Last Updated On: October 12, 2021)

Cool, fun, awesome, interesting facts about Saudi Arabia will let you know about this country. Saudi Arabia, which spans much of the northern and central Arabian Peninsula, is a young country with a long history. The Hejaz, located in the western highlands along the Red Sea, is the origin of Islam and home to the religion’s holiest cities, Mecca and Medina. Najd (“Highland”), a large desert zone occupied by nomadic tribes until recently, is located in the country’s geographic core, interesting facts about Saudi Arabia. The country’s enormous oil resources to the east, along the Persian Gulf, have rendered Saudi Arabia associated with petroleum wealth since the 1960s. The country’s subsequent history has been fuelled by these three elements—religion, tribalism, and unfathomable riches.

Saudi Arabia first began to take on the features of a modern country with the emergence of the Saud dynasty (l Sad), a Najdi group for which the country is named, and its final consolidation of power in the early twentieth century. The driving philosophy of Wahhabism, an austere version of Islam espoused by early family leaders and adopted as the official doctrine, had a significant role in the Saud family’s prosperity, interesting facts about Saudi Arabia. This strong religious conservatism has been coupled with pervasive tribalism, in which rival family groupings compete for wealth and prestige, making Saudi culture difficult to grasp for outsiders.

Saudi Arabia’s vast oil riches have driven massive and fast infrastructure building. Many residents have profited from this prosperity, but it has also funded extravagant lives for the royal family’s scions, who have been accused of wasting and mismanaging the country’s wealth by religious conservatives and liberal Democrats alike, interesting facts about Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, social unrest grew during the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) over the country’s tight links to the West, which were exemplified by the presence of US soldiers in Saudi Arabia until 2005.

Most of Saudi Arabia followed a traditional lifestyle that had altered little over thousands of years in the mid-twentieth century, interesting cool facts about Saudi Arabia. The speed of life in Saudi Arabia has risen dramatically since then. The constant flow of pilgrims to Mecca and Medina had always provided the country with outside contacts (vast throngs arrive for the annual hajj, and more pilgrims visit throughout the year for the lesser pilgrimage, the umrah), but interaction with the outside world expanded with innovations in transportation, technology, and organization. Saudi Arabia’s rising petroleum riches have resulted in permanent internal changes, both educational and social.

The arrival of millions of foreign workers and the employment of hundreds of thousands of Saudis in unconventional jobs have overlaid modern production methods on traditional culture, fun and interesting facts about Saudi Arabia. Thousands of Saudi students have also studied overseas, the majority in the United States. Highways and airways have supplanted traditional modes of transportation, while television, radio, and the Internet have become widespread sources of communication and instruction.

Interesting Facts about Saudi Arabia

1. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Mecca and Medina, the religion’s greatest sanctuaries.

2. No churches, temples, or other non-Muslim buildings of worship are authorized in Saudi Arabia since no faith other than Islam is allowed to be openly practiced, despite the fact that the nation has almost a million Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists—virtually all of them are foreign workers.

3. Any type of religion other than Islam is prohibited in public, as is the aim to convert others. The Saudi authorities, on the other hand, recognize the private practice of religions other than Islam, and you are allowed to carry a religious text into the kingdom for personal use.

4. All pornographic materials (books, DVDs, magazines, etc.) may be seized. *Women’s Fashion magazines including photos of models wearing exposing clothes may be confiscated. Material that is politically sensitive. Articles and books that are incompatible with Muslim or Saudi Arabian values or morality will not be permitted entry.

5. In the southwest, there are mountain ranges that rise above 9,000 feet.

6. In the desert, temperatures can reach above 33 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit) from June through August! It’s scorching!

7. Although there is no flowing water in this country, there is a manmade lake called Dumat Al-Jandal in the northwestern part of the country; although the water is too polluted to drink, you can take a dip and participate in water sports, and it is beneficial to wildlife, plants, and agricultural land.

8. The Saudi Riyal is the local currency.

9. Saudi Arabia stretches from the Red Sea in the west to the Arabian Gulf in the east and is located in southwest Asia (at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa).

10. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, 100 camels are traded on average every day.

11. Mecca is the Hajj pilgrimage’s final destination. Every Muslim who is physically or financially capable must make this trip at least once in their lifetime, and Muslims worship in the direction of Mecca, especially the Kaaba in Mecca.

12. Saudi Arabia adheres to strict Islamic law, Sharia, and as a result, all people must be Muslims; there is no religious freedom in the country.

13. The Rub Al-Khali, located in the country’s south, is the world’s biggest sand desert.

14. Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait border it in the north; Yemen and Oman border it in the south; and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain border it in the east.

15. Saudi Arabia has a population of 32.94 million people in 2017.

16. King Ibn Saud (1882–1953) was nearly completely responsible for the formation of Saudi Arabia. Through a series of victories, he unified the four areas into a single state, beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud.

17. In Saudi Arabia, it is forbidden to consume or import alcohol or pork products.

18. The death penalty is the worst form of punishment, with one person executed every other day in 2015.

19. In Saudi Arabia, the weekend used to be Thursday-Friday since Friday is the holiest day for Muslims, but it was recently changed to Friday-Saturday to be more in line with the rest of the world.

20. Women are expected to be covered by law from a young age, and a black abaya is generally the clothing of choice because everything but the hands and feet must be covered, and failure to comply will result in police action. For religious reasons, most women cover their hair, and some also cover their faces.

21. Saudi Arabia’s religious police ensure that Sharia law is adhered to, and they patrol the streets to enforce the laws and punish those who do not.

22. The Saudi Arabian Kingdom (KSA) covers an area of 829,996 square miles (2,149,690 square kilometers).

23. Non-Muslim holidays and celebrations, such as Christmas, are prohibited, and importing Christmas decorations is also prohibited.

24. King Abdulaziz established Saudi Arabia as a monarchy on September 23, 1932, and every anniversary of that day is a national holiday; in 2020, the Kingdom will commemorate its 90th Saudi National Day.

25. The Jordan-Saudi Arabia border, which is known for its zigzagging character, has been the subject of considerable discussion. It was dubbed Churchill’s Sneeze and Winston’s Hiccup because it was said to have been sketched “with a stroke of a pen, one Sunday afternoon in Cairo” by an intoxicated Churchill.

26. Saudi Arabian prehistory has some of the earliest documented human activity in the globe, as it was founded by numerous early civilizations.

27. Saudi Arabia, with a poverty rate of 12.7 percent in 2017, has the lowest recorded poverty rate in the Middle East and the tenth lowest poverty rate in the world. Approximately 60% of Saudis living in cities cannot afford to buy their homes outright.

28. It is forbidden to construct a non-Muslim place of worship. This means that there are no churches, temples, or other religious structures in Saudi Arabia.

29. Riyadh, the capital and biggest city in 2011, with a population of 5.451 million people.

30. Other major cities include Jeddah, which has a population of 3.578 million people, and Makkah (Mecca), which has a population of 1.591 million people.

31. Dress standards are strictly enforced, as is the rigorous separation of men and women (premarital sex is prohibited, and you cannot reserve a hotel room as a man and woman without sharing a surname), and prayer is held five times each day, with stores and companies closing during this time.

32. Do you want to call your Saudi Arabian relatives? You’ll need to dial +966 for international calls.

33. Desalination plants or underground reservoirs provide the majority of the fresh water in this area.

34. According to recent research, there are around 83,000 homeless youngsters roaming the streets of Saudi Arabia. Others enter the country illegally, according to the researcher, and the majority of them may be spotted begging along with traffic lights, according to the report released in Riyadh.

35. Saudi Arabia is generally secure, although there are some dangerous regions, notably along the Iraqi and Yemeni borders. Disrespecting Saudi Arabia’s moral norms should be one of the most serious concerns for visitors since it is penalized severely.

We believe you have enjoyed these interesting facts about Saudi Arabia!