The national symbols of Saudi Arabia are official and unofficial flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of Saudi Arabia and of its culture.
| Title | Name of Symbol | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| National flag | Flag of Saudi Arabia |  |
| Coat of arms | Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia |  |
| National anthem | an-Našīd al-Waṭanī as-Suʿūdī English: "National Anthem of Saudi Arabia" [1] | |
| National flower | Arfaj (Rhanterium epapposum) [2] |  |
| National bird | Falcon [3] |  |
| National animal | Arabian camel [4] |  |
| National dish | Kabsa [5] |  |
| National dance | Ardah [6] |  |
Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest state in the Arab world, with a reported population of 32,175,224 as of 2022. 41.6% of inhabitants are immigrants. Saudi Arabia has experienced a population explosion in the last 40 years, and continues to grow at a rate of 1.62% per year.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic absolute monarchy in which Sunni Islam is the official state religion based on firm Sharia law. Non-Muslims must practice their religion in private and are vulnerable to discrimination and arrest. While no law requires all citizens to be Muslim, non-Muslim foreigners attempting to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality must convert to Islam. Children born to Muslim fathers are by law deemed Muslim, and conversion from Islam to another religion is considered apostasy and punishable by death. Blasphemy against Sunni Islam is also punishable by death, but the more common penalty is a long prison sentence; there have been 'no confirmed reports of executions for either apostasy or blasphemy' in the 21st century.
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2150000 km2, making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Arab world, and the largest in West Asia and the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. Bahrain is an island country off its east coast. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. Saudi Arabia's capital and largest city is Riyadh; the kingdom also is the location of Islam's two holiest cities of Mecca and Medina.
The national anthem of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was first officially adopted in 1950 without lyrics. The piece was gifted by the then Egyptian King Farouq when King Abdulaziz made a visit to Egypt. It was then adopted again in 1984 with lyrics written by Ibrāhīm Khafājī. The original composition was by Abdul-Raḥman al-Khaṭīb in 1947, and the brass instrumental version was later arranged by Sirāj Umar.
The Arabian oryx or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus Oryx, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private reserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980.
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a governmental organization established in 1977 as the Saudi Arabian National Center for Science & Technology (SANCST); in 1985, it was renamed King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.
Rhanterium epapposum is a plant of the family Asteraceae. Native to the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar where it is known locally as arfaj. The arfaj consists of a complicated network of branches scattered with small thorny leaves and bright yellow flowers about 1.5 cm wide. The arfaj flower is also the national flower of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It is a bushy shrub approximately 80 cm in height. The leaves are small and narrow, and in late spring it will start flowering (April–May). It is considered one of the main desert forage plants for camels and sheep.
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Yemen is bound to the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, based on history and culture.
Saudi Awwal Bank is a Riyadh-based Saudi joint stock company in which global banking group HSBC owns a minority stake. The bank traces its origins to the British Bank of the Middle East which was acquired by HSBC in 1959. In response to restrictions on foreign ownership of banks in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arab British Bank (SABB) was created in 1978 to manage HSBC branches and assets in the country.
The Saudi passport is a passport document issued to citizens of Saudi Arabia for international travel. It is valid for five or ten lunar years.
Vehicle registration plates of Saudi Arabia are manufactured by the Government Printing Press in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has taken action to ensure that all people residing within its borders register their vehicles in Saudi Arabia and display a rear as well as a front license plate.
Jarir Marketing Company, also known as Jarir Bookstore, is a Saudi Arabian establishment founded by Abdulrahman Nasser Al-Agil. Currently, Jarir has a paid-up capital of SR 1.20 Billion. Jarir’s headquarters is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Jarir operates through two divisions namely Retail, under the trademark of Jarir Bookstore, and a Wholesale division.
Okaz is an Arabic Saudi Arabian daily newspaper located in Jeddah. The paper was launched in 1960 and its sister publication is Saudi Gazette. The paper is simultaneously printed in both Riyadh and Jeddah and has offices all over Saudi Arabia. However, the daily mainly serves the provinces of the Hejaz and Asir. As of 2012 Abdullah Saleh Kamel was the chairman of the board of directors of the Okaz Organization for Press and Publication. Lawrence Wright of The New Yorker states that Okaz is "like an Arabic version" of the New York Post.
Al Riyadh is a Riyadh-based, pro-government Saudi daily newspaper. Its sister paper was Riyadh Daily that was in circulation between 2003 and 1 January 2004. Al Riyadh is one of the dominant papers in Nejd.
Elaph is the first daily Arabic independent online newspaper and is not associated with any established print or broadcast medium.
Visitors to Saudi Arabia must obtain a visa unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. Some visitors are eligible to obtain a visa online or on arrival while others needs to apply at one of the Saudi diplomatic missions in advance.
Kuwait and Iran have longstanding historical ties spanning hundreds of years, particularly in the pre-oil era. Relations were negatively influenced by the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. Relations improved after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Neom is a new urban area planned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be built in its northwestern Tabuk Province. The site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan. The total planned area of Neom is 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi). The city's plans include multiple regions, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources. It was launched by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
Rashad Muhammad al-Alimi is a Yemeni politician currently serving as the chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council since 7 April 2022.
Events in the year 2023 in Saudi Arabia.
