The Government of Saudi Arabia
Overview
- Capital: Riyadh
- Administrative regions: 13 provinces
- Government & legal system: Absolute monarchy; Islamic (Sharia) law system. (government site)
- Head of state / government: King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Monarch and Prime Minister (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman serves as day-to-day executive leader) (official page)
- Official language(s): Arabic (official)
- National Day: September 23 (Saudi National Day, marking the 1932 unification of the Kingdom)
- Independence: Not a colonial-independence case; the modern Kingdom was founded/unified in 1932
- Other official holidays: Founding Day (Feb 22), Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (official site)
- Regional / international memberships: United Nations/ UN, Gulf Cooperation Council, Organization of Islamic Cooperation/ OIC, Arab League, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries/ OPEC, G20
- Visa / entry requirements: E-visa system available for most nationalities. (visa info)
- Currency: Saudi riyal (SAR) — notes depict portraits of the Kingdom’s founding and successive monarchs, along with national landmarks such as the Masjid al-Haram.
- Flag symbolism: Green field bearing the Shahada (Islamic declaration of faith) in white Thuluth script above a white sword — green represents Islam, the Shahada affirms the faith, and the sword represents the Kingdom’s history of unification.
