Long-form name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Type: monarchy

Capital: Riyadh

Administrative divisions: 14 emirates (imarat, singular--imarah); Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Al Qurayyat, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah, Asir, Hail, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk

Independence: 23 September 1932 (unification)

Constitution: none; governed according to Sharia (Islamic law)

Legal system: based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)

Branches: king rules in consultation with royal family and Council of Ministers

Leader: @m5Chief 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 a;-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, International Maritime Satellite Organization, 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 Walter CULTER; 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

NOTE: The information regarding Saudi Arabia on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Saudi Arabia Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Saudi Arabia Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.