Legislative branch: none
Judicial branch: Supreme Council of Justice
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government—King and Prime Minister
FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982);
Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al
Saud (half-brother to the King, appointed heir to the throne 13 June 1982)
Suffrage: none
Elections: none
Communists: negligible
Member of: Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador BANDAR Bin Sultan; Chancery at 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 342-3800; there are Saudi Arabian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York; US—Ambassador Charles W. FREEMAN; Embassy at Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh (mailing address is P. O. Box 9041, Riyadh 11143, or APO New York 09038); telephone [966] (1) 488-3800; there are US Consulates General in Dhahran and Jiddah (Jeddah)
Flag: green with large white Arabic script (that may be translated as There is no God but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God) above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); green is the traditional color of Islam
- Economy Overview: By far the most important economic activity is the production of petroleum and petroleum products. The petroleum sector accounts for about 85% of budget revenues, 80% of GDP, and almost all export earnings. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world, is the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. Oil wealth has provided a per capita GDP that is comparable to most industrialized countries. Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries where consumer prices have been dropping or showing little change in recent years.