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Capital Riyadh
22°42? N 46°43? E Largest city Riyadh Official language(s) Arabic As Kingdom
January 8, 1926
May 20, 1927
September 23, 1932 Area
• Total
• Water (%)
26,417,5991 (43rd)
13/km² (169th)
{{{population_densitymi²}}}/mi² 2004 estimate
$316,407,000,000 (27th)
$13,955 (49th) 0.772 (77th) – medium Currency Time zone
• Summer (DST) (UTC+3)
(UTC+4) Internet TLD .sa Calling code +966 |
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Saudi Arabia Information
Main article: Politics of Saudi Arabia
The central institution of Saudi Arabian Government is the Saudi monarchy. The Basic Law adopted in 1992 declared that Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the sons and grandsons of the first king, Al Aziz Al Saud">Abd Al Aziz Al Saud, and that the Qur'an is the constitution of the country, which is governed on the basis of Islamic law (Shari'a).
There are no recognized political parties or national elections. The king is often classified as an Qur'an schools around the world. The leading members of the royal family choose the king from among themselves with the subsequent approval of the ulema.
Saudi kings have gradually developed a central government. Since 1953, the Council of Ministers, appointed by and responsible to the king, has advised on the formulation of general policy and directed the activities of the growing bureaucracy. This council consists of a prime minister, the first and second deputy prime ministers, 20 ministers (of whom the minister of defense also is the second deputy prime minister), two ministers of state, and a small number of advisers and heads of major autonomous organizations.
Legislation is by resolution of the Council of Ministers, ratified by royal decree, and must be compatible with the Shari'a (Islamic law). Justice is administered according to the Shari'a by a system of religious courts whose judges are appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, composed of 12 senior jurists. The independence of the judiciary is protected by law. The king acts as the highest court of appeal and has the power to pardon. Access to high officials (usually at a majlis, or public audience) and the right to petition them directly are well-established traditions.
Saudi Municipal elections took place in 2005 and some commentators saw this a first tentative step towards the intoduction of democratic processes in the Kingdom, including the legalisation of political parties. Other analysts of the Saudi political scene were more sceptical. See [1].
Saudi courts impose capital punishment and corporal punishment, including amputations of hands and feet for serious robbery, and floggings for lesser crimes such as "sexual deviance" (e.g. homosexuality) and drunkenness. The number of lashes is not clearly prescribed by law and varies according to the discretion of the presiding judges. The number ranges from dozens to several thousand, usually applied over a period of weeks or months. In 2002, the United Nations Committee against Torture criticised Saudi Arabia over the amputations and floggings it carries out under the Shari'a. The Saudi delegation responded defending "legal traditions" held since the inception of Islam in the region 1400 years ago and rejected interference in its legal system. (Source: BBC, see [2])
Religious police enforce a modest code of dress and many institutions from schools to ministries are gender-segregated. Homosexual men and women are prosecuted (sometimes publicly) and/or executed, if they are found to be engaging in same-sex sexual activities.
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Main article: Geography of Saudi Arabia
 Map of Saudi Arabia
The climate is dry and hot. Dry desert with great extremes of temperature and the terrain is mostly uninhabited, sandy desert. In most parts of the country, vegetation is limited to weeds, xerophytic herbs and shrubs. Animals include the ibex, wildcats, baboons, wolves, and hyenas in the highlands. Small birds are found in the oases. The coastal area of the Red Sea, especially the coral reefs, have a rich marine fauna. Saudi Arabia has a coastline of 2,640 kilometers (1,640 mi).
Saudi Arabia consists mostly of semi-desert and desert with oases. Almost half of the total country is uninhabitable desert with annual precipitation up to 100 millimetres (4 Jeddah on the western coast has 31ºC (88°F) in July and 23ºC (73°F) in January.
Less than 2 % of the total area is suitable for cultivation, and in the early 1990s, population distribution varied greatly among the towns of the eastern and western coastal areas, the densely populated interior oases, and the vast, almost empty deserts, such as the Rub' al Khali (desert), the Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrublands. There are no permanent rivers and lakes in Saudi Arabia.
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Main article: Demographics of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's 2003 population is estimated to be about 24.3 million, including about 6.4 million resident foreigners. Until the 1960s, most of the population was nomadic or semi-nomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. The birth rate is 29.74 births per 1,000 people. The death rate is only 2.66 deaths per 1,000 people. Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometre (2,600 /mi²).
Most Saudis are ethnically Philippines. There are around 100,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia, most of whom live in compounds or gated communities.
According to the CIA World Fact Book, 100% of Saudi Arabias citizens are Muslims. [3]
The exit and entry visa cards ask applicants for their religious affiliation and officially bans entry to Israel.
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The New York Times "Asterisk Aside, First National Vote for Saudis" February 10, 2005
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