Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about
Staggering facts about Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabia-led oil cartel, OPEC, decided to maintain production earlier this month, but remained divided over its production ceiling and failed to reach an agreement.
And that could mean dark times ahead for about half of the cartel's members.
But Saudi Arabia is also looking at its own set of problems, as budget pressures continue to worsen and rumors of internal political divisions continue to proliferate.
As such, it's worth taking a closer look at the economic, demographic, and cultural factors that drive the oil-rich kingdom.
About 100 camels are sold in the capital of Saudi Arabia every day.
The capital, Riyadh, has a large camel market.
On average, one person has been executed every other day in Saudi Arabia in 2015.
A Saudi prince holds a sword to participate in a traditional Saudi dance known as "Arda" during the Janadriya culture festival at Der'iya in Riyadh, February 18, 2014. Reuters/Fayez Nureldine/Pool
"At least 151 people have been put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year — the highest recorded figure since 1995 — in an unprecedented wave of executions marking a grim new milestone in the Saudi Arabian authorities' use of the death penalty," according to Amnesty International.
"Annual execution tolls for Saudi Arabia in recent years have rarely exceeded 90 for the entire year," they added.
How much oil?
The kingdom's Ghawar oil field has enough reserves to fill 4,770,897 Olympic swimming pools.
The kingdom's oil reserves are huge. Saudi Arabia's Ghawar field is the largest in the world. It has an estimated 75 billion barrels of oil left. An Olympic-size swimming pool can hold 660,253.09 gallons of liquid.
Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river.
A man leads his camels during the Mazayen al-Ibl competition, to find the most beautiful camel, in the desert region of Um Rgheiba, 400 km (248 miles) from Riyadh, December 30, 2010. Reuters/Fahad Shadeed
Saudi Arabia is the 13th-largest country in the world, and the second-largest in the Arab world — behind Algeria — at 830,000 square miles.
Ninety-five percent of the country is considered a desert or semidesert, and it has some of the largest desert areas, including An Nafud and Rub al-Khali. Only 1.45% of the land is arable.
And while it doesn't have a river, its "extensive coastlines on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal," according to the CIA World Factbook.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
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