ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Saudi Arabia. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Saudi Arabia. Observers note that Saudi Arabia appears to have abandoned efforts at privatization, structural reform, and diversification aimed at alleviating the kingdom's economic problems. The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has become another source of domestic discontent. As the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank continued, Saudi media carried unprecedented criticism of the United States' perceived pro-Israel bias. Saudis cannot change their government democratically. Political parties are illegal, and the king rules by decree according to a constitution based on a strict interpretation of Sharia.
