|Kingdom of Saudi Arabia|المملكة العربية السعودية (Arabic)Al-Mamlakah Al-ʿĀrabīyah As-Saʿūdīyah
|Motto: لا إله إلا الله، محمد رسول الله
'Lā ʾilāha ʾillāl–lāh, Muhammadun rasūl allāh
'There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of God.'[a]
and largest city
Ahmadiyya, Small number of
23 September 1932|
24 October 1945|
31 January 1992|
(830,000 sq mi) (12th)|
• Water (%)
• 2018 estimate
(38.8/sq mi) (216th)|
• Per capita
• Per capita
very high · 38th
|ISO 3166 code||
əˈreɪbiə/ ( listen)
/ˌsaʊ-/ ( listen)
), officially the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
is a country in Western Asia
constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula
. With a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2
(830,000 sq mi), Saudi Arabia is the largest sovereign
state in the Middle East
, geographically the fifth-largest in
, second-largest in the
and 12th-largest in the world
. Saudi Arabia is bordered by
to the north, Kuwait
to the northeast, Qatar
and the United Arab Emirates
to the east, Oman
to the southeast and Yemen
to the south. It is separated from Israel
by the Gulf of Aqaba
. It is the only nation with both a
coast and a Persian Gulf
coast, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland and mountains.
The territory that now constitutes Saudi Arabia was the site of several
and civilizations. The prehistory of Saudi Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity in the world.
The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of mainly four distinct regions:
and parts of Eastern Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud
. He united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of
, the ancestral home of his family, the
House of Saud
. Saudi Arabia has since been an
, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along
The ultraconservative Wahhabi
religious movement within Sunni Islam
has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture", with its global spread largely financed by the oil and gas trade.
Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram
), the two holiest places in Islam. As of 2013, the state had a total population of 28.7 million, of which 20 million were Saudi nationals and 8 million were foreigners.
As of 2017, the population is 33 million.
The state's official language is Arabic
Following the unification of the
kingdoms, the new state was named al-Mamlakah al-ʻArabīyah as-Suʻūdīyah
(a transliteration of المملكة العربية السعودية in Arabic) by royal decree on 23 September 1932 by its founder, Abdulaziz Al Saud (Ibn Saud
). Although this is normally translated as "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" in English,
it literally means "the Saudi Arab kingdom",
or "the Arab Saudi Kingdom".
The word "Saudi" is derived from the element
in the Arabic
name of the country, which is a type of adjective known as a nisba
, formed from the dynastic name of the Saudi royal family, the
). Its inclusion expresses the view that the country is the personal possession of the royal family.
is an Arabic name
formed by adding the word Al
, meaning "family of" or "House of",
to the personal name of an ancestor. In the case of the Al Saud
, this is the father of the dynasty's 18th-century founder,
Muhammad bin Saud
There is evidence that human habitation in the
dates back to about 125,000 years ago.
It is now believed that the first modern humans to spread east across Asia left Africa about 75,000 years ago across the Bab-el-Mandeb
connecting Horn of Africa and Arabia.
The Arabian peninsula is regarded as a central figure in our understanding of hominin evolution and dispersals. Arabia underwent an extreme environmental fluctuation in the Quaternary that lead to profound evolutionary and demographic changes. Arabia has a rich Lower Paleolithic record, and the quantity of Oldwan-like sites in the region indicates a significant role that Arabia had played in the early hominin colonization of Eurasia 
Al-Magar was a prehistoric culture whose epicenter lay in modern-day southwestern
. Al-Magar is characterized as being one of the first civilizations in the world where widespread domestication of animals occurred, particularly the horse, during the
Aside from horses animals such as sheep, goats, dogs, in particular of the Saluki
breed, ostriches, falcons and fish were discovered in the form of stone statues and rock engravings. Radiocarbon dating
of these and other objects discovered indicate an age of about 9,000 years. The various discoveries reflect the significance of the site as an important ancient civilization and gives it significant pre-historic importance with enough proof and detailed data for re-writing the Neolithic history of the Arabian Peninsula and Saudi Arabia in particular. Al-Magar also reveals additional information about the relationship between human economic activities and inherent climate change, how hunter-gatherer
societies became sedentary, how they made use of natural resources available to them, and how they set into motion the domestication of plants and animals.
In November 2017 hunting scenes showing images of most likely domesticated dogs, resembling the
, wearing leashes were discovered in Shuwaymis, a hilly region of northwestern Saudi Arabia. These rock engravings date back more than 8000 years, making them the earliest depictions of dogs in the world.
Dilmun is one of the most ancient civilizations in the
and in the world.
It was a major trading centre, and, at the height of its power, controlled the Persian Gulf
The Dilmun encompassed the east large side of the Arabian Peninsula
, particularly in the
of Saudi Arabia. One of the earliest inscriptions naming Dilmun is that of King Ur-Nanshe
(c. 2300 BC) discovered in a door-socket: "The ships of Dilmun brought him wood as tribute from foreign lands
Thamud is the name of an ancient civilization in the
known from the 1st millennium BC to near the time of Muhammad. More than 9,000 Thamudic
inscriptions were recorded in south-west Saudi Arabia.
The Nabataeans were an
people who inhabited northern Arabia
and the Southern Levant
, and whose settlements, most prominently the assumed capital city of
, now called Petra,
in CE 37 – c. 100, gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Arabia
, from the
to the Red Sea
. Their loosely controlled trading network, which centered on strings of oases that they controlled, where agriculture was intensively practiced in limited areas, and on the routes that linked them, had no securely defined boundaries in the surrounding desert.
conquered the Nabataean kingdom
, annexing it to the
, where their individual culture, easily identified by their characteristic finely potted painted ceramics, was adopted into the larger
. They were later converted to
. Jane Taylor, a writer, describes them as "one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world".
The kingdom of
(Arabic: لحيان) or Dedan is an Ancient North Arabian kingdom. It was located in northwestern of the now-day Saudi Arabia, and is known for its Ancient North Arabian inscriptions dating to ca. the 6th to 4th centuries BC.
Kindah was a tribal kingdom that was established in the
in central Arabia. Its kings exercised an influence over a number of associated tribes more by personal prestige than by coercive settled authority. Their first capital was Qaryat Dhāt Kāhil, today known as Qaryat al-Fāw
From the 10th century to the early 20th century Mecca and Medina were under the control of a local Arab ruler known as the
Sharif of Mecca
, but at most times the Sharif owed allegiance to the ruler of one of the major Islamic empires based in
. Most of the remainder of what became Saudi Arabia reverted to traditional tribal rule.
The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal family, known as the Al Saud, began in
in central Arabia in 1744, when Muhammad bin Saud
, founder of the dynasty, joined forces with the religious leader
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
founder of the Wahhabi movement, a strict puritanical form of Sunni Islam.
This alliance formed in the 18th century provided the ideological impetus to Saudi expansion and remains the basis of Saudi Arabian dynastic rule today.
first "Saudi state"
established in 1744 in the area around Riyadh
, rapidly expanded and briefly controlled most of the present-day territory of Saudi Arabia,
in 1802 and capturing Mecca
in 1803, but was destroyed by 1818 by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt
Mohammed Ali Pasha
A much smaller second "Saudi state", located mainly in Nejd, was established in 1824. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the Al Saud contested control of the interior of what was to become Saudi Arabia with another Arabian ruling family, the Al Rashid
. By 1891, the Al Rashid were victorious and the Al Saud were driven into exile in
At the beginning of the 20th century, the
continued to control or have a suzerainty over most of the peninsula. Subject to this suzerainty, Arabia was ruled by a patchwork of tribal rulers,
with the Sharif of Mecca
having pre-eminence and ruling the Hejaz.
In 1902, Abdul Rahman's son, Abdul Aziz—later to be known as Ibn Saud
—recaptured control of Riyadh bringing the Al Saud back to Nejd.
Ibn Saud gained the support of the Ikhwan
, a tribal army inspired by Wahhabism and led by
, and which had grown quickly after its foundation in 1912.
With the aid of the Ikhwan, Ibn Saud captured Al-Ahsa
from the Ottomans in 1913.
In 1916, with the encouragement and support of Britain (which was fighting the Ottomans in
World War I
), the Sharif of Mecca,
Hussein bin Ali
, led a
against the Ottoman Empire to create a united Arab state.
Although the Arab Revolt of 1916 to 1918 failed in its objective, the Allied
victory in World War I resulted in the end of Ottoman suzerainty and control in Arabia.
Ibn Saud avoided involvement in the Arab Revolt, and instead continued his struggle with the Al Rashid. Following the latter's final defeat, he took the title Sultan of Nejd in 1921. With the help of the Ikhwan, the Hejaz was conquered in 1924–25 and on 10 January 1926, Ibn Saud declared himself King of the
A year later, he added the title of King of Nejd. For the next five years, he administered the two parts of his dual kingdom as separate units.
After the conquest of the Hejaz, the Ikhwan leadership's objective switched to expansion of the Wahhabist realm into the British protectorates of
, Iraq and Kuwait, and began raiding those territories. This met with Ibn Saud's opposition, as he recognized the danger of a direct conflict with the British. At the same time, the Ikhwan became disenchanted with Ibn Saud's domestic policies which appeared to favor modernization and the increase in the number of non-Muslim foreigners in the country. As a result, they turned against Ibn Saud and, after a two-year struggle, were defeated in 1929 at the
Battle of Sabilla
, where their leaders were massacred.
On 23 September 1932, the two kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd were united as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
and that date is now a national holiday called Saudi National Day
The new kingdom was reliant on limited agriculture and pilgrimage revenues.
In 1938, vast reserves of oil
were discovered in the Al-Ahsa
region along the coast of the Persian Gulf, and full-scale development of the oil fields began in 1941 under the US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company)
. Oil provided Saudi Arabia with economic prosperity and substantial political leverage internationally.
Cultural life rapidly developed, primarily in the Hejaz, which was the center for newspapers and radio. However, the large influx of
foreign workers in Saudi Arabia
in the oil industry increased the pre-existing propensity for xenophobia
. At the same time, the government became increasingly wasteful and extravagant. By the 1950s this had led to large governmental deficits and excessive foreign borrowing.
Saud of Saudi Arabia
succeeded as the king of Saudi Arabia, on his father's death, until 1964 when he was deposed in favor of his half brother Faisal of Saudi Arabia
, after an intense rivalry, fueled by doubts in the royal family over Saud's competence. In 1972, Saudi Arabia gained a 20% control in Aramco, thereby decreasing US control over Saudi oil.
In 1973, Saudi Arabia led an oil boycott against the Western countries that supported Israel in the
Yom Kippur War
against Egypt and Syria. Oil prices quadrupled.
In 1975, Faisal was assassinated by his nephew, Prince Faisal bin Musaid
and was succeeded by his half-brother King Khalid
By 1976, Saudi Arabia had become the largest oil producer in the world.
Khalid's reign saw economic and social development progress at an extremely rapid rate, transforming the infrastructure and educational system of the country;
in foreign policy, close ties with the US were developed.
In 1979, two events occurred which greatly concerned the government,
and had a long-term influence on Saudi foreign and domestic policy. The first was the Iranian Islamic Revolution
. It was feared that the country's
in the Eastern Province
(which is also the location of the oil fields) might rebel under the influence of their Iranian co-religionists. There were several anti-government uprisings in the region such as the 1979 Qatif Uprising
The second event was the
Grand Mosque Seizure
in Mecca by Islamist extremists. The militants involved were in part angered by what they considered to be the corruption and un-Islamic nature of the Saudi government.
The government regained control of the mosque after 10 days and those captured were executed. Part of the response of the royal family was to enforce a much stricter observance of traditional religious and social norms in the country (for example, the closure of cinemas) and to give the Ulema
a greater role in government.
Neither entirely succeeded as Islamism
continued to grow in strength.
In 1980, Saudi Arabia bought out the American interests in Aramco.
King Khalid died of a heart attack in June 1982. He was succeeded by his brother,
, who added the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" to his name in 1986 in response to considerable fundamentalist pressure to avoid use of "majesty" in association with anything except God. Fahd continued to develop close relations with the United States and increased the purchase of American and British military equipment.
The vast wealth generated by oil revenues was beginning to have an even greater impact on Saudi society. It led to rapid technological (but not cultural) modernisation, urbanization, mass public education and the creation of new media. This and the presence of increasingly large numbers of foreign workers greatly affected traditional Saudi norms and values. Although there was dramatic change in the social and economic life of the country, political power continued to be monopolized by the royal family
leading to discontent among many Saudis who began to look for wider participation in government.
In the 1980s, Saudi Arabia spent $25 billion in support of
in the Iran–Iraq War
However, Saudi Arabia condemned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990
and asked the US to intervene.
King Fahd allowed American and coalition troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia. He invited the Kuwaiti government and many of its citizens to stay in Saudi Arabia, but expelled citizens of Yemen
and Jordan because of their governments' support of Iraq. In 1991, Saudi Arabian forces were involved both in bombing raids on Iraq and in the land invasion that helped to liberate Kuwait.
Saudi Arabia's relations with the West began to cause growing concern among some of the ulema and students of sharia law and was one of the issues that led to
an increase in Islamist terrorism
in Saudi Arabia, as well as Islamist terrorist attacks
in Western countries by Saudi nationals. Osama bin Laden
was a Saudi national (until stripped of his nationality in 1994) and was responsible for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings
in East Africa and the 2000 USS Cole bombing
near the port of Aden, Yemen. 15 of the 19 terrorists involved in September 11 attacks
in New York City, Washington, D.C., and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania were Saudi nationals.
Many Saudis who did not support the Islamist
terrorists were nevertheless deeply unhappy with the government's policies.
Islamism was not the only source of hostility to the government. Although now extremely wealthy, Saudi Arabia's economy was near stagnant. High taxes and a growth in unemployment have contributed to discontent, and has been reflected in a rise in civil unrest, and discontent with the royal family. In response, a number of limited "reforms" were initiated by King Fahd. In March 1992, he introduced the "Basic Law
", which emphasised the duties and responsibilities of a ruler. In December 1993, the Consultative Council was inaugurated. It is composed of a chairman and 60 members—all chosen by the King. The King's intent was to respond to dissent while making as few actual changes in the status quo as possible.
Fahd made it clear that he did not have democracy in mind: "A system based on elections is not consistent with our Islamic creed, which [approves of] government by consultation [shūrā]."
In 1995, Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke, and the Crown Prince,
, assumed the role of
, taking on the day-to-day running of the country. However, his authority was hindered by conflict with Fahd's full brothers (known, with Fahd, as the "Sudairi Seven
From the 1990s, signs of discontent continued and included, in 2003 and 2004, a series of bombings and armed violence in Riyadh, Jeddah, Yanbu and Khobar.
In February–April 2005, the first-ever nationwide municipal elections were held in Saudi Arabia. Women were not allowed to take part in the poll.
In 2005, King Fahd died and was succeeded by Abdullah, who continued the policy of minimum reform and clamping down on protests. The king introduced a number of economic reforms aimed at reducing the country's reliance on oil revenue: limited deregulation, encouragement of foreign investment, and privatization. In February 2009,
announced a series of governmental changes to the judiciary, armed forces, and various ministries to modernize these institutions including the replacement of senior appointees in the judiciary and the Mutaween
(religious police) with more moderate individuals and the appointment of the country's first female deputy minister.
On 29 January 2011, hundreds of protesters gathered in the city of
in a rare display of criticism against the city's poor infrastructure after deadly floods swept through the city, killing eleven people.
Police stopped the demonstration after about 15 minutes and arrested 30 to 50 people.
Since 2011, Saudi Arabia has been affected by its own
Arab Spring protests
In response, King Abdullah announced on 22 February 2011 a series of benefits for citizens amounting to $36 billion, of which $10.7 billion was earmarked for housing
No political reforms were announced as part of the package, though some prisoners indicted for financial crimes were pardoned.
On 18 March the same year, King Abdullah announced a package of $93 billion, which included 500,000 new homes to a cost of $67 billion, in addition to creating 60,000 new security jobs.
In the absence of national elections and political parties,
politics in Saudi Arabia takes place in two distinct arenas: within the royal family, the Al Saud, and between the royal family and the rest of Saudi society.
Outside of the Al-Saud, participation in the political process is limited to a relatively small segment of the population and takes the form of the royal family consulting with the ulema, tribal sheikhs and members of important commercial families on major decisions.
This process is not reported by the Saudi media.
By custom, all males of full age have a right to petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the
In many ways the approach to government differs little from the traditional system of tribal rule. Tribal identity remains strong and, outside of the royal family, political influence is frequently determined by tribal affiliation, with tribal sheikhs maintaining a considerable degree of influence over local and national events.
As mentioned earlier, in recent years there have been limited steps to widen political participation such as the establishment of the Consultative Council in the early 1990s and the National Dialogue Forum in 2003.
The rule of the Al Saud faces political opposition from four sources:
activism; liberal critics; the Shi'ite minority
—particularly in the
; and long-standing tribal and
particularistic opponents (for example in the Hejaz
Of these, the Islamic activists have been the most prominent threat to the government and have in recent years perpetrated a number of violent or terrorist acts in the country
However, open protest against the government, even if peaceful, is not tolerated.
The royal family dominates the political system. The family's vast numbers allow it to control most of the kingdom's important posts and to have an involvement and presence at all levels of government.
The number of princes is estimated to be at least 7,000, with most power and influence being wielded by the 200 or so male descendants of Ibn Saud.
The key ministries are generally reserved for the royal family,
as are the thirteen regional governorships.
Long term political and government appointments have resulted in the creation of "power fiefdoms" for senior princes,
such as those of King Abdullah, who had been Commander of the National Guard
since 1963 (until 2010, when he appointed his son to replace him),
former Crown Prince Sultan
, Minister of Defence and Aviation from 1962 to his death in 2011, former crown prince
who was the Minister of Interior from 1975 to his death in 2012, Prince Saud
who had been Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1975
and current King Salman
, who was Minister of Defense and Aviation before he was crown prince and Governor of the
from 1962 to 2011.
The current Minister of Defense is Prince Mohammad bin Salman
, the son of King Salman and Crown Prince.
The royal family is politically divided by factions based on clan loyalties, personal ambitions and ideological differences.
The most powerful clan faction is known as the 'Sudairi Seven
', comprising the late King Fahd and his full brothers and their descendants.
Ideological divisions include issues over the speed and direction of reform,
and whether the role of the ulema should be increased or reduced. There were divisions within the family over who should succeed to the throne after the accession or earlier death of Prince Sultan.
When prince Sultan died before ascending to the throne on 21 October 2011, King Abdullah appointed Prince Nayef as crown prince.
The following year Prince Nayef also died before ascending to the throne.
The Saudi government and the royal family have often, over many years, been accused of corruption.
In a country that is said to "belong" to the royal family and is named for them
the lines between state assets and the personal wealth of senior princes are blurred.
The extent of corruption has been described as systemic
and its existence was acknowledged
by Prince Bandar bin Sultan
(a senior member of the royal family
) in an interview in 2001.
Although corruption allegations have often been limited to broad undocumented accusations,
specific allegations were made in 2007, when it was claimed that the British defence contractor BAE Systems
had paid Prince Bandar US$2 billion in bribes relating to the Al-Yamamah arms deal
Prince Bandar denied the allegations.
Investigations by both US and UK authorities resulted, in 2010, in plea bargain
agreements with the company, by which it paid $447 million in fines but did not admit to bribery.
in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index
for 2010 gave Saudi Arabia a score of 4.7 (on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is "highly corrupt" and 10 is "highly clean").
Saudi Arabia has undergone a process of political and social reform, such as to increase public transparency and good governance. However, nepotism and patronage are widespread when doing business in the country. The enforcement of the anti-corruption laws is selective and public officials engage in corruption with impunity. A number of prominent Saudi Arabian princes, government ministers, and businesspeople, including Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
arrested in Saudi Arabia
in November 2017.
There has been mounting pressure to reform and modernize the royal family's rule, an agenda championed by King Abdullah both before and after his accession in 2005. The creation of the Consultative Council in the early 1990s did not satisfy demands for political participation, and, in 2003, an annual
National Dialogue Forum
was announced that would allow selected professionals and intellectuals to publicly debate current national issues, within certain prescribed parameters. In 2005, the first municipal elections were held. In 2007, the Allegiance Council
was created to regulate the succession.
In 2009, the king made significant personnel changes to the government by appointing reformers to key positions and the first woman to a ministerial post.
However, these changes have been criticized as being too slow or merely cosmetic.
Saudi Arabia is almost unique in giving the
(the body of Islamic religious leaders and jurists) a direct role in government.
The preferred ulema are of the Salafi
persuasion. The ulema have also been a key influence in major government decisions, for example the imposition of the oil embargo in 1973
and the invitation to foreign troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990
In addition, they have had a major role in the judicial and education systems
and a monopoly of authority in the sphere of religious and social morals.
By the 1970s, as a result of oil wealth and the modernization of the country initiated by King Faisal, important changes to Saudi society were under way and the power of the ulema was in decline.
However, this changed following the seizure of the Grand Mosque
in Mecca in 1979 by Islamist
The government's response to the crisis included strengthening the ulema's powers and increasing their financial support:
in particular, they were given greater control over the education system
and allowed to enforce stricter observance of Wahhabi rules of moral and social behaviour.
After his accession to the throne in 2005, King Abdullah took steps to reduce the powers of the ulema, for instance transferring control over girls' education to the Ministry of Education.
The ulema have historically been led by the
the country's leading religious family.
The Al ash-Sheikh are the descendants of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
, the 18th-century founder of the Wahhabi form of
which is today dominant in Saudi Arabia.
The family is second in prestige only to the Al Saud (the royal family)
with whom they formed a "mutual support pact"
and power-sharing arrangement nearly 300 years ago.
The pact, which persists to this day,
is based on the Al Saud maintaining the Al ash-Sheikh's authority in religious matters and upholding and propagating Wahhabi doctrine. In return, the Al ash-Sheikh support the Al Saud's political authority
thereby using its religious-moral authority
to legitimize the royal family's rule.
Although the Al ash-Sheikh's domination of the ulema has diminished in recent decades,
they still hold the most important religious posts and are closely linked to the Al Saud by a high degree of intermarriage.
The primary source of law is the Islamic
derived from the teachings of the Qur'an
and the Sunnah
(the traditions of the Prophet).
Saudi Arabia is unique among modern Muslim states in that Sharia is not codified
and there is no system of judicial precedent
, giving judges the power to use independent legal reasoning to make a decision. Saudi judges tend to follow the principles of the
school of jurisprudence (or fiqh
) found in pre-modern texts
and noted for its literalist interpretation of the Qur'an and hadith
Because the judge is empowered to disregard previous judgments (either his own or of other judges) and may apply his personal interpretation of Sharia to any particular case, divergent judgements arise even in apparently identical cases,
making predictability of legal interpretation difficult.
The Sharia court system constitutes the basic judiciary of Saudi Arabia and its judges (qadi
) and lawyers form part of the
, the country's Islamic scholars.
Royal decrees are the other main source of law; but are referred to as
rather than laws
because they are subordinate to the Sharia.
Royal decrees supplement Sharia in areas such as labor, commercial and corporate law. Additionally, traditional tribal law and custom
Extra-Sharia government tribunals usually handle disputes relating to specific royal decrees.
Final appeal from both Sharia courts and government tribunals is to the King and all courts and tribunals follow Sharia rules of evidence and procedure.
The Saudi system of justice has been criticized for its "ultra-puritanical judges", who are often harsh in their sentencing (with beheading for the crime of witchcraft), but also sometimes overly lenient (for cases of rape or wife-beating) and slow, for example leaving thousands of abandoned women unable to secure a divorce.
The system has also been criticized for being arcane,
lacking in some of the safeguards of justice, and unable to deal with the modern world.
In 2007, King Abdullah issued royal decrees reforming the judiciary and creating a new court system,
and, in 2009, the King made a number of significant changes to the judiciary's personnel at the most senior level by bringing in a younger generation.
punishments imposed by Saudi courts, such as beheading
(to death), amputation
, as well as the sheer number of executions have been strongly criticized.
The death penalty can be imposed for a wide range of offences including murder, rape, armed robbery
, repeated drug use,
and can be carried out by beheading with a sword, stoning or firing squad, followed by crucifixion.
The 345 reported executions between 2007 and 2010 were all carried out by public beheading. The last reported execution for sorcery took place in September 2014.
Although repeated theft can be punishable by amputation of the right hand, only one instance of judicial amputation was reported between 2007 and 2010. Homosexual acts are punishable by flogging or death.
Atheism or "calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based" is considered a terrorist crime.
Lashings are a common form of punishment
and are often imposed for offences against religion and public morality such as drinking alcohol and neglect of prayer and fasting obligations.
Retaliatory punishments, or
, are practised: for instance, an eye can be surgically removed at the insistence of a victim who lost his own eye.
Families of someone unlawfully killed can choose between demanding the death penalty or granting clemency in return for a payment of diyya
(blood money), by the perpetrator.
Even after allowing women to drive and work, public places in Saudi Arabia are still gender-segregated and the kingdom has very strict laws on how unrelated men and women can dine together. In September 2018, a man was arrested by the Saudi authorities for appearing in a video with his female colleague while having breakfast at a hotel, where they both work.
Western-based organizations such as
Human Rights Watch
and Freedom House
condemn both the Saudi criminal justice system and its severe punishments. There are no jury trials in Saudi Arabia and courts observe few formalities.
Human Rights Watch, in a 2008 report, noted that a criminal procedure code had been introduced for the first time in 2002, but it lacked some basic protections and, in any case, had been routinely ignored by judges. Those arrested are often not informed of the crime of which they are accused or given access to a lawyer and are subject to abusive treatment and torture if they do not confess. At trial, there is a presumption of guilt and the accused is often unable to examine witnesses and evidence or present a legal defense. Most trials are held in secret.
An example of sentencing is that UK
pensioner and cancer victim Karl Andree, aged 74, faced 360 lashes for home brewing alcohol.
He was later released due to intervention by the British government.
Saudi Arabia is widely accused of having one of the worst human rights records in the world. Human rights issues that have attracted strong criticism include the extremely disadvantaged position of women (see
below), capital punishment for homosexuality
religious discrimination, the lack of religious freedom and the activities of the religious police
Between 1996 and 2000, Saudi Arabia acceded to four UN human rights conventions and, in 2004, the government approved the establishment of the National Society for Human Rights
(NSHR), staffed by government employees, to monitor their implementation. To date, the activities of the NSHR have been limited and doubts remain over its neutrality and independence.
Saudi Arabia remains one of the very few countries in the world not to accept the UN's
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
. In response to the continuing criticism of its human rights record, the Saudi government points to the special Islamic character of the country, and asserts that this justifies a different social and political order.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom had unsuccessfully
urged President Barack Obama
to raise human rights concerns with King Abdullah on his March 2014 visit to the Kingdom especially the imprisonments of Sultan Hamid Marzooq al-Enezi, Saud Falih Awad al-Enezi, and Raif Badawi
In 2013, the government deported thousands of non-Saudis, many of them who were working illegally in the country or had overstayed their visas. Many reports abound, of foreigner workers being tortured either by employers or others.
This resulted in many basic services suffering from a lack of workers, as many Saudi Arabian citizens are not keen on working in blue collar jobs.
Saudi Arabia has a "Counter-Radicalization Program" the purpose of which is to "combat the spread and appeal of
ideologies among the general populous (sic)" and to "instill the true values of the Islamic faith
, such as
This "tolerance and moderation" has been called into question by the Baltimore Sun
, based on the reports from
regarding Raif Badawi
and in the case of a man from Hafr al-Batin sentenced to death for rejecting Islam.
In September 2015, Faisal bin Hassan Trad, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, has been elected Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council
panel that appoints independent experts.
In January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr
who had called for pro-democracy demonstrations and for free elections in Saudi Arabia.
Since 1960, as a founding member of
, its oil pricing policy has been generally to stabilize the world oil market and try to moderate sharp price movements so as to not jeopardise the Western economies.
Between the mid-1970s and 2002 Saudi Arabia expended over $70 billion in "overseas development aid". However, there is evidence that the vast majority was, in fact, spent on propagating and extending the influence of Wahhabism at the expense of other forms of Islam.
There has been an intense debate over whether Saudi aid and Wahhabism has fomented extremism in recipient countries.
The two main allegations are that, by its nature, Wahhabism encourages intolerance and promotes terrorism.
Counting only the non-Muslim-majority countries, Saudi Arabia has paid for the construction of 1359 mosques, 210 Islamic centres, 202 colleges and 2000 schools.
China and Saudi Arabia
are major allies, with relationship between the two countries growing significantly in recent decades. Majority of Saudi Arabians also expressed a favorable view of China
Saudi Arabia and the United States
are strategic allies,
and since President Barack Obama
took office in 2009, the U.S. has sold $110 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia.
However, relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States are strained and have witnessed major decline in recent years.
In the first decade of the 21st century the Saudi Arabia paid approximately $100 million to American firms
the U.S. government.
The relations with the U.S. became strained following 9/11
American politicians and media accused the Saudi government of supporting terrorism and tolerating a jihadist
Indeed, Osama bin Laden
and fifteen out of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia;
-occupied Raqqa, in mid-2014, all 12 judges were Saudi.
According to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
, "Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the
and other terrorist groups... Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide."
director James Woolsey
described it as "the soil in which Al-Qaeda
and its sister terrorist organizations are flourishing."
The Saudi government denies these claims or that it exports religious or cultural extremism.
In April 2016, Saudi Arabia has threatened to sell off $750 billion in Treasury securities
and other U.S. assets if Congress
passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be sued over 9/11.
In the Arab and Muslim worlds, Saudi Arabia is considered to be pro-Western and pro-American,
and it is certainly a long-term ally of the United States.
and Saudi Arabia's role in the 1991 Persian Gulf War
, particularly the stationing of U.S. troops on Saudi soil from 1991, prompted the development of a hostile
As a result, Saudi Arabia has, to some extent, distanced itself from the U.S. and, for example, refused to support or to participate in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq
The consequences of the 2003 invasion and the
led to increasing alarm within the Saudi monarchy over the rise of Iran
's influence in the region.
These fears were reflected in comments of King Abdullah,
who privately urged the United States to attack Iran and "cut off the head of the snake".
The tentative rapprochement between the US and Iran that began in secret in 2011
was said to be feared by the Saudis,
and, during the run up to the widely welcomed deal on Iran's nuclear programme that capped the first stage of US–Iranian détente, Robert Jordan, who was U.S. ambassador to Riyadh from 2001 to 2003, said "[t]he Saudis' worst nightmare would be the [Obama] administration striking a grand bargain with Iran."
A trip to Saudi by US President Barack Obama in 2014 included discussions of US–Iran relations, though these failed to resolve Riyadh's concerns.
In order to protect the house of Khalifa, the monarchs of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia invaded Bahrain by sending military troops to quell the uprising of Bahraini people on 14 March 2011.
The Saudi government considered the two-month uprising as a "security threat" posed by the Shia
who represent the majority of Bahrain population.
According to the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki in March 2014, Saudi Arabia along with Qatar provided political, financial and media support to terrorists against the Iraqi government.
, together with
In March 2015,
scrapped an arms deal with Saudi Arabia, marking an end to a decade-old defense agreement with the kingdom. The decision came after Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom
was blocked by the Saudis while speaking about democracy and women's rights at the Arab League
. This also led to Saudi Arabia recalling its ambassador to Sweden.
Saudi Arabia has been seen as a moderating influence in the
, periodically putting forward a peace plan between Israel and the
and condemning Hezbollah
Following the Arab Spring
Saudi Arabia offered asylum to deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
of Tunisia and King Abdullah telephoned President Hosni Mubarak
of Egypt (prior to his deposition) to offer his support.
In early 2014 relations with Qatar
became strained over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood
, and Saudi Arabia's belief that Qatar was interfering in its affairs. In August 2014 both countries appeared to be exploring ways of ending the rift.
Saudi Arabia halted new trade and investment dealings with Canada and suspended diplomatic ties in a dramatic escalation of a dispute over the kingdom’s arrest of a women rights activists on 6 August 2018.
The U.S. expects its Gulf allies involved in the coalition in Yemen to put in more efforts and address the rising concerns about the millions that have been pushed to the brink of famine. According to the United Nations, the Gulf nation is home to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest
percentages of military expenditure
in the world, spending more than 10% of its GDP in its military. The Saudi military consists of the Royal Saudi Land Forces
Royal Saudi Air Force
Royal Saudi Navy
Royal Saudi Air Defense
Saudi Arabian National Guard
(SANG, an independent military force), and paramilitary forces, totaling nearly 200,000 active-duty personnel. In 2005 the armed forces had the following personnel: the army, 75,000; the air force, 18,000; air defense, 16,000; the navy, 15,500 (including 3,000 marines); and the SANG had 75,000 active soldiers and 25,000 tribal levies.
In addition, there is an Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah
military intelligence service.
The kingdom has a long-standing military relationship with
, it has long been speculated that Saudi Arabia secretly funded Pakistan's
atomic bomb programme
and seeks to purchase atomic weapons
from Pakistan, in near future.
The SANG is not a reserve but a fully operational front-line force, and originated out of Ibn Saud's tribal military-religious force, the Ikhwan
. Its modern existence, however, is attributable to it being effectively
private army since the 1960s and, unlike the rest of the armed forces, is independent of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. The SANG has been a counterbalance to the Sudairi
faction in the royal family: The late prince Sultan, former Minister of Defense and Aviation, was one of the so-called 'Sudairi Seven' and controlled the remainder of the armed forces until his death in 2011.
Spending on defense and security has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and was about US$63.7 billion, as of 2016.
Saudi Arabia ranks among the top 10 in the world in government spending for its military, representing about 7% of gross domestic product in 2005. Its modern high-technology arsenal makes Saudi Arabia among the world's most densely armed nations, with its military equipment being supplied primarily by the US, France and Britain.
The United States sold more than $80 billion in military hardware between 1951 and 2006 to the Saudi military.
On 20 October 2010, the U.S. State Department
notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American history—an estimated $60.5 billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The package represents a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of the Saudi armed forces.
2013 saw Saudi military spending climb to $67bn, overtaking that of the UK, France and Japan to place fourth globally.
The United Kingdom has also been a major supplier of military equipment to Saudi Arabia since 1965.
Since 1985, the UK has supplied military aircraft—notably the Tornado
and Eurofighter Typhoon
combat aircraft—and other equipment as part of the long-term Al-Yamamah arms deal
estimated to have been worth £43 billion by 2006 and thought to be worth a further £40 billion.
In May 2012, British defence giant BAE signed a £1.9bn ($3bn) deal to supply Hawk trainer jets to Saudi Arabia.
According to the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
, SIPRI, in 2010–14 Saudi Arabia became the world's second largest arms importer, receiving four times more major arms than in 2005–2009. Major imports in 2010–14 included 45 combat aircraft from the UK, 38 combat helicopters from the USA, 4 tanker aircraft from
and over 600 armoured vehicles from Canada
. Saudi Arabia has a long list of outstanding orders for arms, including 27 more combat aircraft from the UK, 154 combat aircraft from the USA and a large number of armoured vehicles from Canada.
Saudi Arabia received 41 per cent of UK arms exports in 2010–14.
authorized $18 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015 alone.
The $15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia is believed to be the largest arms sale in Canadian history.
In 2016, the European Parliament
decided to temporarily impose an arms embargo
against Saudi Arabia, as a result of the Yemen
civilian population's suffering from the conflict with Saudi Arabia
In 2017, Saudi Arabia signed a 110 billion dollar arms deal with the United States
Saudi Arabia is Britain’s largest arms customer, with more than £4.6 billion worth of arms bought since the start of Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. A recent poll conducted by
for Save the Children and Avaaz
stated that 63% British people oppose the sale of weapons to Saudi.
Saudi Arabia's geography is dominated by the
, associated semi-desert and shrubland (see satellite image) and several mountain ranges and highlands. It is, in fact, a number of linked deserts and includes the 647,500 km2
(250,001 sq mi) Rub' al Khali
("Empty Quarter") in the southeastern part of the country, the world's largest contiguous sand desert.
There are a few lakes in the country but no permanent rivers, however wadis
are very numerous. The fertile areas are to be found in the alluvial deposits in wadis, basins, and oases.
The main topographical feature is the central plateau which rises abruptly from the Red Sea and gradually descends into the Nejd
and toward the Persian Gulf. On the Red Sea coast, there is a narrow coastal plain, known as the Tihamah
parallel to which runs an imposing escarpment. The southwest province of Asir
is mountainous, and contains the 3,133 m (10,279 ft) Mount Sawda
, which is the highest point in the country.
Except for the southwestern province of
, Saudi Arabia has a
with very high day-time temperatures and a sharp temperature drop at night. Average summer temperatures are around 45 °C (113 °F), but can be as high as 54 °C (129 °F). In the winter the temperature rarely drops below 0 °C (32 °F). In the spring and autumn the heat is temperate, temperatures average around 29 °C (84 °F). Annual rainfall is extremely low. The Asir region differs in that it is influenced by the Indian Ocean monsoons
, usually occurring between October and March. An average of 300 mm (12 in) of rainfall occurs during this period, which is about 60% of the annual precipitation.
Wildlife includes the
. Animals such as gazelles,
, leopards and
were relatively numerous until the 19th century, when extensive hunting reduced these animals almost to extinction. Birds include falcons (which are caught and trained for hunting), eagles, hawks, vultures, sandgrouse
. There are several species of snakes, many of which are venomous. Saudi Arabia is home to a rich marine life. The Red Sea in particular is a rich and diverse
. More than
1200 species of fish
have been recorded in the Red Sea, and around 10% of these are found nowhere else.
This also includes 42 species of deepwater fish
The rich diversity is in part due to the 2,000 km (1,240 mi) of
extending along its coastline
are 5000–7000 years old and are largely formed of stony acropora
corals. The reefs form platforms and sometimes lagoons
along the coast and occasional other features such as cylinders (such as the Blue Hole (Red Sea)
). These coastal reefs are also visited by
species of Red Sea fish, including some of the 44 species of shark
. The Red Sea also contains many offshore reefs including several true atolls. Many of the unusual offshore reef formations defy classic (i.e., Darwinian) coral reef classification schemes, and are generally attributed to the high levels of tectonic activity that characterize the area. Domesticated animals include the legendary
, sheep, goats, cows, donkeys, chickens etc. Reflecting the country's dominant desert conditions, Saudi Arabia's plant life mostly consists of herbs, plants and shrubs that require little water. The
palm (Phoenix dactylifera
) is widespread.
Saudi Arabia is divided into 13
, sing. منطقة إدارية;
). The regions are further divided into 118
, sing. محافظة;
). This number includes the 13 regional capitals, which have a different status as municipalities (Arabic
) headed by mayors (Arabic
). The governorates are further sudivided into sub-governorates (Arabic
, sing. مركز;
The 13 regions of Saudi Arabia.
Largest cities or towns in Saudi Arabia
The oil industry comprises about 45% of Saudi Arabia's nominal gross domestic product, compared with 40% from the private sector (see below). Saudi Arabia officially has about 260 billion barrels (4.1×
, comprising about one-fifth of the world's proven total petroleum reserves.
|Share of world GDP (PPP)
In the 1990s, Saudi Arabia experienced a significant contraction of oil revenues combined with a high rate of population growth. Per capita income fell from a high of $11,700 at the height of the oil boom in 1981 to $6,300 in 1998.
Taking into account the impact of the real oil price changes on the Kingdom's real gross domestic income, the real command-basis GDP was computed to be 330.381 billion 1999 USD in 2010.
Increases in oil prices in the aughts[peacock term]
helped boost per capita GDP to $17,000 in 2007 dollars (about $7,400 adjusted for inflation),
but have declined since oil price drop in mid-2014.
(the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) limits its members' oil production based on their "proven reserves." Saudi Arabia's published reserves have shown little change since 1980, with the main exception being an increase of about 100 billion barrels (1.6×
) between 1987 and 1988.
has suggested that Saudi Arabia is greatly exaggerating its reserves and may soon show production declines (see peak oil
From 2003–2013 "several key services" were privatized—municipal water supply, electricity, telecommunications—and parts of education and health care, traffic control and car accident reporting were also privatized. According to Arab News columnist Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg, "in almost every one of these areas, consumers have raised serious concerns about the performance of these privatized entities."
All Share Index (TASI) of the Saudi stock exchange peaked at 16,712.64 in 2005, and closed at 8,535.60, at the end of 2013.
In November 2005, Saudi Arabia was approved as a member of the World Trade Organization
. Negotiations to join had focused on the degree to which Saudi Arabia is willing to increase market access to foreign goods and in 2000, the government established the
Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
to encourage foreign direct investment in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia maintains a list of sectors in which foreign investment is prohibited, but the government plans to open some closed sectors such as telecommunications, insurance, and power transmission/distribution over time.
The government has also made an attempt at "Saudizing
" the economy, replacing foreign workers with Saudi nationals with limited success.
Saudi Arabia has had five-year "Development Plans" since 1970. Among its plans were to launch "economic cities" (e.g.
King Abdullah Economic City
) to be completed by 2020, in an effort to diversify the economy and provide jobs. As of 2013
four cities were planned.
The King has announced that the per capita income is forecast to rise from $15,000 in 2006 to $33,500 in 2020.
The cities will be spread around Saudi Arabia to promote diversification for each region and their economy, and the cities are projected to contribute $150 billion to the GDP.
In addition to petroleum and gas, Saudi also has a significant gold mining sector in the ancient
Mahd adh Dhahab
region and significant other mineral industries, an agricultural sector (especially in the southwest but not only) based on vegetables, fruits, dates etc. and livestock, and large number of temporary jobs created by the roughly two million annual hajj
Statistics on poverty in the kingdom are not available through the UN resources because the Saudi government does not issue any.
The Saudi state discourages calling attention to or complaining about poverty. In December 2011, the Saudi interior ministry arrested three reporters and held them for almost two weeks for questioning after they uploaded a video on the topic to YouTube.
Authors of the video claim that 22% of Saudis may be considered poor (2009).
Observers researching the issue prefer to stay anonymous
because of the risk of being arrested.
sovereign wealth fund
is expected to sign a deal with some of the biggest global lenders for a loan of $11 billion in 2018. Source close to Bloomberg
claimed the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia
will receive additional cash after two years of major new investments. Saudi government had arranged a similar loan of $16 billion in March 2018.
Each year, about a quarter-million young Saudis enter the job market. With the first phase of
into effect, 70% of sales job are expected to be filled by Saudis. However, the private sector still remains hugely dominated by foreigners. The rate of local unemployment is at its peak in more than a decade, with 12.9% drop in employment. According to a report published by Bloomberg Economics in 2018, the government needs to produce 700,000 jobs by 2020 to meet its unemployment rate.
Saudi Arabia encouraged desert agriculture by providing substantial subsidies as well as consuming 300 billion cubic meters of mostly non-renewable water reserves free of charge to grow alfalfa, cereals, meat and milk in the Arabian Desert.
Consuming non-renewable groundwater resulted in the loss of an estimated four fifths of the total groundwater reserves by 2012.
Water supply and sanitation in Saudi Arabia is characterized by significant investments in
, water distribution, sewerage and wastewater treatment leading to a substantial increase in access to drinking water and sanitation over the past decades. About 50% of drinking water comes from desalination, 40% from the mining of non-renewable groundwater and 10% from surface water, especially in the mountainous southwest of the country. The capital
, located in the heart of the country, is supplied with desalinated water pumped from the
over a distance of 467 km. Given the substantial oil wealth
, water is provided almost for free. Despite improvements service quality remains poor. For example, in Riyadh water was available only once every 2.5 days in 2011, while in Jeddah it is available only every 9 days.
Institutional capacity and governance
in the sector are weak, reflecting general characteristics of the public sector in Saudi Arabia. Since 2000, the government has increasingly relied on the private sector to operate water and sanitation infrastructure, beginning with desalination and wastewater treatment plants. Since 2008, the operation of urban water distribution systems is being gradually delegated to private companies as well.
Although most tourism in Saudi Arabia still largely involves religious pilgrimages, there is growth in the leisure tourism sector. According to the
, approximately 14.3 million people visited Saudi Arabia in 2012, making it the world's 19th-most-visited country.
Tourism is an important component of the Saudi Vision 2030
and according to a report conducted by BMI Research in 2018, both religious and non-religious tourism have significant potential for expansion.
Starting December 2018, the kingdom will offer an electronic visa for foreign visitors to attend sport events and concerts. The “sharek” visa process will start with 15 December, Saudia Ad Diriyah E Prix race.
The population of Saudi Arabia as of July 2013 is estimated to be 26.9 million, including between 5.5 million
and 10 million non-nationalized immigrants
though the Saudi population has long proved difficult to accurately estimate due to Saudi leaders' historical tendency to inflate census results.
Saudi population has grown rapidly since 1950 when it was estimated to be 3 million,
and for many years had one of the highest birthrates in the world at around 3% a year.
As late as 1970, most Saudis lived a subsistence life in the rural provinces, but in the last half of the 20th century the kingdom has urbanized rapidly. As of 2012Riyadh
about 80% of Saudis live in urban metropolitan areas—specifically
Its population is also quite young with over half the population under 25 years old.
A large fraction are foreign nationals. (The CIA Factbook estimated that as of 2013
foreign nationals living in Saudi Arabia made up about 21% of the population.
Other estimates are 30%
As recently as the early 1960s, Saudi Arabia's slave population was estimated at 300,000.
was officially abolished in 1962.
The official language of Saudi Arabia is
. The three main regional variants spoken by Saudis are
(about 6 million speakers
(about 8 million speakers
(about 0.2 million speakers
Saudi Sign Language
is the principal language of the deaf community. The large expatriate communities also speak their own languages, the most numerous of which are Tagalog
(380,000), and Egyptian Arabic
Virtually all Saudi citizens are Muslim
(officially, all are), and almost all Saudi residents are Muslim.
Estimates of the Sunni
population of Saudi Arabia range between 75% and 90%, with the remaining 10–25% being Shia
The official and dominant form of Sunni Islam in Saudi Arabia is commonly known as Wahhabism
(proponents prefer the name Salafism
) and is often described as 'puritanical', 'intolerant', or 'ultra-conservative' by observers, and as "true" Islam by its adherents. It was founded in the
by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
in the eighteenth century. Other denominations, such as the minority Shia Islam
, are systematically suppressed.
According to estimates there are about 1,500,000
in Saudi Arabia, almost all foreign workers.
Saudi Arabia allows Christians to enter the country as foreign workers for temporary work
, but does not allow them to practice their faith openly. The percentage of Saudi Arabian citizens who are Christians is officially zero,
as Saudi Arabia forbids religious conversion
from Islam (apostasy
punishes it by death
According to Pew Research Center there are 390,000 Hindus
in Saudi Arabia, almost all foreign workers.
There may be a significant fraction of
in Saudi Arabia,
although they are officially called "terrorists".
is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, hence non-believers hardly ever come out.
In its 2017 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department named Saudi Arabia a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Saudi Arabia's Central Department of Statistics & Information estimated the foreign population at the end of 2014 at 33% (10.1 million).
The CIA Factbook estimated that as of 2013
foreign nationals living in Saudi Arabia made up about 21% of the population.
Other sources report differing estimates.
: 1.3 million,
: 1.5 million,
: 100,000 and
There are around 100,000 Westerners
in Saudi Arabia, most of whom live in compounds
or gated communities
who have resided in the kingdom for ten years may apply for Saudi citizenship. (Priority is given to holders of degrees in various scientific fields,
and exception made for Palestinians
who are excluded unless married to a Saudi national, because of Arab League
instructions barring the Arab states from granting them citizenship.) Saudi Arabia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention
As Saudi population grows and oil export revenues stagnate, pressure for "Saudization
" (the replacement of foreign workers with Saudis) has grown, and the Saudi government hopes to decrease the number of foreign nationals in the country.
Saudi Arabia expelled 800,000 Yemenis in 1990 and 1991
and has built a Saudi–Yemen barrier
against an influx of illegal immigrants
and against the smuggling of drugs and weapons.
In November 2013, Saudi Arabia expelled thousands of illegal Ethiopian residents from the Kingdom. Various Human Rights entities have criticised Saudi Arabia's handling of the issue.
Over 500,000 undocumented migrant workers
— mostly from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen — have been detained and deported since 2013.
- King Abdulaziz
(1932–1953); second longest reigning Saudi monarch.
- King Saud
(1953–1964); third longest reigning Saudi monarch.
- King Faisal
(1964–1975); fourth longest reigning Saudi monarch.
- King Khalid
(1975–1982); sixth longest reigning Saudi monarch.
- King Fahd
(1982–2005); longest reigning Saudi monarch.
- King Abdullah
(2005–2015); fifth longest reigning Saudi monarch.
- King Salman
(2015–present); current monarch.
Saudi Arabia has centuries-old attitudes and traditions, often derived from Arab civilization. This culture has been heavily influenced by the austerely puritanical
form of Islam, which arose in the eighteenth century and now predominates in the country. Wahhabi Islam has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture."
Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its law
that all citizens be Muslims.
Neither Saudi citizens nor guest workers have the right of freedom of religion
The official and dominant form of Islam in the kingdom – Wahhabism
—arose in the central region of
, in the eighteenth century. Proponents call the movement "Salafism
and believe that its teachings purify the practice of Islam of innovations or practices that deviate from the seventh-century teachings of Muhammad
and his companions.
The Saudi government has often been viewed as an active oppressor of Shia Muslims
because of the funding of the Wahabbi ideology which denounces the Shia faith.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan
, Saudi ambassador to the United States, stated: "The time is not far off in the Middle East when it will be literally 'God help the Shia'. More than a billion Sunnis have simply had enough of them."
Daily life is dominated by Islamic observance. Businesses are closed three or four times a day
for 30 to 45 minutes during business hours while employees and customers are sent off to pray
The weekend is Friday-Saturday, not Saturday-Sunday, because Friday is the holiest day for Muslims.
For many years only two religious holidays were publicly recognized – ʿĪd al-Fiṭr
and ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā
. (ʿĪd al-Fiṭr
is "the biggest" holiday, a three-day period of "feasting, gift-giving and general letting go".
As of 2004state television
was devoted to religious issues.
90% of books published in the kingdom were on religious subjects, and most of the doctorates awarded by its universities were in Islamic studies.
In the state school system, about half of the material taught is religious. In contrast, assigned readings over twelve years of primary and secondary schooling devoted to covering the history, literature, and cultures of the non-Muslim world comes to a total of about 40 pages.
approximately half of the broadcast airtime of Saudi
"Fierce religious resistance" had to be overcome to permit such innovations as paper money (in 1951), female education (1964), and television (1965) and the abolition of slavery (1962).
Public support for the traditional political/religious structure of the kingdom is so strong that one researcher interviewing Saudis found virtually no support for reforms to secularize the state.
Because of religious restrictions, Saudi culture lacks any diversity of religious expression, buildings, annual festivals and public events.
Celebration of other (non-Wahhabi) Islamic holidays, such as the Muhammad's birthday
and the Day of Ashura
, (an important holiday for the 10–25% of the population
that is Shīʿa
Muslim), are tolerated only when celebrated locally and on a small scale.
Shia also face systematic discrimination in employment, education, the justice system according to Human Rights Watch
Non-Muslim festivals like Christmas and Easter are not tolerated at all,
although there are nearly a million Christians as well as Hindus
among the foreign workers.
No churches, temples or other non-Muslim houses of worship are permitted in the country. Proselytizing
by non-Muslims and conversion by Muslims to another religion
and as of 2014
the distribution of "publications that have prejudice to any other religious belief other than Islam" (such as Bibles
), was reportedly punishable by death.
In legal compensation
court cases (Diyya
) non-Muslim are awarded less than Muslims.
Atheists are legally designated as terrorists.
And at least one religious minority, the Ahmadiyya
Muslims, had its adherents deported,
as they are legally banned from entering the country.
is hostile to any reverence given to historical or religious places of significance for fear that it may give rise to 'shirk'
(idolatry), and the most significant historic Muslim sites (in Mecca and Medina) are located in the western Saudi region of Hejaz
As a consequence, under Saudi rule, an estimated 95% of Mecca's historic buildings, most over a thousand years old, have been demolished
for religious reasons.
Critics claim that over the last 50 years, 300 historic sites linked to Muhammad, his family or companions have been lost,
leaving fewer than 20 structures remaining in Mecca that date back to the time of Muhammad.
Demolished structures include the mosque originally built by Muhammad's daughter Fatima
, and other mosques founded by
(Muhammad's father-in-law and the first Caliph
(the second Caliph), Ali
(Muhammad's son-in-law and the fourth Caliph), and Salman al-Farsi
(another of Muhammad's companions).
In June 2014, the Council of Ministers approved a law that gives the
Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage
the means to protect Saudi Arabia's ancient relics and historic sites. Within the framework of the 2016 National Transformation Program, also known as Saudi Vision 2030
, the kingdom allocated 900 million euros to preserve its historical and cultural heritage.
Saudi Arabia also participates in the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH), created in March 2017, with a contribution of 18.5 million euros.
Saudi Arabian dress strictly follows the principles of
(the Islamic principle of modesty
, especially in dress). The predominantly loose and flowing, but covering, garments are suited to Saudi Arabia's
climate. Traditionally, men usually wear a white ankle length garment woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb
), with a
(a large checkered square of cotton held in place by an agal
) or a
(a plain white square made of finer cotton, also held in place by an agal
) worn on the head. For rare chilly days, Saudi men wear a
-hair cloak (bisht
) over the top. In public women are required to wear a black
or other black clothing that covers everything under the neck with the exception of their hands and feet, although most women cover their head in respect for their religion. This requirement applies to non-Muslim women too and failure to abide can result in police action, particularly in more conservative areas of the country. Women's clothes are often decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliques.
غتره) is a traditional
typically worn by Arab
men. It is made of a square of cloth ("scarf"), usually cotton, folded and wrapped in various styles around the head. It is commonly worn in areas with an arid
climate, to provide protection from direct sun exposure, and also protection of the mouth and eyes from blown dust and
عقال) is an item of
headgear constructed of cord which is fastened around the Ghutrah
to hold it in place. The agal
is usually black in colour.
ثوب) is the standard Arabic word for garment. It is ankle-length, usually with long sleeves, similar to a
بشت) is a traditional Arabic men's
usually only worn for prestige on special occasions such as weddings.
عبائة) is a women's garment. It is a black cloak which loosely covers the entire body except the head. Some women choose to cover their faces with a niqāb and some do not. Some abayas cover the top of the head as well.
During the 1970s, cinemas were numerous in the Kingdom although they were seen as contrary to Wahhabi norms.
During the Islamic revival
movement in the 1980s, and as a political response to an increase in Islamist
activism including the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca
, the government closed all cinemas and theaters. However, with King Abdullah's reforms from 2005, some cinemas have re-opened,
including one in KAUST
From the 18th century onward,
fundamentalism discouraged artistic development inconsistent with its teaching. In addition, Sunni Islamic prohibition of creating representations of people have limited the visual arts, which tend to be dominated by geometric
, and abstract designs and by
. With the advent of oil-wealth in the 20th century came exposure to outside influences, such as Western housing styles, furnishings, and clothes. Music and dance have always been part of Saudi life. Traditional music is generally associated with poetry and is sung collectively. Instruments include the rabābah, an instrument not unlike a three-string fiddle, and various types of percussion instruments, such as the ṭabl (drum) and the ṭār (tambourine). Of the native dances, the most popular is a martial line dance known as the ʿarḍah, which includes lines of men, frequently armed with swords or rifles, dancing to the beat of drums and tambourines. Bedouin poetry, known as nabaṭī, is still very popular.
Censorship has limited the development of Saudi literature, although several Saudi novelists and poets have achieved critical and popular acclaim in the Arab world—albeit generating official hostility in their home country. These include
and Rajaa al-Sanea
In 2016, the General Entertainment Authority was formed to oversee the expansion of the Saudi entertainment sector.
The first concerts in Riyadh for 25 years took place the following year.
Other events since the GEA’s creation have included comedy shows, professional wrestling events and monster truck rallies.
In 2018 the first public cinema opened after a ban of 35 years, with plans to have more than 2,000 screens running by 2030.
is the national sport in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia national football team
is considered as one of Asia's most successful national teams, having reached a joint record 6 AFC Asian Cup
finals, winning three of those finals (1984, 1988, and 1996) and having qualified for the World Cup four consecutive times ever since debuting at the 1994 tournament. In the 1994 FIFA World Cup
under the leadership of Jorge Solari, Saudi Arabia beat both Belgium and Morocco in the group stage before falling to defeat Sweden in the round of 16. During the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup
, which was played in Saudi Arabia, the country reached the
, losing 1–3 to
, sailing and basketball (which is played by both men and women) are also popular with the
Saudi Arabian national basketball team
winning bronze at the 1999 Asian Championship
More traditional sports such as horse racing
and camel racing
are also popular. A stadium in Riyadh holds races in the winter. The annual King's Camel Race, begun in 1974, is one of the sport's most important contests and attracts animals and riders from throughout the region. Falconry
, another traditional pursuit, is still practiced.
Women's sport is controversial due to the suppression of female participation in sport by conservative Islamic religious authorities
, however this restriction has eased slightly in recent years.
Until 2018 women were not permitted in sport stadiums. Segregated seating, allowing women to enter, has been developed in three stadiums across major cities.
Saudi Arabian cuisine
is similar to that of the surrounding countries in the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Arab world, and has influenced and been influenced by Turkish, Indian, Persian, and African food. Islamic dietary laws
are enforced: pork is not allowed and other animals are slaughtered in accordance with halal
are popular, as is shāwarmā
), a marinated grilled meat dish of
, or chicken. As in other Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula,
), a rice dish with lamb, chicken, fish or
, is among the national dishes as well as the dish
. Flat, unleavened
is a staple of virtually every meal, as are dates
, fresh fruit, yoghurt and
. Coffee, served in the
, is the traditional beverage but tea and various fruit juices are popular as well.
Arabic coffee is a traditional beverage in Arabian cuisine. The earliest substantiated evidence of either coffee drinking
or knowledge of the coffee tree is from the 15th century, in the Sufi
monasteries of Arabia
Women do not have equal rights to men in the kingdom. The
US State Department
considers Saudi government's discrimination against women a "significant problem" in Saudi Arabia and notes that women have few political rights due to the government's discriminatory policies.
The World Economic Forum
2010 Global Gender Gap Report
ranked Saudi Arabia 129th out of 134 countries for gender parity.
Other sources had complained of an absence of laws criminalizing violence against women.
Under Saudi law, every adult female must have a male relative as her "guardian" (wali
As of 2008, a woman was required to have permission from her male guardian in order to travel, study, or work.
A royal decree passed in May 2017 allowed them to avail government services such as education and healthcare without the need of a consent of a male guardian. The order however also stated that it should only be allowed if it doesn't contradict the Sharia system.
According to a leading Saudi feminist and journalist,
, "Saudi women are weak, no matter how high their status, even the 'pampered' ones among them, because they have no law to protect them from attack by anyone."
Women face discrimination in the courts, where the testimony of one man equals that of two women
in family and inheritance law
is permitted for men,
and men have a unilateral right to divorce their wives (talaq
) without needing any legal justification.
A woman can only obtain a divorce with the consent of her husband or judicially if her husband has harmed her.
In practice, it is very difficult for a Saudi woman to obtain a judicial divorce.
With regard to the law of inheritance, the Quran specifies that fixed portions of the deceased's estate must be left to the Qur'anic heirs
and generally, female heirs receive half the portion of male heirs.
age at first marriage
among Saudi females is 25 years in Saudi Arabia,
with child marriage no longer common.
As of 2015 , Saudi women constitute 13% of the country's native workforce despite being 51% of all university graduates.
Female literacy is estimated to be 81%, lower than male literacy.
Obesity is a problem among middle and upper class Saudis who have domestic servants to do traditional work but, until 2018, were forbidden to drive and so are limited in their ability to leave their home.
As of April 2014, Saudi authorities in the education ministry have been asked by the Shoura Council to consider lifting a state school ban on sports for girls with the proviso that any sports conform to Sharia rules on dress and gender segregation, according to the official SPA news agency.
, known as the
, impose many restrictions on women in public in Saudi Arabia.
The restrictions include forcing women to sit in separate specially designated family sections in restaurants, to wear an abaya
and to cover their hair.
In February 2017, Saudi Arabia appointed its first woman to head the Saudi Stock Exchange.
As of 2018, two women hold cabinet positions in the Saudi government: Dr Tamadur bint Youssef Al Ramah, who was appointed deputy labor minister that year; and Norah bint Abdallah Al Faiz, who became deputy minister of education in charge of women’s affairs in 2009.
On 25 September 2011, King Abdullah announced that Saudi women would gain the right to vote (and to be candidates) in municipal elections, provided that a male guardian grants permission.
Women were finally allowed to vote on 12 December 2015.
In August 2013, a law was passed that criminalized domestic violence against women. The ban includes penalties of a 12-month jail sentence and fines of up to 50,000 riyals ($13,000).
In April 2017, bin Salman announced a project to build one of the world's largest cultural, sports and entertainment cities in Al Qidiya, southwest of Riyadh. The 334-square kilometre city will include a safari and a
As of February 2018, Saudi women can now open their own business, without a male's permission
and according to the Saudi Information Ministry, mothers in Saudi Arabia can now retain immediate custody of their children after divorce without having to file any lawsuits.
In April 2018 the first public cinema opened in Saudi Arabia after a ban of 35 years, with plans to have more than 2,000 screens running by 2030.
In March 2018 a law was passed allowing Saudi mothers to retain custody of their children after divorce without having to file any lawsuits.
In June 2018, King Salman issued a decree allowing women to drive, lifting the world's only ban on women drivers
Other domestic reforms include significant regulations restricting the powers of the
and establishing a national entertainment authority that has hosted comedy shows, pro wrestling events, and monster truck rallies. Further cultural developments include the first Saudi public concerts by a female singer, the first Saudi sports stadiums to admit women, and an increased presence of women in the workforce.
Education is free at all levels. The school system is composed of elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools. A large part of the curriculum at all levels is devoted to Islam, and, at the secondary level, students are able to follow either a religious or a technical track. The rate of literacy is 90.4% among males and is about 81.3% among females.
Classes are segregated by sex. Higher education has expanded rapidly, with large numbers of Universities and colleges being founded particularly since 2000
. Institutions of higher education include the country's first university,
King Saud University
founded in 1957, the Islamic University
founded in 1961, and the King Abdulaziz University
founded in 1967. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
, known as KAUST, founded recently in 2009. Other colleges and universities emphasize curricula in sciences and technology, military studies, religion, and medicine. Institutes devoted to Islamic studies, in particular, abound. Women typically receive college instruction in segregated institutions.
According to critics, Saudi curriculum is not just dominated by Islam but suffers from
dogma that propagates hatred towards non-Muslim and non-Wahhabis
and lacks technical and other education useful for productive employment.
Memorization by rote of large parts of the Qur'an, its interpretation and understanding (Tafsir
) and the application of Islamic tradition to everyday life is at the core of the curriculum. Religion taught in this manner is also a compulsory subject for all University students.
As a consequence, Saudi youth "generally lacks the education and technical skills the private sector needs" according to the CIA.
Similarly, The Chronicle of Higher Education
wrote in 2010 that "the country needs educated young Saudis with marketable skills and a capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship. That's not generally what Saudi Arabia's educational system delivers, steeped as it is in rote learning and religious instruction."
The religious sector of the Saudi national curriculum was examined in a 2006 report by
which concluded that "the Saudi public school religious curriculum continues to propagate an ideology of hate toward the 'unbeliever', that is, Christians, Jews, Shiites, Sufis, Sunni Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine, Hindus
, atheists and others".
The Saudi religious studies curriculum is taught outside the Kingdom via Saudi-linked madrasah
, schools, and clubs throughout the world.
Critics have described the education system as "medieval" and that its primary goal "is to maintain the rule of absolute monarchy by casting it as the ordained protector of the faith, and that Islam is at war with other faiths and cultures".
According to the educational plan for secondary (high school) education 1435–1438
, students enrolling in the "natural sciences" path are required to take five religion subjects which are:
Hadith and Islamic Education
and Quran. In addition, students are required to take six science subjects which are Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology and Computer.
The approach taken in the Saudi education system has been accused of encouraging
, leading to reform efforts.
Following the 9/11 attacks, the government aimed to tackle the twin problems of encouraging extremism and the inadequacy of the country's university education for a modern economy, by slowly modernising the education system through the "Tatweer" reform program.
The Tatweer program is reported to have a budget of approximately US$2 billion and focuses on moving teaching away from the traditional Saudi methods of memorization and rote learning towards encouraging students to analyze and problem-solve. It also aims to create an education system which will provide a more secular and vocationally based training.
Saudi Arabia has a
of 74.6 years (73.3 for males and 76.3 for females) according to the latest data for the year 2016 from the World Bank
Infant mortality in 2016 was 11.1 per 1,000.
In the same year, 69.7% of the adult population was overweight
and 35.5% was obese
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