Saudi Arabia is a unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamist lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consultation among the King, the Council of Ministers, Islamic scholars (until the mid-2010s), tribal leaders, and other traditional elites of the society. Saudi government is authoritarian, although some analysts have characterized the government of Mohammed bin Salman as totalitarian. The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. Under his rule, he has centralized policymaking, purged competing political elites, and dismantled pre-existing power-sharing dynamics.
The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia contains many characteristics of what might be called a constitution in other countries. The Qur'an and the Sunnah is declared as the official constitution of the country. The kingdom's governance is officially proclaimed to be conducted on the basis of Islamic law (Shari'a). The Allegiance Council is responsible to determine the new King and the new Crown Prince. All citizens of full age have a right to attend, meet, and petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the majlis.
The government is dominated by the vast royal family, the Al Saud, which has often been divided by internal disputes and into factions. The members of the family are the principal political actors allowed by the government. Political participation outside the royal family is limited. Saudi Arabia is one of only four countries (the other being Vatican City, Brunei, and Afghanistan) that does not have a separate legislative body.
Constitution
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. According to the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia, the country's de facto constitution adopted by royal decree in 1992, the king must comply with Sharia (that is, Islamic law) and the Qur'an. The Qur'an and the Sunnah are declared to be the de jure country's constitution. There is no legally binding written constitution and the Qur'an and the Sunna remain subject to interpretation. This is carried out by the Council of Senior Scholars, the Saudi religious establishment, although the power of the religious establishment has been significantly eroded in the 2010s.
The government of Saudi Arabia is led by King Salman, who acceded to the throne on 23 January 2015. No political parties or national elections are permitted, and according to The Economists Democracy Index, the Saudi government was the eighteenth-most authoritarian regime among the 167 countries rated in 2022, being at it lowest score in 2012 and at its highest from 2020 to 2022. Government is dominated by the royal family.
The King
The Basic Law specifies that the king must be chosen from among the sons of the first king, Abdulaziz Al Saud, and their male descendants subject to the subsequent approval of leaders (the ulama). In 2007, an "Allegiance Council" was created, consisting of King Abdulaziz's surviving sons plus a son of each of his deceased sons, to determine who will be the heir apparent (the Crown Prince) after the previous heir apparent dies or accedes to the throne. Prince Mohammad bin Salman is the current Crown Prince, and is widely regarded as the country's de facto ruler.
The king combines legislative, executive, and judicial functions and royal decrees form the basis of the country's legislation. Until 27 September 2022, the King also served as Prime Minister. On that date, a royal decree appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as Prime Minister, while King Salman retained his role as head of state and continues to chair cabinet meetings he attends. He presides over the Council of Ministers (Majlis al-Wuzarāʾ), which comprises the first and second deputy prime ministers (usually the first and second in line to the throne respectively), 23 ministers with portfolio, and five ministers of state. The king makes appointments to and dismissals from the council, which is responsible for such executive and administrative matters as foreign and domestic policy, defense, finance, health, and education, administered through numerous separate agencies. There is also a 150-member Consultative Assembly, appointed by the King, which can propose legislation to the King but has no legislative powers itself, including no role in budget formation. The government budget itself is not fully disclosed to the public. "Fully 40%" ... is labeled 'Other sectors' (including defense, security, intelligence, direct investment of the kingdom's revenues outside the country, and how much goes directly to the royal family).
Although in theory, the country is an absolute monarchy, in practice major policy decisions are made outside these formal governmental structures and not solely by the king. Decisions are made by establishing a consensus within the royal family (comprising the numerous descendants of the kingdom's founder, King Abdulaziz). Also, the views of important members of Saudi society, including the ulama (religious scholars), leading tribal sheiks, and heads of prominent commercial families are considered.
As an absolute monarchy, the personality and capabilities of the reigning monarch influence the politics and national policies of the country. King Saud () was considered incompetent and extravagant and his reign led to an economic and political crisis that resulted in his forced abdication. King Faisal () was a "modernist" who favored economic, technological and governmental progress but was also politically and religiously conservative. He directed the country's rapid economic and bureaucratic development of the early 1970s, but also made concessions to the religious establishment, and abandoned plans to broaden political participation. King Khalid () left government largely to his Crown Prince, Fahd, who succeeded him as King (). Prince Fahd was a talented administrator who initiated significant industrial development in the Kingdom. He was regarded by many as the "father of the country's modernization". However, during the last 10 years of his reign, ill health prevented him from fully functioning. In the absence of a king who could provide strong central leadership, the state structure began to fragment and the country stagnated. King Abdullah () was seen as a reformer and introduced economic reforms (limited deregulation, encouragement of foreign investment, and privatization) and made modernizing changes to the judiciary and government ministries.
Royal family
The royal family dominates the political system. The family's vast numbers allow it to hold most of the kingdom's important posts and to have an involvement and presence at all levels of government. The number of princes is estimated to be anything from 7,000 upwards, with the most power and influence being wielded by the 200 or so male descendants of King Abdulaziz. The key ministries have historically been reserved for the royal family, as are the thirteen regional governorships. With the large number of family members seeking well-paying jobs, critics complain that even "middle management" jobs in the Kingdom are out of reach for non-royal Saudis, limiting upward mobility and incentive for commoners to excel.
The one exception to this rule was Khaled al-Tuwaijri, Secretary-General of the Court and King Abdullah's éminence grise. He was a commoner and immensely powerful, which meant he was despised by most royals, especially the Sideris, who sacked him as soon as the old king died.
Long term political and government appointments result in the creation of "power fiefdoms" for senior princes. Examples include: King Abdullah, who was the Commander of the National Guard from 1963 until 2010, when he then appointed his son to replace him; Crown Prince Sultan was Minister of Defense and Aviation from 1962 to 2011; Crown Prince Nayef was the Minister of Interior from 1975 until his death in 2012; Prince Saud had been Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1975 to just before his death in 2015; and King Salman was the Governor of the Riyadh Region from 1962 to 2011.
In the absence of national elections and political parties, politics in Saudi Arabia takes place in two distinct arenas: within the royal family, the Al Saud, and between the royal family and the rest of Saudi society. The royal family is politically divided by factions based on clan loyalties, personal ambitions, and ideological differences. The most powerful clan faction is known as the 'Sudairi Seven', comprising the late King Fahd and his full brothers and their descendants. Ideological divisions include issues over the speed and direction of reform, and whether the role of the ulama should be increased or reduced. There were also divisions within the family over who should succeed Crown Prince Sultan.
Leading figures in the royal family with differing ideological orientations included Prince Nayef, the late Interior Minister, and Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister. Prince Nayef was personally committed to maintaining Saudi Arabia's conservative Wahhabi values. Of the senior princes, he was probably the least comfortable with King Abdullah's desire for reform. Following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, perpetrated mostly by Saudi nationals, Prince Nayef was strongly criticized by the U.S. for his reaction. It also took pressure from within the royal family for him to launch a hunt for Islamist militants who had attacked Western targets in Saudi Arabia. By contrast, Prince Saud Al Faisal is one of the strongest supporters of political and social reform. For example, he (as well as King Abdullah) has spoken in favor of women having the right to vote, to follow the career path they wish, and to be able to drive a car. Women would be able to vote in municipal elections beginning in 2012.
Politics outside of the royal family
Politics in Saudi Arabia, outside the royal family, can be examined in three contexts: the extent to which the royal family allows political participation by the wider Saudi society, opposition to the regime, and Islamist terrorism. Main political issues included unemployment and jobs, inflation and taxes according to a 2026 Ipsos poll.
Political participation
Outside the House of Al Saud, participation in the political process is limited to a relatively small segment of the population and takes the form of the royal family consulting with the ulama, tribal sheiks, and members of important commercial families on major decisions. This process is not reported by the Saudi media. In theory, all males of the age of majority have a right to petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the majlis. In many ways, the approach to government differs little from the traditional system of tribal rule. Tribal identity remains strong and, outside the royal family, political influence is frequently determined by tribal affiliation, with tribal sheiks maintaining a considerable degree of influence over local and national events. In recent years there have been limited steps to widen political participation, such as the establishment of the Consultative Council in the early 1990s and the National Dialogue Forum in 2003.
Opposition to the royal family