35,165,800 people
Source: Tyranny Tracker
HRF classifies Saudi Arabia as ruled by a fully authoritarian regime.
The Al Saud family has maintained centralized power over parts of the Arabian Peninsula since the 18th century through a combination of coercive violence, alliances with regional leaders and the religious elite, or ulema, and control over vast oil wealth. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who came to power in 2015, and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (MBS), who was appointed prime minister and de facto ruler in 2022, govern the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as absolute monarchs. As de facto ruler, MBS is known for diminishing the role of traditionally powerful ulema in governance, introducing liberalizing reforms such as lifting the ban on women drivers, and announcing sweeping economic diversification in the Vision 2030 initiative while facing sustained allegations of widespread human rights abuses against Saudi citizens, residents, and advocates living in exile to maintain a tight hold on power.
National elections are absent, rendering moot assessment of electoral competition. The regime governs through royal decree and by appointing a Cabinet of Ministers and all 150 members of the Shura Council or Majlis ash-Shura, an advisory council that offers non-binding opinions on legislation. The regime prohibits political parties and retaliates against all forms of political opposition.
Independent media, political leaders, civil society leaders, organizations, and the general public face overt and systematic retaliation if they openly criticize or challenge the regime. Stipulations in the Press and Publications Law grant the regime significant authority over the flow of information in the country, and the regime abuses vague anti-cybercrime and counterterrorism laws to arbitrarily arrest and imprison those who express any opposition to the regime. Further, the regime directly harasses, tortures, and kills its opponents, exemplified by the transnational assassination of prominent dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Institutions largely fail to serve as independent checks on the regime. The regime rules by decree, and routinely abuses its control over the regular courts and the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) to target political dissidents and to retaliate against judges who rule contrary to its interests.
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