Saudi Arabia Passport

[Country Name] Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

【 Area 】 2.25 million square kilometers

The population is 32.18 million, of which approximately 58.4% are Saudi citizens. Islam is the state religion, with 85% Sunni and 15% Shia.

[Official Language] Arabic

The capital city is Riyadh, with a population of approximately 7 million.

[Head of State] King: HM Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who succeeded to the throne on January 23, 2015, is the seventh king of Saudi Arabia.

[Important Festival] National Day: September 23rd; Founding Day: February 22nd; Eid al Fitr: October 1st in the Islamic calendar; Eid al Adha: December 10th in the Islamic calendar.

[Currency] Saudi Riyal, 1 US dollar equals 3.75 Saudi Riyals.

【 Natural Geography 】 Located in the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the Persian Gulf to the east, the Red Sea to the west, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Yemen and other countries, and is connected to Bahrain via the Fahd King's Bridge. The coastline is 2448 kilometers long. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east. Except for the southwestern plateau and northern regions, which belong to the subtropical Mediterranean climate, all other regions belong to the tropical desert climate. Summer is hot and dry, with the highest temperature reaching over 50 ℃; The winter climate is mild. The average annual rainfall does not exceed 200 millimeters.

In the 7th century, the founder of Islam, Muhammad, and his successors unified the Arabian Peninsula and established the Arab Empire. In the 16th century, it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. In 1727, the Saudi family established the first Saudi Emirate, which was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire in 1818. In 1824, the Saudi family established the second Saudi Emirate, which was destroyed in 1891 due to internal strife within the ruling family. In 1902, Abdulaziz established the third Saudi Emirate and gradually unified most of the Arabian Peninsula, establishing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy that prohibits all political party activities. Without a constitution, the Quran and Hadith (a collection of writings recording the conversations of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) serve as the basis for national legislation and law enforcement. The king, also known as the "Servant of the Two Holy Sites (Mecca and Medina)", exercises the highest administrative and judicial powers, has the power to appoint, dissolve or reorganize the cabinet, has the power to establish or dismiss the crown prince, dissolve the consultative council, and has the power to approve and veto cabinet resolutions and treaties and agreements signed with foreign countries. On March 1, 1992, King Fahd promulgated the Basic Law of Governance, which stipulated that the Saudi King would be appointed by an outstanding descendant of the founding monarch Abdulaziz.

The current government was formed in September 2022 and currently has a total of 37 members, mainly including: Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. d) etc.

The Saudi Consultative Conference was established on December 29, 1993 as a national political advisory body without legislative power. The Consultative Conference is composed of a Chairman and 150 Members of Parliament, all appointed by the King for a term of 4 years and renewable. The current chairman is Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Sheikh, who took office in February 2009 and was re elected four times in January 2013, December 2016, October 2020, and September 2024.

The country is divided into 13 provinces: Riyadh Province, Mecca Province, Medina Province, Eastern Province, Qasim Province, Al Ha'il Province, Asir Province, Baha Province, Tabuk Province, Northern Frontier Province, Gizan Province, Najran Province, and Jauf Province. The province has first level counties and second level counties, and the counties have first level townships and second level townships.

The judiciary uses the Quran and Hadith as the basis for law enforcement. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council are responsible for the management of judicial affairs. In 2007, King Abdullah issued the "Judicial System and Enforcement Measures" and the "Appeal System and Enforcement Measures" to establish a new judicial system. Establish three levels of courts, including the Supreme Court, appellate courts, and ordinary courts (first level courts), and establish criminal, civil, commercial, labor, and other courts. The President of the Supreme Court is appointed by the King. The appeal system stipulates the establishment of three levels of administrative litigation institutions directly under the king, namely the Supreme Administrative Court, the Administrative Appeals Court, and the Administrative Court.

[Important Figures]

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud: King. Born in 1935. Received Islamic orthodox education since childhood and served as the governor of Riyadh Province for a long time. Appointed as Minister of Defense in November 2011. In June 2012, he was appointed as Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense. On January 23, 2015, he succeeded as the seventh king of Saudi Arabia. He visited China in April 1999, March 2014, and March 2017.

Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud: Crown Prince and Prime Minister. Born in 1985. King Salman's sixth son. Appointed as Minister of State and a member of the Cabinet in April 2014. In January 2015, he was appointed as the Minister of Defense, Director of the Royal Palace Office, and Personal Advisor to the King. In April 2015, he was appointed as the heir to the throne, second deputy prime minister, and defense minister. Appointed as Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Defense Minister in June 2017. Appointed as Crown Prince and Prime Minister in September 2022. He visited China twice in 2016 and 2019.

The oil industry is the backbone of Saudi Arabia's economy. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has actively promoted diversified economic development in order to break away from its dependence on the oil industry. Since 2016, it has put forward the "2030 Vision" and a series of major development plans and initiatives.

The main economic data for 2023 are as follows:

Gross Domestic Product: 1067.6 billion US dollars

Per capita Gross Domestic Product: 31500 US dollars

Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate:- 0.8％

Total import and export volume: 533.06 billion US dollars

Import amount: 210.93 billion US dollars

Export value: 322.13 billion US dollars

Inflation rate: 2.3%

【 Resources 】 The proven reserves of crude oil are 38.2 billion tons, accounting for 17.3% of the world's reserves and ranking second in the world. The proven reserves of natural gas are 6.19 billion tons, accounting for 4.5% of the world's reserves and ranking sixth in the world. In addition, there are mineral deposits such as gold, copper, iron, tin, aluminum, zinc, phosphate, etc.

The industry is mainly focused on the petroleum and petrochemical industries. Oil revenue accounts for 68.2% of the national fiscal revenue and 27.4% of the gross domestic product. The crude oil production in 2023 is approximately 505 million tons. In recent years, the Saudi government has fully utilized the benefits of the energy industry, actively introduced advanced foreign technology and equipment, and vigorously developed non oil industries such as steel, aluminum refining, cement, seawater desalination, power industry, agriculture, and service industry.

70% of Saudi Arabia's area is semi-arid wasteland or low-grade grassland, with arable land accounting for 1.6% of the country's total land area, approximately 3.43 million hectares (2020). Permanent grasslands account for 1.9% of the country's land area, approximately 3.785 million hectares. Forest coverage rate of 0.5% (2020). The cultivated land is concentrated in the southwestern region with abundant precipitation. The main agricultural products include wheat, rice, corn, dates, citrus, grapes, pomegranate, etc. Animal husbandry mainly includes sheep, goats, camels, etc.

Implement free trade and low tariff policies in foreign trade. The main exports are crude oil and petroleum products, while the main imports are machinery and equipment, food, textiles, chemical products, etc. The main trading partners are China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Germany, etc.

Adhere to an active and effective defensive national defense policy. The armed forces consist of the armed forces, the National Guard, and other quasi military units. The armed forces consist of five major branches: the army, navy, air force, air defense force, and strategic missile force, with a total of 127000 personnel. The National Guard is commanded by the National Guard Headquarters, with a total of approximately 100000 personnel. The security forces under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior have over 24500 personnel and are divided into 9 regional command centers. The special security forces and special emergency forces under the jurisdiction of the National Security Agency have 35000 and 30000 personnel respectively. Implement a voluntary military service system and a compulsory military service system during wartime, with a service period of 2 years for general branches and 3 years for special branches.

Education: We attach great importance to education and talent cultivation, and implement free education. Including primary education, vocational training, various technical education, and adult education, nine-year compulsory education is implemented. There are a total of 23000 schools of various types in China, including 25 comprehensive universities, 78 colleges, and 5 higher religious universities.

We adhere to a news policy based on Islamic law. Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of magazines are distributed nationwide. Arabic newspapers mainly include Riyadh Daily, Middle East Daily (published in London), Life Daily, National Daily, Okaz Daily, etc. English newspapers mainly include Arab News, Saudi Gazette, Saudi Economic Overview, etc.

Official News Agency: Saudi News Agency, established in January 1971, is directly under the leadership of the News Department and publishes articles in Arabic, English, and French. It has four domestic branches (Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Dammam) and six foreign branches (Cairo, Tunis, Paris, London, Bonn, and Washington).

Radio stations: There are over 20 radio stations that use medium wave, short wave, and FM broadcasting. Jeddah Radio, Riyadh Radio, and Quran Radio are the three largest radio stations.

Television station: Established a television network in 1964, began broadcasting black and white television programs in 1965, and began color broadcasting in 1976. There are currently four television stations.

We adhere to an independent foreign policy and have established diplomatic relations with over 130 countries. We actively participate in international and regional affairs based on our political, religious influence, and economic strength. It is a core member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the only Arab country in the G20. In June 2017, it severed diplomatic ties with Qatar along with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain. In January 2021, it resumed diplomatic relations with Qatar and fully resumed personnel exchanges. In January 2016, diplomatic relations with Iran were severed. In March 2023, with the support of China, Beijing Dialogue was successfully held with Iran and diplomatic relations were restored. Efforts should be made to restart the political settlement process of the Yemen issue, restore diplomatic relations with Syria, and promote Syria's return to the Arab League. Obtained the status of dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2021.