Country Profile: Saudi Arabia

— -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a Persian Gulf power by virtue of its oil. It has one-quarter of the world's oil reserves, more than any other country. Saudi Arabia is the world's leading oil exporter, and a key player in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties.

Saudi Arabia plays a global financial role by influencing the rate at which oil reaches the market, and therefore its price.

As the home to some of Islam's most sacred sites, including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, to which millions of Muslim pilgrims flock every year for the hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia is the spiritual heartland of the Muslim world.

Named after the ruling al Saud family, the kingdom espouses a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam known as Wahabism, and there have been widespread accusations that private Saudi money has funded extremist Islamist groups across the world.

Despite the recent stresses and strains, Saudi Arabia remains a key U.S. ally in the region. It was one of the first countries to join the U.S.-led coalition forged in 1990 to restore the Kuwaiti royal family to its palace following the invasion by Iraq. The country allowed Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil. But the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia became a major rallying cry for the terror mastermind Osama bin Laden across the Muslim world.

Related Stories

Man kills wife, 3 kids in mass shooting: Police

• Apr 23, 12:35 PM

Trump, NY AG resolve dispute over $175M bond

• Apr 22, 12:14 PM

OJ Simpson dies at 76

• Apr 11, 6:32 PM

U.S.-Saudi relations were strained after it was revealed that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attackers were Saudis and that members of the Saudi royal family indirectly provided financial support to the al Qaeda terror network.

Although Saudi Arabia is bin Laden's birthplace, the Persian Gulf nation stripped the al Qaeda chief of his citizenship in 1994. But the radical son of a prominent construction magnate remains a popular figure, especially among disaffected, unemployed Saudi youth.

Saudi Arabia values its friendship with the United States. In the 2003 war with Iraq, the Saudis allowed coalition forces use of Prince Sultan Air Force Base, but only for non-strike missions such as refueling and reconnaissance. Widespread Arab opposition to the war led Saudi officials to publicly deny allowing the U.S. military to use the air base for anything more than enforcing so-called no-fly zones over southern Iraq set up after 1991.