Saudi Arabia Government

Map showing the location of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's government functions with two different arenas. Political matters are conducted within the Saudi royal family, and between the Saudi royal family and the rest of the society within Saudi Arabia. However, even with the latter, this is often limited to a small number of people. Tribal sheikhs, people who are very powerful in the commercial sector, and the ulama are the people outside of the royal family who get most participation in politics. Tribal identity is strong in Saudi Arabia, and for this reason, it plays a role in politics.

There are no national elections in Saudi Arabia. The King of Saudi Arabia inherits his position of power. There is no vote on who is the king. In other monarchies, there is a vote on who the Prime Minister will be. This is the case for countries such as The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan, Sweden, and Thailand. This is not the case for Saudi Arabia. No Prime Minister or President is elected. The king is more than a figurehead in Saudi Arabia. He serves the same role that a Prime Minister would serve in constitutional monarchies, plus having more powers. In places where a President or Prime Minister are elected, the head of state has control over the executive branch of government. In Saudi Arabia, the king is in charge of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government. The government of Saudi Arabia is ruled by the royal family. Decisions for the public policy are made with the consideration and consultation of the royal family.

The King's Palace is the official residence of the king of Saudi Arabia.

With the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being an absolute monarchy, no political parties are allowed to exist.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Riyadh
Languages	Arabic (official)
Ethnic Groups	Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Religion	Muslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-15% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2012 est.)
Government	Absolute monarchy
Independance	23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)
Area	2,149,690.00 km²
Land Area	2,149,690.00 km²
Population	28,160,273.00 Historically a population that was mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic, the Saudi population has become more settled since petroleum was discovered in the 1930s; most of the economic activities - and with it the country's population - is concentrated in a wide area across the middle of the peninsula, from Ad Dammam in the east, through Riyadh in the interior, to Mecca-Medina in the west near the Red Sea
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
No. Bordering Countries	7
Bordering Countries	Iraq 811 km, Jordan 731 km, Kuwait 221 km, Oman 658 km, Qatar 87 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,307 km
GDP(PPP)	$1,730,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$54,100.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are China, Japan, and the United States.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are petroleum and petroleum products.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are China, the United States, and Germany.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, and chemicals.
Climate	Tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind
Terrain	Mostly sandy desert
Learn More	Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Government

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