Saudi Arabia profile – Timeline

2009 July – A court issues verdicts in the first explicit terrorism trial for al-Qaeda militants in the country. Officials say 330 suspects were tried, but do not specify how many were found guilty. One is sentenced to death.

2010 October – US officials confirm plan to sell $60 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia – the most lucrative single arms deal in US history.

2011 February – King Abdullah announces increased welfare spending, as ‘Arab Spring’ unrest continues in the region.

2011 March – Saudi troops participate in crackdown on unrest in Bahrain.

2011 September – King Abdullah announces more rights for women, including the right to vote and run in municipal elections, and to be appointed to the consultative Shura Council.

A woman is sentenced to 10 lashes after being found guilty of driving, in the first legal punishment for violating the ban on women drivers. King Abdullah overturns the sentence.

2012 June – Saudi Arabia agrees to allow its women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time.

2013 February – King Abdullah swears in 30 women to the previously all-male Shura consultative council – the first time women have been able to hold any political office.

2014 September – Saudi Arabia and four other Arab states take part together with the United States in air strikes against Islamic State militant strongholds in Syria.