Saudi Arabia is the third largest country in the Middle East with a population of over 25 million people, including 5.5 million non-citizens primarily from South Asia and Egypt who provide cheap labor. Following an oil boom in the 1970s, Saudi Arabia recruited large numbers of foreign workers but often abused their rights by prohibiting unions, collective bargaining, or leaving employers without permission and subjecting some to forced labor and confinement. Human rights groups have criticized Saudi Arabia's treatment of foreign workers and called for reforms to protect worker rights and end abuses.