:Culture of Saudi Arabia

{{Main|History of Saudi Arabia}}The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of mainly four distinct historical regions: Hejaz, Najd and parts of Eastern Arabia (Al-Ahsa), and Southern Arabia ('Asir). It was founded in 1932 by Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman, also known as Ibn Saud in Western countries. Abdulaziz united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family. Saudi Arabia has since been an absolute monarchy governed along Islamist lines. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques", in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca) and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.

{{Main|Religion in Saudi Arabia|Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia|Islam in Saudi Arabia||Wahhabism|Salafism}}

File:Supplicating Pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.jpg, Mecca]]

The land of Hijaz, particularly Mecca and Medina, is the place where Islam was firstly established. Thus, the majority of its population are Muslims. Moreover, Qur’an is considered the constitution of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic law "sharia’" is the main legal source. In Saudi Arabia, Islam is not just adhered politically by the government but also it has a great influence on the people's culture and everyday life.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Saudi-Arabia|title=Saudi Arabia – Religion|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=February 5, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.saudiembassy.net/islam|title=Islam {{!}} The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia|website=www.saudiembassy.net|access-date=February 5, 2019}}

{{see also|Demographics of Saudi Arabia#Religion}}

90% of the Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims while 10% belong to Shia's school. 80% of Shia’ are Twelvers who live in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia and Medina. In Najran Province there are approximately 700,000 seveners Shia’. Moreover, the majority of expatriate in Saudi Arabia are Muslims.{{Cite journal|year=2017|title=Saudi Arabia 2017 International Religious Freedom Report|url=https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/281248.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529210918/https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/281248.pdf|archive-date=2018-05-29|journal=International Religious Freedom Report for 2017}}

Unlike many other Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia has been following a strict version of Islam. The Sharia (Islamic law) is enforced by the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (also known as Haia or Mutaween), who patrol the streets "enjoining good and forbidding wrong". Rules include dress codes, strict separation of men and women, attendance at prayer (salat) five times each day, and a strict ban of alcohol, and segregation of men and women in universities.{{Cite journal|last1=Ezzi |last2=Teal |last3=Ezzo|first1=Shaza |first2=Elizabith |first3=G. Martine|date=December 2014 |journal=Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies |volume=9 |title=The influence of Islamic values on connected generation students in Saudi Arabia}}{{pred |date=July 2024}} Saudi Arabia is the only Muslim country where shops and other public facilities are required to close during prayer time which takes place five times a day and employees and customers are sent off to pray.{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/news/486146|title=Sorry! Closed for prayer|date=2013-12-01|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2019-02-26}}

Women were required to wear the traditional ”abaya” (long, fully covered dress). However, women are no longer required to wear abayas in public, but it's required to dress modestly as a form of respecting the Saudi culture.{{Citation|title=Crown Prince on women, abaya and moderate islam| date=March 20, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K3TFbXc9iI|language=en|access-date=2019-10-29}}

Cinema theatres were shut down in 1980, and it was reopened since April 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/393490-saudi-arabias-first-cinema-to-open-on-april-18|title=Saudi Arabia's first cinema to open on April 18|last=AFP|newspaper=Arabian Business|date=April 5, 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-03-14}}

The kingdom doesn't use the international Gregorian calendar, but the lunar Islamic calendar, with the start of each lunar month determined not ahead of time by astronomical calculation, but only after the crescent moon is sighted by the proper religious authorities.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p. 154–155 Civil workers in the governmental sector used to receive their salaries not according to the international Gregorian calendar, but the lunar Islamic calendar. However, the Gregorian calendar has been followed by many international companies operating in the country. Moreover, by 2016, a number of reforms took place in Saudi Arabia. One of them was to use the Gregorian calendar to pay for the civil servants. This measure has been taken to reduce the governmental spending as employees have lost 11 payment days.{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-calendar-gregorian-switches-to-pay-workers-less-save-money-a7342331.html|title=Saudi Arabia has switched to a 'Western' calendar to save money|date=2016-10-03|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2019-03-14}}

Weekends

Friday is the holiest day for Muslims. Thus, the weekend in Saudi Arabia was Thursday-Friday.the time varying according to sunrise and sunset timesTripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.214 In 2013, the late King Abdullah Al-Saud issued a royal decree switching the weekend to become on Friday-Saturday.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-23031706|title=Saudi Arabia changes weekend start|date=2013-06-24|access-date=2019-05-15|language=en-GB}} This step was taken to reduce the adverse effects suffered by Saudi businesses{{Cite web|title=دليل الشركات السعودية الدليل السعودي 2021 و المصدر السعودي|url=https://saudibusiness.directory/|access-date=2021-11-30|website=دليل الشركات السعودية الدليل السعودي 2021 و المصدر السعودي|language=ar}} due to the difference in weekdays and weekends between Saudi Arabia and the other regional and international counterparts. Like all other Muslims, on Fridays Saudis attend Jomua’h prayer that is held by afternoon and accompanied with a sermon.{{Cite web|url=https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/10170/friday-a-best-day-of-week/|title=Friday – The Best Day of the Week|last=Stacey|first=Aisha |date=2013 |website=IslamReligion.com|language=en|access-date=2019-05-15}}

The holy month of Ramadan

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a holy month for all Muslims. In Saudi Arabia, this month is especially important and different as the lifestyle of the people gets more spiritual. During the month, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Thus, in Saudi Arabia, the working hours are reduced as most of the employees go two hours later than usual. Moreover, friends and families gather by sunset to enjoy breaking their fast together. By night and particularly after the obligatory Isha’ prayer, people stay in mosques to pray the voluntary prayer of Taraweeh. Before the dawn prayer, Fajr, families wake up to eat Suhur, their last meal before they start fasting.{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1301566/saudi-arabia|title=Ramadan: A time of spiritual transformation for Muslims|date=2018-05-13|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2019-04-15}}

Saudi Arabia celebrates two public holidays, namely, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Fitr comes after the holy month of Ramadan and employees enjoy a customary 5 to 10 days away from work. Eid al-Adha comes by the end of Hajj -pilgrimage- and employees get similar off days. However, some other religious days that are considered as public holidays in other Muslim countries are not given days off in Saudi Arabia including, the Islamic New Year, Mawlid Alnabi – Prophet Muhammad's Birthday – and ‘Ashura day.{{Cite journal |last=Satt |first=Harit |date=2017-06-01 |title=Eid Mawlid al-Nabi, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha; optimism and impact on analysts' recommendations: Evidence From MENA region |journal=Arab Economic and Business Journal |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=57–67 |doi=10.1016/j.aebj.2017.04.001 |s2cid=158515315 |issn=2214-4625|doi-access=free |hdl=10419/187537 |hdl-access=free }}

"Fierce religious resistance" had to be overcome to permit such innovations as paper money (in 1951), female education (1964), and television (1965) and the abolition of slavery (1962).[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17477 Review. "Unloved in Arabia"] By Max Rodenbeck. The New York Review of Books, Volume 51, Number 16 · October 21, 2004 There were a number of terrorist attacks targeting foreigners between 2001 and 2004, but these have been brought under control.[http://www.thenation.com/article/saudi-arabia-kingdom-divided?page=0,3 "Saudi Arabia, a kingdom divided"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305143234/http://www.thenation.com/article/saudi-arabia-kingdom-divided/?page=0,3 |date=March 5, 2016 }} The Nation, May 22, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2011,

Public support for the traditional political/religious structure of the kingdom is so strong that one researcher interviewing Saudis found virtually no support for reforms to secularize the state. Even the small minority of Westernized and liberal Saudis expressed "a desire for the kingdom to remain a Muslim society ruled by an overtly Muslim state."from p.195 of a [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4284264?seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents review] by Joshua Teitelbum, Middle East Studies, Vol. 38, No. 4, October 2002, of Changed Identities: The Challenge of the New Generation in Saudi Arabia by anthropologist Mai Yamani, quoting p.116 |quote=Saudis of all stripes interviewed expressed a desire for the kingdom to remain a Muslim society ruled by an overtly Muslim state. Secularist are simply not to be found. [Both traditional and somewhat westernized Saudis she talked to mediate their concerns] though the certainties of religion.

Because of religious restrictions, Saudi culture lacks any diversity of religious expression or buildings but annual festivals such as the Jenadriyah Festival which celebrates Saudi Culture, custom and handicraft held in a specialized arena just north of Riyadh and public events such as The Annual Book Fair are open to the public and are very popular although policed by the religious police.[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108492.htm Saudi Arabia: International Religious Freedom Report 2008]{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper |title=Saudi Arabia: International Religious Freedom Report 2013 |publisher=U.S. State Department |date=November 17, 2013 |access-date =October 14, 2014}}

The festivals (such as Day of Ashura) and communal public worship{{cite book |title=Denied dignity: systematic discrimination and hostility toward Saudi Shia citizens |last=Human Rights Watch |year=2009 |isbn=978-1564325358 |pages=2, 8–10|publisher=Human Rights Watch }}Islamic Political Culture, Democracy, and Human Rights: A Comparative Study, p 93 Daniel E. Price – 1999 of Shia Muslims who make up an estimated 10-15%[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7959531.stm Saudi Arabia's Shia press for rights]| bbc|by Anees al-Qudaihi | March 24, 2009[http://www.cfr.org/publication/10903/shiite_muslims_in_the_middle_east.html Council on Foreign Relations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411123648/http://www.cfr.org/publication/10903/shiite_muslims_in_the_middle_east.html |date=April 11, 2010 }}| Author: Lionel Beehner| June 16, 2006Nasr, Shia Revival (2006) p. 236 are suppressed. Celebration of other (non-Wahhabi) Islamic holidays, such as the Muhammad's birthday and the Day of Ashura (an important holiday for Shiites), are tolerated only when celebrated locally and on a small scale.{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia – Culture|url=http://country-stats.com/en/countries/asia/saudi-arabia/10599-saudi-arabia-culture.html|website=Country Stats.|access-date=February 23, 2015}} Shia also face systematic discrimination in employment, education, the justice system according to Human Rights Watch.{{cite book |title=Denied dignity: systematic discrimination and hostility toward Saudi Shia citizens |last=Human Rights Watch |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-56432-535-8 |page=1|publisher=Human Rights Watch }}

Image:Entrance Mecca mosque.JPG in Mecca]]

No churches, temples or other non-Muslim houses of worship permitted in the country (although there are nearly a million Christians as well as Hindus and Buddhists among the foreign workers).{{cite news |title=Saudi Arabia extends hand of friendship to Pope |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3571835.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510155619/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3571835.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 10, 2008 |newspaper=The Times |date=March 17, 2008 |access-date=July 27, 2011 |location=London |first=Richard |last=Owen}}{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148843.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123103422/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148843.htm |archive-date=November 23, 2010 |title=Saudi Arabia: International Religious Freedom Report 2010 |publisher=U.S. State Department |date=November 17, 2010 |access-date =July 27, 2011}} Foreign workers are not allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter, and reportedly private prayer services are forbidden in practice.

And at least one religious minority, the Ahmadiyya, are banned with adherents being deported according to a 2007 report by Human Rights Watch.{{cite web | url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/15/saudi-arabia-2-years-behind-bars-apostasy-accusation | title=Saudi Arabia: 2 Years Behind Bars on Apostasy Accusation | publisher=Human Rights Watch| date=May 15, 2014 | access-date=June 4, 2014}}

Proselytizing by non-Muslims and conversion by Muslims to another religion is illegal. According to the HeartCry Missionary Society, in 2014 the Saudi government "issued an official statement signifying that capital punishment may now be used" on those who distribute the Bible and all other "publications that have prejudice to any other religious belief other than Islam."Samuel Smith (December 18, 2014) [http://www.christianpost.com/news/saudi-arabias-new-law-imposes-death-sentence-for-bible-smugglers-131352/#! "Saudi Arabia's New Law Imposes Death Sentence for Bible Smugglers?"]. The Christian Post.[http://www.handsoffcain.info/news/index.php?iddocumento=18309927 "SAUDI ARABIA IMPOSES DEATH SENTENCE FOR BIBLE SMUGGLING"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408000107/http://www.handsoffcain.info/news/index.php?iddocumento=18309927 |date=April 8, 2016 }}. handsoffcain.info. November 28, 2014

In legal compensation court cases (Diyya) non-Muslim are awarded less than Muslims. Atheists are legally designated as terrorists.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-declares-all-atheists-are-terrorists-in-new-law-to-crack-down-on-political-dissidents-9228389.html Saudi Arabia declares all atheists are terrorists in new law to crack down on political dissidents], The Independent, March 4, 2014

Saudi society lives within the circle of customs and traditions in which it was ingrained by the Arab culture of Islam and the Islamic culture, but the regions of the Kingdom differ from each other in the customs of clothing, food, dialects, songs, and even in marriage traditions. Saudi Arabia has a family-oriented culture;{{cite book |last= |first= |author-link= |editor= Rodrigo Basco |editor2=Andrea Calabrò |editor3= Albert E. James |editor4=Jeremy Cheng |editor5=Luis Díaz Matajira |editor6=Nupur Pavan Bang |editor7=Georges Samara|date= May 13, 2022|title= Family Business Case Studies Across the World |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O-VvEAAAQBAJ |location= |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |page= |isbn= 9781800884250}} the family in Saudi Arabia is the most important social institution, so the bonds are strong between their members. Key aspects include the concepts of obedience and mutual respect,Blog, Gurfati (2017-04-28). "العادات والتقاليد السعودية". Gurfati Blog (باللغة الإنجليزية). مؤرشف من الأصل في 14 أكتوبر 2018. اطلع عليه بتاريخ 11 مارس 2019. in addition to preserving family traditions and kinship ties.{{cite news |last= Jambi|first=Rahaf |date=October 3, 2023 |title= Maintaining family traditions and ties plays an important role in Riyadh social life |url= https://www.arabnews.com/node/2382811/saudi-arabia |work=Arab News |location=Riyadh |access-date=October 25, 2023}}

A large portion of the original inhabitants of the area that is now Saudi were desert nomads known as Bedouin. They remain a significant and very influential minority of the indigenous Saudi population, though many who call themselves "bedou" no longer engage in "traditional tribal activities of herding sheep and riding camels."Long, Culture and Customs, 2009: p.79-80 According to authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North, Bedouin make up most of the judiciary, religious leaders and National Guard (which protects the throne) of the country. Bedouin culture is "actively" preserved by the government.

Greetings in Saudi Arabia have been called "formal and proscribed" and lengthy. Saudis (men) tend "to take their time and converse for a bit when meeting." Inquiries "about health and family" are customary, but never about a man's wife, as this "is considered disrespectful."{{cite web|last1=McLaughlin|first1=Elle|title=Saudi Arabia Culture & Protocol|url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/saudi-arabia-culture-protocol-16306.html|website=USA Today|access-date=February 20, 2015}}

Saudi men are known for the physical affection they express towards total strangers (i.e. Saudi male strangers), thought by some to be a continuation of the desert tradition of offering strangers hospitality to ensure their survival.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.89

File:Kaffeyeh-checkered-Saudi-King.jpg commonly worn in the desert{{cite book|last1=Long|first1=David E.|title=Culture and Customs of Saudi Arabia|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00long|url-access=registration|date=2005|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|pages=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00long/page/58 58–9]|isbn=9780313320217}} held with a black agal]]

The religion and customs of Saudi Arabia dictate not only conservative dress for men and women, but a uniformity of dress unique to most of the Middle East.{{cite web|last=Sharp|first=Arthur G.|title=What's a Wahhabi?|url=http://www.netplaces.com/middle-east-guide/saudi-arabia-crossroads-of-islam/whats-a-wahhabi.htm|publisher=net places|access-date=March 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321022500/http://www.netplaces.com/middle-east-guide/saudi-arabia-crossroads-of-islam/whats-a-wahhabi.htm|archive-date=March 21, 2014}} Traditionally, the different regions of Saudi have had different dress, but since the re-establishment of Saudi rule these have been reserved for festive occasions, and "altered if not entirely displaced" by the dress of the homeland of their rulers (i.e. Najd).Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp. 57–9

Many women normally wear an abaya, a long black cloak that covers all but the hands and face in public despite this not being required.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/women-in-saudi-arabia-do-not-need-to-wear-head-cover-says-crown-prince-1.3433096|title=Women in Saudi Arabia do not need to wear head cover, says crown prince|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|access-date=2019-09-29}} (Modest dress is compulsory for women in Islam but the color black for women and white for men is apparently based on tradition not religious scripture.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: pp.92–4) Some Saudi women wear a full face veil, such as a niqāb or a burqa. Women's clothes are often decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliques. Saudi Arabia has recently relaxed the dress code for women.{{Cite web|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/9/27/saudi-arabia-to-offer-tourist-visas-for-first-time|title=Saudi Arabia to offer new visas, relax dress code for foreign tourists|date=September 27, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/saudi-arabia-relaxes-dress-code-for-women-tourists-1.916009|title = Saudi Arabia relaxes dress code for women tourists| date=September 30, 2019 }}

The women of Saudi Arabia continue to wear the abaya in all its forms as a sign of modesty and identity. Although it is no longer mandatory, women choose to wear it, and it has become one of the most popular images of the country. Foreign women visiting the country also choose to wear the abaya, as a sign of respect.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-20 |title=Saudi crown prince's bid to scale-up tourism, already eased abaya rule for women |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/international/article/abaya-not-necessary-as-long-as-women-wear-decent-and-respectful-clothes-says-saudi-crown-prince/860406 |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=www.timesnownews.com |language=en}}

In recent years it is common to wear Western dress underneath the abaya. (Foreign women in Saudi Arabia are "encouraged" by the religious police to wear an abaya, or at least cover their hair according to The New York Times.{{cite news|last1=SHARKEY|first1=JOE|title=On a Visit to Saudi Arabia, Doing What the Saudis Do|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/business/15road.html|access-date=February 10, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 14, 2011|quote=[U.S.] State Department guidelines note, for example, that the religious police can "pressure women to wear" the full-length black covering known as an abaya, "and to cover their heads."}} Authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North encourage women to wear an abaya in "more conservative" areas of the kingdom, i.e. in the interior.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p.108)

File:Bisht Being Sewn.jpg]]

Saudi men and boys, whatever their job or social status, wear the traditional dress called a thawb, which has been called the "Arabic dress".{{cite book|last1=Bradley|first1=John R.|title=Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis|date=2005|publisher=macmillan|page=[https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad/page/5 5]|url=https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad|url-access=registration|quote=thobe wahhabism.|access-date=August 20, 2014|isbn=9781403970770}} During warm and hot weather, Saudi men and boys wear white thobes. During the cool weather, wool thobes in dark colors are not uncommon. At special times, men often wear a bisht or mishlah over the thobe. These are long white, brown or black cloaks trimmed in metallic thread. A man's headdress consists of three things: the tagia, a small white cap that keeps the gutra from slipping off the head; the gutra itself, which is a large square of cloth; and the igal, a doubled black cord that holds the gutra in place. Not wearing an igal is considered a sign of piety. The gutra is usually made of cotton and traditionally is either all white or a red and white checked. The gutra is worn folded into a triangle and centred on the head.

• Ghutrah ({{langx|ar|غتره}}) is a traditional keffiyeh headdress worn by men in the Arabian peninsula. It is made of a square of usually finer cotton cloth ("scarf"), folded and wrapped in various styles (usually a triangle) around the head. It is commonly worn in areas with an arid climate, to provide protection from direct sun exposure, and also protection of the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand.
• Agal ({{langx|ar|عقال}}) is an item of Arab headgear constructed of cord which is fastened around the keffiyeh to hold it in place. The agal is usually black in colour.
• Thawb ({{langx|ar|ثوب}}) is the standard Arabic word for garment. It is ankle length, woven from wool or cotton, usually with long sleeves similar to a robe.
• Bisht ({{langx|ar|بشت}}) is a traditional long, white, brown or black Arabic cloak trimmed in gold worn by men. It is usually only worn for prestige on special occasions such as weddings, or in chilly weather.
• Abaya ({{langx|ar|عباءة}}) is a women's garment. It is a black cloak which loosely covers the entire body except the head, although some Abayas cover the top of the head as well. Recent years have shown a rise in more colored abayas.{{Cite web |last=Sekka |date=2017-10-01 |title=Abayas: Were they originally black or colored? |url=https://sekkamag.com/2017/10/01/abayas-were-they-originally-black-or-colored/ |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=Sekka |language=en-US}}

Among young men, since around 2000, Western dress, particularly T-shirts and jeans have become quite common leisure wear, particularly in the Eastern Province.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp.60–1 Traditional footwear has been leather sandals but most footwear is now imported.

Employment does not play the same part in native Saudi society as in some others. With enormous petroleum export earnings beginning in the mid-1970s the Saudi economy was not dependent on income from productive employment. Economists "estimate only 30–40 percent" of working-age Saudis "hold jobs or actively seek work," and most employed Saudis have less-than-demanding jobs with the government.{{cite news|last=McDowall|first=Angus|title=Saudi Arabia doubles private sector jobs in 30-month period|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/2014/01/20/Saudi-Arabiya-doubles-number-of-citizens-in-private-sector-jobs.html|access-date=May 12, 2014|agency=Reuters|date=January 19, 2014}}

{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia: Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future| publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=159|title-link=On Saudi Arabia}}

As of 2008, 90% of those employed in the private sector were foreigners,{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future| publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=157}} and several decades long efforts to replace significant numbers of them with Saudis have been unsuccessful.{{cite book|title=CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Saudi Arabia|last1=Tripp

|first1=Harvey

|last2=North

|first2=Peter

|edition=3rd|date=2009|pages=208–11 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |url=https://archive.org/stream/CultureShockSaudiArabia/Culture%20Shock!%20Saudi%20Arabia_djvu.txt|ref=HT2009}}

{{cite book|last1=Hertog|first1=Steffen|title=Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats:Oil and the State in Saudi Arabia|date=2010|publisher=Cornell University Press.|pages=91–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNM4vMi7FtcC&pg=PA191|access-date=February 13, 2015|isbn=9780801457531}}{{cite book|last1=House|first1=Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines—and Future|page=166|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dIu0LSe8aVwC&q=karen+house+saudization&pg=PA172|access-date=February 13, 2015|isbn=978-0307473288|year=2013|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}One Saudi employer complained to a Western journalist (Max Rodenbeck) "I want to hire Saudis, but why would I hire someone who I know won't show up, won't care, and can't be fired."{{cite news|title=People pressure|newspaper=The Economist|date=March 21, 2002|url=http://www.economist.com/node/1033986|access-date=February 14, 2015}}{{cite book

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|title=Culture Shock, Saudi Arabia. A Guide to Customs and Etiquette

|date=2003|page=122

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|location=Singapore; Portland, Oregon

|ref=HT2003}}

One explanation for this culture of leisure is the hot, dry climate of the peninsula which allowed nomadic herding but permitted agriculture only in a small area (the southwest corner). Like other nomadic herders worldwide, the ancestors of most Saudis did not develop the habits (so-called "work ethic"), skills, infrastructure, etc. of agricultural societies "that lead ultimately to present-day industrialisation".Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p.118 As a consequence, "Saudis have rarely worked in the sense that other nationalities have worked. No product-based commercial economy existed until oil" was discovered.

Traditionally social life in the kingdom has revolved around the home and family. Saudis regularly visit family members, particularly those of an older generation. For women, most of whom have their own jobs,"even families of modest means usually have servants" Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.123{{cite web|title=Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15–64)|url=http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/saudi-arabia/labor-participation-rate|work=circa 2012|publisher=Index mundi|access-date=February 19, 2014|quote=Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15–64) in Saudi Arabia was 18.60 as of 2011. Its highest value over the past 21 years was 19.10 in 2006, while its lowest value was 15.20 in 1991.|archive-date=January 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112151616/https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/saudi-arabia/labor-participation-rate|url-status=dead}} it is routine (in fact the only outside activityAlireza, Marianne. "Women of Saudi Arabia," National Geographic (October 1987), 422–43.) to pay visits to each other during the day. The ban on women driving was lifted in 2017.

For men, traditional hours involve a nap in late afternoon (after work if they are employed), and then socializing that begins after maghrib (roughly between 5 and 6:30 pm) and can last until well after midnight. Men gather in groups (known as shillas or majmu'as) of close friends of similar age, background, and occupation. Men typically relax, and joke while smoking shisha and playing balot (a card game), and have a meal around midnight before returning home. The groups may meet in diwaniyyas in each other's homes or a residence rented for the occasion.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp.64–5

File:Eid alAdha 2103-1434 Jeddah (10326758016).jpg]]

Being part of a reserved, family-oriented society, Saudis tend to prefer to do business with, socialize with, and communicate with family members rather than outsiders, be they foreigners, or Saudis from other clans.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: p.37 Extended families tend to live in family compounds in cities whenever possible and stay in contact by cellphone when not.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: p. 39 It is customary for elder family member to use their influence (wasta) for the benefit of family members, particularly for employment and advancement in the large Saudi government bureaucracyLong, Culture and Customs, 2005: p. 38 where most Saudis work.{{cite news|last=McDowall|first=Angus|title=Saudi Arabia doubles private sector jobs in 30-month period|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/2014/01/20/Saudi-Arabiya-doubles-number-of-citizens-in-private-sector-jobs.html|access-date=May 12, 2014|agency=Reuters|date=January 19, 2014|quote=Although the official employment rate is around 12 percent, economists estimate only 30–40 percent of working-age Saudis hold jobs or actively seek work. Most Saudis in jobs are employed by the government}}

Traditionally, in Saudi Arabia (and other Gulf countries), families arrange marriages with the tribe or family's considerations in mind. Forced marriage has also taken place.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/forced-marriage-that-man-had-more-rights-over-my-body-than-i-did-1.3742275|title=Forced marriage: 'That man had more rights over my body than I did'|newspaper=The Irish Times }} Sons and daughters have been encouraged to "marry cousins or other relatives in order to increase and strengthen" the extended family or tribe,{{cite news|title=Cousin marriages: tradition versus taboo|url=http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201306180036-0022835|access-date=February 13, 2015|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=June 18, 2013|archive-date=March 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309113948/http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201306180036-0022835}}

"or occasionally to marry into another tribe in order to heal rifts". At least in the 1990s, most marriages in Saudi were "consanguineous"—i.e. between close relatives—sometimes a second cousin but usually a first cousin.{{cite book|last1=Zuhur|first1=Sherifa|title=Saudi Arabia|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=226|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Ww68vqzQhoC&pg=PA226|quote=In Saudi Arabia, the rate of consanguineous marriage (to a close relative, a second cousin or closer, usually a first cousin) is very high, at 57.7% nationally (El-Hamzi et al. 1995); and other studies indicate it is 51.2% in Riyadh (Al Hussain and Al Bunyan 1997) and 52% in Damman (al-Abdulkareem and Ballal 1998). |isbn=9781598845716|date=October 31, 2011}} and marriage between cousins in Saudi is among the highest rate in the world. The practice has been cited as a factor in higher rates of Type 2 diabetes (which affects about 32% of adult Saudis), hypertension (which affects 33%), and higher rates of severe genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis or a blood disorder,{{cite news|last1=McKay|first1=Betsy|title=Saudis Push Gene-Sequencing Research|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304887104579306831456121354|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215234912/http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304887104579306831456121354|archive-date=December 15, 2014|access-date=September 29, 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=February 4, 2014}}

thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, spinal muscular atrophy, deafness and muteness.Schneider, Howard (January 16, 2000){{cite web|url=http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/212/arab_inbreed/arab_inbreed.htm |title=Evidence of Inbreeding Depression: Saudi Arabia |access-date=March 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031211085637/http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/212/arab_inbreed/arab_inbreed.htm |archive-date=December 11, 2003 }} . Washington Post. Page A01[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/world/saudi-arabia-awakes-to-the-perils-of-inbreeding.html Saudi Arabia Awakes to the Perils of Inbreeding]. The New York Times. May 1, 2003

As a consequence of frequent consanguineous marriage, genetic counseling is a growing field in Saudi Arabia.{{cite journal|title=Genetic counselors' scope of practice and challenges in genetic counseling services in Saudi Arabia|journal=International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine|volume=3|issue=1|pages=1–6|doi=10.1016/j.ijpam.2015.12.002|pmid=30805460|pmc=6372413|year=2016|last1=Balobaid|first1=Ameera|last2=Qari|first2=Alya|last3=Al-Zaidan|first3=Hamad}}

Traditionally men having more than one wife (polygyny) was "fairly common", but marriage has become increasingly monogamous as income has declined and western ideas of mutual compatibility between husband and wife have taken hold.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: p.67

• Proposal: traditionally, the prospective groom's senior female leader informs the prospective bride's mother of his intentions. . . both families determine whether or not the marriage would be suitable.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: p.68
• Viewing (Shawfa): if assent is given by the two families, the bride is "formally allowed to unveil in the presence of the future husband." This unveiling is delayed until the wedding party among very strict families.
• Marriage contract (Milka): if the viewing does not stop wedding plans, the amount of the dowery (mahr) and other terms are negotiated by the prospective groom and the father (or legal male guardian) of the prospective bride, and are executed (approved) usually by the imam of a mosque and witnessed by two male witnesses (or one man and two women) and recorded by a qadi.
• Meeting of the families (Shabka): this is a "gala" party of both families, hosted by the bride's family, at which time the bridegroom presents the dowry and an engagement ring to the bride along with other gifts of jewelry.
• Betrothal (Makhtui, Khatub, or Makhtubayn): "setting the date" for the wedding parties (one for men and one for women) is "considered the formal betrothal."
• Henna party or ‘Night of the Henna’, is a party based around decorating the hands and feet of the bride with paste made from the henna plant. This is not a mandatory step in Marriage, it is optional, and often rare to happen in the recent years of Saudi Arabia. The occasion stems from South Asian traditions.{{Cite web |date=2018-09-24 |title=History of Bridal Mehandi - Significance of Bridal Mehandi |url=https://www.vogue.in/content/the-history-of-bridal-mehandi-how-the-tradition-came-to-be |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=Vogue India |language=en-IN}}
• Wedding celebrations (`Irs, Zaffaf, or Zawaj): usually comes six months to a year after the acceptance of the wedding proposal or based on their agreement. The separate wedding celebrations for men and women are attended by family, close friends and distinguished guests. Traditionally they were held in homes, but today are usually held in large hotel ballrooms or special wedding halls.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: 69 Each party usually consists of a large dinner featuring roast lamb or baby camel over rice or cracked wheat served on the floor, that begins after `Isha`. A traditional congratulatory phrase the guests tell the groom is 'from you the money; from her the children.' The men's party ends after the dinner, but the bridegroom and the male members of his and the bride's immediate family then go to the women's party. The women's party lasts longer than the men's, is more elaborately decorated, and in addition to food, has music, singing, and dancing. Around midnight, the bridegroom and the other family male members arrive and are announced amidst the ululation or zaghārīt (high keening sound) of the women. The other men then leave, but the groom sits beside his bride on a dais while the party continues. Some wedding celebrations can go on for several days, but the groom need attend only the first night. After all the celebrations, the couple is traditionally escorted to their new home, or leave on their honeymoon. In some weddings, the couple meet for the first time on the final night of celebrations. On their return from the honeymoon if they have one, the couple either set up home with the groom's parents and "become members of the extended family or, as is increasingly the case, set up home by themselves".

Saudi Arabia allows the traditional practice of "triple talaq" divorce, where a man can divorce his wife simply by saying ‘I divorce you’ (ṭalāq) three times. He can rescind the divorce if this was done in the heat of the moment, but only if the wife agrees (and only on three occasions). The husband must maintain a divorced wife and any children from the marriage if the wife is unable to support herself, although she may have trouble receiving timely payments.{{cite news|title=Mandatory alimony payments from ex-husbands eyed|url=http://www.arabnews.com/mandatory-alimony-payments-ex-husbands-eyed|access-date=November 12, 2014|agency=Arab News|date=February 10, 2013}} Children generally remain with their mother until about five or six, after which boys return to their father to begin their formal education. The husband can claim custody of any sons when they reach the age of ten. Girls more often remain with their mother.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp.71–2 A female divorcee usually returns to her family, and few remarry. Despite the liberality of divorce laws, divorce is not commonplace outside of the royal family where it is "endemic".Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.56)

Divorce for women who have been abandoned by their husbands in Saudi Arabia has been criticized for being slow.{{cite news|title=International: Law of God versus law of man; Saudi Arabia|newspaper=The Economist|date=October 13, 2007|url=http://www.economist.com/node/9954500}}

Divorce initiated by a wife (khula) is unusual in the kingdom even if a husband has been unfaithful, abused or deserted his wife, or engaged in criminal activity.

For female initiated divorce in Saudi, a wife must go to a court for the case to be heard.{{cite book|last1=Zuhur|first1=Sherifa|title=Saudi Arabia|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=228|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Ww68vqzQhoC&pg=PA226|isbn=9781598845716|date=October 31, 2011}}

{{main|LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia}}

{{see also|LGBT in the Middle East}}

Saudi is one of ten countries where homosexuality is punishable by death (the punishment of stoning to death may be applied to married men who've engaged in homosexual acts or any non-Muslim married or unmarried who commits homosexual acts with a Muslim{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/24/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death/|title=Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death|last=Rupar|first=Terri|date=February 24, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post}}) as well as fines, flogging, prison time, on first offense. In April 2020, the Saudi Supreme Court abolished the flogging punishment, and replaced it with jail time or fines or both.{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-rights-flogging-idUKKCN2262UX|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425000301/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-rights-flogging-idUKKCN2262UX|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 25, 2020|title=Saudi Arabia to end flogging as form of punishment|date=2020-04-24|work=Reuters|access-date=2020-04-24|language=en}}

As in other Arab and especially Gulf countries, Saudi customs include avoiding certain practices, such as:

• anything that would cause someone (or at least another Saudi) embarrassment and loss of face; (criticism by outsiders must be delivered indirectly, circumspectly, and never in front of others)Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.222
• exposing the soles of the feet or footwear to someone; (other insulting body language include upward raising of a single finger, excessive pointing, fist clenching and pounding of the right fist into the left palm)Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.199
• using the left hand when eating (that hand traditionally being used for personal hygiene)
• rushing into doing business before conversation and the drinking of tea and coffee (violation of a desert code of hospitality, a code stemming from the recognition that a desert traveler who is denied hospitality might not survive)Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp. 63–64
• admiring a movable possession of a Saudi, since a hospitable Saudi will feel obliged to offer the possession as a gift to the guest admirer
• saying ‘Salam Alaikum’ when entering anywhere with another person there or not.{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2017-05-15 |title=Arabic Customs and Traditions |url=https://www.arabacademy.com/arabic-customs-traditions/ |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=Arab Academy |language=en-US}}
• Marketplace bargaining: it is expected to negotiate the prices of goods and services, and is not frowned upon in these places.
• Proverbs and sayings are frequently said, conveying wisdom, values, and life lessons.
• Coffee and Date combination: The combination of Saudi coffee and dates is a standard among get gatherings, and social settings, especially within the Bedioun tribes.
• A designated seat for the guest at a dinner party- usually next to the ‘best part’ of the food. Also not leaving dinner until the guest has finished eating.
• Big part of Saudi Arabian culture - Insisting. Insisting to stay more, eat more, etc.. from the other party as a sign of respect and appreciation.
• Returning Favors - a feeling of needing to owe someone because they have granted you something.

Observers have noted the importance of custom and tradition in Saudi society. Folk beliefs such as "which foot to step first into the bathroom with, or urinating on the wheel of a new car to ward off the evil eye," hold an important place.{{cite book |last=Bradley |first=John R.|title=Saudi Arabia Exposed : Inside a Kingdom in Crisis|url=https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad |url-access=registration |date=2005|publisher=Palgrave

|page=[https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad/page/93 93]

|isbn=9781403964335|quote=To an outsider, the ability to hold manifestly inconsistent views to cover the picture of a woman but ogle real women sunbathing .... may seem like outright hypocrisy. But Saudi's thinking patterns revolve around a series of rituals, obsessions, and categories that are self-contained. On the one hand devoutly religious and strictly so; on the other, prone to folk beliefs akin to magic and superstition, including which foot to step first into the bathroom with, or urinating on the wheel of a new car to ward off the evil eye. Their behavior does not reach the self-conscious level of hypocrisy, of believing one thing and doing another, for it is a set of dissonant beliefs that they do not even recognize coexist at the same time.}}

Older brothers—even if older by only a few days—should have their hand kissed by younger brothers, sit above them on formal occasions, enter a room before them.{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future| publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=132|quote=[conservative Prince Abdul Aziz bin Sattam] recounts how a cousin a few days older than he encouraged Prince Abdul Aziz to enter the room first. Abdul Aziz's father, witnessing this break with tradition, quickly corrected the younger men. `I am only fifteen days older than my brother Ahmed, and I enter in front of him,` Prince Sattam told his son. In other words stick with tradition. Abdul Aziz says his father Prince Sattam, governor of Riyadh since 2011, kissed the hand of his older half-brother, Prince Salman, who preceded him in that post, each times the two met during the 40 years Prince Sattam served as Prince Salman's deputy governor. Similarly, at formal occasions, Prince Sattam understands that his nephew, Prince Saud al Faisal, the kingdom's foreign minister, sits above him because Saud is older. Tradition means predictability, and predictability means that everyone royal or otherwise knows his or her place in society.}}

Women who go on even short trips of a few days are expected to visit senior relatives and even close neighbors to bid them goodbye, and upon returning, make another round of visits to the same individuals to pay her respects and dispense small gifts.{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future| publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=63}}

"Something as simple as a wife accompanying her husband on a brief trip abroad is laden with rules and norms that trap her into largely self-induced inaction. A young Saudi mother, ... describes with dismay how tradition prevented her mother from accompanying her father on a short trip ... If a Saudi woman is traveling, Ranan explains, she is expected to visit senior relatives and even close neighbors to bid them goodbye. Upon her return, she is obliged to make another round of visits to the same individuals to pay her respects and dispense small gifts. To simply pack her bag and fly off for a few days with her husband would break society's conventions and thus disrupt social harmony, exposing her to negative gossip and bringing shame upon her family. So confronted with that heavy load of tradition, the wife simply stayed home.

(p.63). Saudis may "require four to six months" to check their plans with extended family before finalizing them.{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future| publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=64|quote=[the daughter, Rana, however, was much to up to date for that] she recounts flying to neighboring Dubai with her two children for a four-day holiday after `only` two weeks of planning with her extended family. `It was as satisfying as if I had gone to the moon, to travel with so little planning,` she ways, explaining that normally Saudis require four to six months to check their plans with extended family before finalizing them.}}

One observer has noted that "through their love of language, Saudis are swayed more by words rather than ideas and more by ideas than facts." While vigorous public arguments ("shouting matches") may be commonplace, it "is most unusual to see a Saudi strike another Saudi." This emphasis on rhetoric is reflected in foreign affairs where, for example, the government "regularly condemns the State of Israel in the most vehement and bloodcurdling terms but rarely takes action."Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.196

Wasta: A term that refers to the use of connections and relationships to gain benefits and advantages. It is evident all around the world, but specifically in the Middle East. Key features of Wasta can include negotiations and contracts, better employment opportunities, and social ties. The Wasta culture in Saudi Arabia can connect to their family orientedness with extended family, as someone would always want something to be easier if a connection is present.{{Cite web |date=2019-12-11 |title=Wasta: How personal connections are denying citizens opportunities… |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/news/wasta-how-personal-connections-are-denying-citizens-opportunities-services |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=Transparency.org |language=en}}

Many outsiders are struck by the superficial resemblance of Saudi cities (at least the major cities such as Jeddah, Riyadh and the eastern province), with their superhighways, shopping malls and fast food, to those of post-World War II western cities and suburbs.{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=John R.|title=Saudi Arabia Exposed : Inside a Kingdom in Crisis|url=https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad|url-access=registration|date=2005|publisher=Palgrave

|page=xiii |isbn=9781403964335|quote=Jeddah ... at first glance, nothing more inspiring than a bland Chicago suburb: so Westernized and modern with its flashing neon lights, its massive shopping malls. }}{{cite book |title=CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Saudi Arabia|last1=Tripp

|first1=Harvey

|last2=North

|first2=Peter

|edition=3rd|date=2009|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|page=78 |quote=On the surface, the culture of Western consumerism seems alive and well in Saudi Arabia as in most places. People strive to build enormous houses for themselves and their extended families. Young Saudi men drive souped-up cars, patronize fast food outlets and wear designer jeans. Shopping malls offer a global selection of merchandise and trade long into the night. But at a deeper level, Saudi Arabia and the West are poles apart ... |url=https://archive.org/stream/CultureShockSaudiArabia/Culture%20Shock!%20Saudi%20Arabia_djvu.txt|ref=HT2009}}

As late as 1970, most Saudis lived a subsistence life in the rural provinces, but the kingdom has urbanized rapidly in the last half of the 20th century. As of 2012 about 80% of Saudis live in urban metropolitan areas, specifically Riyadh, Jeddah, or Dammam.{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future| publisher=Knopf|year=2012|page=69|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dIu0LSe8aVwC&q=on+saudi+house|quote=Most Saudis only two generations ago eked out a subsistence living in rural provinces, but ... urbanization over the past 40 years [so now] .... fully 80% of Saudis now live in one of the country's three major urban centers – Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.|isbn=978-0307473288}}Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p.31

File:Home in Yanbu City - panoramio.jpg]]

Saudi houses and housing compounds are often noted for the high walls (3 or 4 metres high) surrounding them, explained as useful in keeping out sandstormsTripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.86 and/or reflective of the families' self-contained outlook on the world.{{cite web|author1=Karen House|title=Book Discussion on Saudi Arabia|url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?311057-1/book-discussion-saudi-arabia|website=C-Span|access-date=February 6, 2015|date=February 12, 2013}}

Like many people throughout the world, many Saudis derive "much pleasure and pride" in their homes. Saudis enjoy decorating rooms of their homes in "all the colours of the spectrum" and display objets d'art of many different styles together. "Clashes of colour and culture are the norm, not the exception," with the value of an artefact, "rather than consistency of style" being the major criterion of display. Foreigners may also be struck by the lack of finishing touches in construction ("Electrical switches may protrude from the wall supported only by their wiring") or maintenance ("Piles of masonry are likely to lie scattered beside and on the streets of expensive suburbs").Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.141-2

{{See also|Mecca|Medina|Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia|Tourism in Saudi Arabia}}

File:Masjid Nabawi The Prophet's Mosque, Madina.jpg in Medina containing the tomb of Muhammad]]

Saudi Arabia, and specifically the Hejaz, as the cradle of Islam, has many of the most significant historic Muslim sites, including the two holiest sites of Mecca and Medina.[http://www.muhammadanism.org/Zwemer/arabia/arabia_cradle_islam.pdf Arabia: the Cradle of Islam], 1900, S.M.Zwemmer One of the King's titles is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the two mosques being Masjid al-Haram in Mecca (which contains Islam's most sacred place, the Kaaba), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, which contains Muhammad's tomb.[http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/Islam/ Saudi Embassy (US) website – Islam] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306030014/http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/Islam/ |date=March 6, 2015 }} Retrieved January 20, 2011[http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/Islam/guardian_of_the_Holy_Places.aspx Saudi Embassy (US) website – Guardian of the Holy Places] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322203338/http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/Islam/guardian_of_the_Holy_Places.aspx |date=March 22, 2015 }} Retrieved January 20, 2011

However, Saudi Wahhabism doctrine is hostile! to any reverence given to historical or religious places of significance for fear that it may give rise to 'shirk' (that is, idolatry). As a consequence, under Saudi rule, an estimated 95% of Mecca's historic buildings, most over a thousand years old, have been demolished for religious reasons.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080819040402/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-destruction-of-mecca-saudi-hardliners-are-wiping-out-their-own-heritage-501647.html 'The destruction of Mecca: Saudi hardliners are wiping out their own heritage'], The Independent, August 6, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2011 Critics claim that over the last 50 years, 300 historic sites linked to Muhammad, his family or companions have been lost,[http://www.islamicpluralism.org/764/islamic-heritage-lost-as-makkah-modernises ‘Islamic heritage lost as Makkah modernises’] Center for Islamic Pluralism leaving fewer than 20 structures remaining in Mecca that date back to the time of Muhammad.

Demolished structures include the mosque originally built by Muhammad's daughter Fatima, and other mosques founded by Abu Bakr (Muhammad's father-in-law and the first Caliph), Umar (the second Caliph), Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law and the fourth Caliph), and Salman al-Farsi (another of Muhammad's companions).[http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/saudi_destruction_of_muslim_historical_sites/ Destruction of Islamic Architectural Heritage in Saudi Arabia: A Wake-up Call], The American Muslim. Retrieved January 17, 2011 Other historic buildings that have been destroyed include the house of Khadijah, the wife of Muhammad, the house of Abu Bakr, now the site of the local Hilton hotel; the house of Ali-Oraid, the grandson of Muhammad, and the Mosque of abu-Qubais, now the location of the King's palace in Mecca.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080407052040/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/shame-of-the-house-of-saud-shadows-over-mecca-474736.html ‘Shame of the House of Saud: Shadows over Mecca’], The Independent, April 19, 2006

{{See also|Women's rights in Saudi Arabia}}

While women were forbidden to drive motor vehicles until June 24, 2018{{cite web|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-says-to-lift-driving-ban-on-women-from-june-24 |title=Saudi Arabia says to lift driving ban on women from June 24 |work=The Staits Times |date=May 8, 2018 |access-date=June 4, 2018}} and were consequently limited in mobility, they traditionally have often had considerable informal power in the home. According to journalist Judith Miller, "some Saudi women were veritable tyrants in their own homes. They decided where their children would go to school, when and whom they would marry, whether their husbands would accept new jobs, with whom the family socialized, and where the family would live and spend vacations. They promoted their friends' husbands, sons and relatives to key jobs." David Long, a former American diplomat who had taught in the kingdom, has described Saudi men as "the world's most henpecked".{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Judith|title=God Has Ninety-Nine Names: Reporting from a Militant Middle East|date=1996|publisher=Simon & Schuster|pages=108–9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tH_ThgVEoAcC&q=saudi+husbands+henpecked&pg=PA109|access-date=October 19, 2014|isbn=9781439129418}}

Outside the home, a number of Saudi women have risen to the top of some professions or otherwise achieved prominence; for example, Dr. Salwa Al-Hazzaa is head of the ophthalmology department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh and was the late King Fahad's personal ophthalmologist.{{cite web|url=http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=37847&d=11&m=1&y=2004 |title=Saudi Doctor Named Visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins University |publisher=Archive.arabnews.com |date=January 11, 2004 |access-date=April 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430045948/http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=37847&d=11&m=1&y=2004 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 }} However employment for women is limited, and urban middle and upper-class women spend much time in socializing with the extended family and close friends.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: pp.52–3 Writing in National Geographic Marrianne Alireza noted: "For city women like us the only activity besides living communally within the extended family was leaving our quarters to visit other women in their quarters."

As of 2014, child marriage is still legal{{Cite web|url=https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/07/25/159321.html|title=Saudi Arabia to set minimum marriage age following surge in such weddings|date=2011-07-25|website=العربية نت|language=ar|access-date=2019-10-15}}Saudi clerics have justified the marriage of girls as young as 9, with sanction from the judiciary. (source: {{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/17/saudi.child.marriage/ | publisher=CNN | title=Top Saudi cleric: OK for young girls to wed | date=January 17, 2009}}){{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/08/saudi-arabia-child-brides-marriage|title=Why is no one protecting Saudi Arabia's child brides?|last=al-Ahmed|first=Ali|date=November 8, 2011|work=The Guardian|access-date=April 27, 2017|issn=0261-3077}}

but no longer common,[http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/17/saudi.child.marriage/ 'Top Saudi cleric: OK for young girls to wed'] CNN, January 17, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2011{{cite web|url=http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=15361 |title=Saudi Human Rights Commission Tackles Child Marriages |access-date=September 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501045625/http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=15361 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 }} Asharq Alawsat, January 13, 2009. with the average age at first marriage among Saudi females being 25 years old.[http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-women-no-longer-confined-their-conventional-roles Saudi women no longer confined to their conventional roles] Arab News. Retrieved July 3, 2013[http://www.quandl.com/demography/age-at-first-marriage-female-all-countries Age at First Marriage, Female – All Countries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421114327/http://www.quandl.com/demography/age-at-first-marriage-female-all-countries |date=April 21, 2014 }} Quandl. Retrieved July 3, 2013{{cite web|url=http://www.women-without-borders.org/files/downloads/111104_Gulf_Analysis_Saudi_Youth.pdf |title=Saudi Youth: Unveiling the Force for Change }} However, in 2019 Members of the Saudi Shoura Council in 2019 approved fresh regulations for minor marriages that will see to outlaw marrying off 15-year-old children and force the need for court approval for those under 18. Chairman of the Human Rights Committee at the Shoura Council, Dr. Hadi Al-Yami, said that introduced controls were based on in-depth studies presented to the body. He pointed out that the regulation, vetted by the Islamic Affairs Committee at the Shoura Council, has raised the age of marriage to 18 and prohibited it for those under 15.{{Cite web|url=https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1540156/saudi-arabia-introduces-new-regulations-early-marriage|title=Saudi Arabia Introduces New Regulations on Early Marriage}} Female literacy (81%) is lower than that of males,[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saudi-arabia/ Saudi Arabia]. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.{{cite web|title=Statistics 2012|url=http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/saudiarabia_statistics.html|website=unicef.org|publisher=UNICEF|access-date=October 18, 2014}}

• Youth (15–24 years) literacy rate (%) 2008–2012*, male 99
• Youth (15–24 years) literacy rate (%) 2008–2012*, female 97. but the percentage of university graduates who are women (60%) is higher.[http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2011/10/18/higher-education-path-progress-saudi-women Higher Education: the Path to Progress for Saudi Women] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704111200/http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2011/10/18/higher-education-path-progress-saudi-women |date=July 4, 2017 }} World Policy, October 18, 2011.

While the kingdom states that the status of women is "a very noble and lofty one", according to leading Islamic scholars, women in Saudi do not have equal rights with men.{{cite web|last1=Ibn Baz|title=The Status of Women in Islaam|url=http://www.spubs.com/sps/sp.cfm?subsecID=WMN01&articleID=WMN010001&articlePages=1|website=Salafi Publications|access-date=November 14, 2014}} Outside of Saudi, foreign sources have shown that discrimination of women is a significant problem and that there is an absence of laws criminalizing violence against women.{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/nea/154472.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412164532/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/nea/154472.htm |archive-date=April 12, 2011 |title=2010 Human Rights Report: Saudi Arabia |date=April 8, 2011 |publisher=U.S. State Department |access-date=July 11, 2011}}

The World Economic Forum 2010 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 129th out of 134 countries for gender parity.{{cite book|title=The Global Gender Gap Report 2010 |last=World Economic Forum |year=2010 |isbn=978-92-95044-89-0 |page=9 |publisher=World Economic Forum |url=http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/report2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108161527/http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/report2010.pdf |archive-date=November 8, 2010 }}

File:Saudi in niqap.jpg in Riyadh. Many women commonly wear a niqab or a burqa in Saudi Arabia.]]

Under Saudi law, every adult female must have a male relative as her "guardian", whose permission she is required to have in order to travel, study, or work.{{cite book |title=Perpetual Minors: human rights abuses from male guardianship and sex segregation in Saudi Arabia |last=Human Rights Watch |year=2008 |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nFv4d6LdyFEC}} The guardian is legally entitled to make a number of critical decisions on a woman's behalf.{{cite book |title=Perpetual Minors: human rights abuses from male guardianship and sex segregation in Saudi Arabia |last=Human Rights Watch |year=2008 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nFv4d6LdyFEC}} However, as of August 2019, women above the age of 21 are allowed to hold passports and travel abroad without prior permission.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudis-plan-to-ease-travel-restrictions-on-women-11562837401|title=Saudis Plan to Ease Travel Restrictions on Women|last=Said|first=Summer|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=July 11, 2019|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-14}}{{Cite web|date=2019-08-01|title=Saudi Arabia Gives Women Travel Rights in Major Policy Shakeup|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-01/saudi-to-allow-women-to-travel-without-permission-okaz-says?srnd=markets-vp|access-date=2019-08-01|website=Bloomberg.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/02/middleeast/saudi-women-travel-passport-intl-hnk/index.html|title=Saudi Arabian women finally allowed to hold passports and travel independently|author=Jessie Yeung and Hamdi Alkhshali|website=CNN|date=August 2, 2019|access-date=2019-08-02}}

In the courts, the testimony of a woman equals half of a man's and the testimony of one man equals that of two women in family and inheritance law. Men are permitted up to four wives, but women are permitted no more than one husband.Long, p. 66 Men need no legal justification to unilaterally divorce their wives (talaq),Otto, p. 164 while a woman can only obtain a divorce with the consent of her husband or judicially if her husband has harmed her.Otto, p. 163 With regard to the law of inheritance, the Quran specifies that fixed portions of the deceased's estate must be left to the "Qu'ranic heirs"Otto, p. 165 and so daughters of the deceased will receive half of their brothers.

Saudi women's lives are also shaped by Wahhabi religious policy of strict gender segregation. In health, obesity is a problem among middle and upper class Saudi women, who have domestic servants to do traditional work and have limited ability to leave their house.{{cite journal|last1=Al-Eisa |first1=Einas S. |last2=Al-Sobayel |first2=Hana I. |title=Physical Activity and Health Beliefs among Saudi Women|journal=Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism|volume=2012 |pages=642187 |year=2012|quote=the prevalence of sedentary lifestyle-related obesity has been escalating among Saudi females|doi=10.1155/2012/642187 |pmid=22523673 |pmc=3317126 |doi-access=free }} School sports for girls is forbidden, but as of April 2014, Saudi authorities in the education ministry have been asked by the Shoura Council to consider lifting that ban (with the proviso that any sports conform to Sharia rules on dress and gender segregation, according to the official SPA news agency).

In the public sphere restaurants have specially designated family sections women are required to use. They are also required to wear an abaya and at the very least cover their hair. Women, until June 2018 were forbidden to drive (though exception prior to 2018 were usually made in rural areas).{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-driving-idUSLDE74N0ET20110524 | work=Reuters | title=Saudi should free woman driver-rights group | date=May 24, 2011| access-date=July 28, 2011 | first=Asma | last=Alsharif}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-says-to-lift-driving-ban-on-women-from-june-24|title=Saudi Arabia says to lift driving ban on women from June 24|newspaper=The Straits Times |date=May 8, 2018}} (These restrictions are usually enforced by the "religious police", known as the mutaween.{{cite book |title=Comparative Criminal Justice Systems |last=Dammer |first=Harry R. |author2=Albanese, Jay S. |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-495-80989-0 |page=106|publisher=Cengage Learning }}) Women have been promised the vote in 2015 municipal elections. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15052030 Women in Saudi Arabia to vote and run in elections] BBC News{{cite web|url=http://blog.camera.org/archives/2011/10/media_in_the_service_of_king_abdullah.html |title=CAMERA Snapshots: Media in the Service of King Abdullah |publisher=Blog.camera.org |date=October 9, 2011 |access-date=March 3, 2012}}

{{further|Youth in Saudi Arabia}}

Like many Muslim countries of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has a high population growth rate and high percentage of its population under 30 years of age. Estimates of the young population of Saudi Arabia vary:

• Caryle Murphy gives the figure of 51% of the population being under the age of 25, as of February 2012.{{cite web|last=Murphy|first=Caryle|title=Saudi Arabia's Youth and the Kingdom's Future|url=http://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2012/02/saudi-arabias-youth-and-the-kingdoms-future/|work=February 7, 2012|date=February 7, 2012 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Environmental Change and Security Program|access-date=May 13, 2014}}
• The Economist magazine estimates 60% of the Saudi population under the age of 21, as of March 2012.{{cite news|title=Out of the comfort zone|newspaper=The Economist|date=March 3, 2012|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21548973}}
• The "United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision" estimates only 28% of the population is under 14 years of age{{cite web|url=http://www.escwa.un.org/popin/members/SaudiArabia.pdf|title=The demographic profile of Saudi Arabia|page=6}} and significant change to Saudi culture is foreseen as this generation becomes older.

Factors such as the decline in per capita income from the failure of oil revenue to keep up with population growth, exposure to youth lifestyles of the outside world, lack of access to quality education and employment opportunity, change in child rearing practices and attitudes towards the ruling royal family—indicate their lives and level of satisfaction will be different than the generation before them.

In recent decades, child rearing in Saudi Arabia has increasingly been handled by hired servants.{{cite news|url=http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/596878/posts|title=What is happening to Saudi society?|newspaper=Arab News | date=December 26, 2001 |first=Raid | last=Qusti |quote="...There was once a time when we Saudis feared God and understood that we would be held accountable by God on the Day of Judgment for our children's upbringing – after all, they are our responsibility. Now it seems, maids are bringing up our children. How much respect do they receive? Fathers used to set an example to their children and mothers used to be a source of inspiration..."}}

Since foreign labour is cheap and common, even families of modest means usually have servants.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.123 In richer families, each child may have an individual servant.{{cite book

|last=Tripp

|first=Harvey

|title=Culture Shock, Saudi Arabia

|date=2003

|publisher=Times Media Private Limited

|location=Singapore; Portland, Oregon

|pages=87

|quote=...Saudi children tend to be indulged with not too much discipline within the home. Foreign labour is cheap. Even moderately wealthy families may have an Indonesian or Filipina housemaid. In richer families, each child may have their own allocated servant.}}

However, unlike parents, servants can be fired/sacked and are often neither Muslims nor Arabs. Consequently, according to John R. Bradley, they both "lack the authority... to discipline those in their care", and the ability and knowledge to "pass down by example the core Islamic values and traditions that have always formed the bedrock of Saudi society."

>{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=John R.|title=Saudi Arabia Exposed : Inside a Kingdom in Crisis|url=https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad|url-access=registration|date=2005|publisher=Palgrave

|quote=...Their numbers mushroomed during the oil-boom years, and their influence has led to a distancing of parents and children, since the servants were expected to act as surrogate parents. Most of the domestic servants were non-Muslims and non-Arabs, meaning the results have been doubly negative: They lack the authority – and presumably ... the inclination – to discipline those in their care, while being unable to pass down by example the core Islamic values and traditions that have always formed the bedrock of Saudi society...|page=[https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad/page/92 92]|isbn=9781403964335}}{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=John R.|title=Saudi Arabia Exposed : Inside a Kingdom in Crisis|url=https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad|url-access=registration|date=2005 |publisher=Palgrave

|quote=...Saudi teenagers ... are increasingly not being handed down core Islamic values to begin with during their formative years by their appointed role models.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saudiarabiaexpos00brad/page/94 94–95]|isbn=9781403964335}}

Unlike their parents, who grew up during the oil boom of the 1970s and saw their standard of living rise from poverty to affluence, Saudis born "in the 1980s and 1990s have no memory of the impoverished Arabia prior to the oil boom and thus express almost no sense of appreciation."

Instead, they have experienced a kingdom of poor schools, overcrowded universities, and declining job opportunities.. Moreover, their royal rulers' profligate and often non-Islamic lifestyles are increasingly transparent to Saudis and stand in sharp contrast both to Al Saud religious pretensions and to their own declining living standards."{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=114}}

Saudi youth are exposed to youth lifestyles of the outside world via the internet, as dating, and concerts are banned in their country. However, in 2017 concerts were no longer banned in Saudi Arabia.{{Cite web|url=https://emirateswoman.com/saudi-arabia-has-hosted-its-first-ever-concert-headlined-by-a-woman/|title=Saudi Arabia has hosted its first-ever concert headlined by a woman|date=2017-12-10|website=Emirates Woman|language=en|access-date=2019-11-04}} Public fields for soccer are scarce. Even shopping malls do not allow young men unless they are accompanied by a female relative.{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=103}}

As of 2014, men are no longer required to have a female relative to be able to enter shopping malls.{{Cite web|url=http://www.alriyadh.com/1008285|title=إمارة الرياض توجه بتطبيق قرار السماح للعزاب بدخول المجمعات التجارية|website=جريدة الرياض|language=ar|access-date=2019-11-04}} Insofar as young people have a tendency to "resent authority, reject rules, and seek to exert their independence," youth rebellion is more problematic because the number of "restrictions and conventions against which youth can rebel" in the kingdom is far larger than in most societies.{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=105}} The average age of the king and crown prince is 74,{{Birth date and age|1935|8|1}} and {{Birth date and age|1945|12|31}} while 50–60% of Saudis are under twenty, creating a significant generation gap between rulers and ruled.{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=221}}

In a 2011 survey, 31% of Saudi youth agreed with the statement `traditional values are outdated and ... I am keen to embrace modern values and beliefs`—the highest percentage in the ten Arab countries surveyed.{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=266}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabyouthsurvey.com/|title=ASDA'A BCW Arab Youth Survey Middle East|website=www.arabyouthsurvey.com|access-date=2019-10-15}}By 2014 the percentage was no longer the highest of Arab countries surveyed, but had grown to 45% [http://arabyouthsurvey.com/wp-content/themes/arabyouth-english/downloads/AYS-Whitepaper-en.pdf ASDA'A Burston-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2014] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201090644/http://arabyouthsurvey.com/wp-content/themes/arabyouth-english/downloads/AYS-Whitepaper-en.pdf |date=February 1, 2015 }}, p.9

The number who had confidence about the direction of their country dropped from 98% (in 2010) to 62%.{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=222}}

While in most societies these numbers might seem unremarkable, in Saudi Arabia any rebellion stands out against "the unquestioning acceptance ... of previous generations".

Nearly two-thirds of university graduates earn degrees in Islamic subjects,{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott |title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

|publisher=Knopf |year=2012 |page=111}}

where job prospects are in the public sector, dependent on government revenues. However, funding for public sector may decline not expand in coming years. At least some experts expect the kingdom's expenditures to "exceed its oil revenues as soon as 2014."{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=159

|quote=... declining oil for export and rising domestic spending to maintain political stability means the kingdom's expenditures will exceed its oil revenues as soon as 2014, say experts at Jadwa Investment, a large financial institution in Riyadh. `By 2030, foreign assets will be drawn down to minimal levels and debt will be rising rapidly,` these experts predict, unless the kingdom takes decisive steps to reverse the trend of domestic consumption and spending, which are outpacing oil production for export.}}

Unemployment among 20- to 24-year-olds is 39% – 45% for women and 30.3% for men—compared to an official unemployment rate of 10% circa 2012.{{cite book

|author=House, Karen Elliott

|title=On Saudi Arabia : Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future

| publisher=Knopf

|year=2012

|page=141}}

{{further|Tafheet}}

The sport of Tafheet also called "drifting" or joyriding—illegal street racing-like phenomenon of generally non-modified factory-setup rental cars at very high speeds, around {{cvt|160|–|260|km/h|round=5}}, across wide highways throwing the car left and right that is especially popular in the margins of society—has been noted by observers.{{cite book|last1=Menoret|first1=Pascal|title=Joyriding in Riyadh: Oil, Urbanism, and Road Revolt|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XgJeAwAAQBAJ&q=Joyriding+in+Riyadh%3A+Oil%2C+Urbanism%2C+and+Road+Revolt|access-date=April 26, 2017|isbn=9781139916486}} A 2004 school survey carried out in the kingdom's three biggest cities found that 45% of teenage boys were involved to some degree in joyriding.{{cite news|title=Fast and furious|newspaper=The Economist|date=May 31, 2014|url=https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21602986-motors-and-mayhem-saudi-arabia-fast-and-furious|access-date=April 26, 2017}}

The sport has been described as "tyre-burning acrobatics often in stolen or 'borrowed' cars before a flash-mob of youthful admirers." As a dangerous, illegal, and unregulated activity, crashes and fatalities sometimes occur.

{{further|Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia|Saudization}}

File:Al Masjid Nabavi Madina pakistani labor - panoramio.jpg workers at Al Masjid Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque) in Medina]]

Since the 1960s there has been a significant number of guest workers/foreign expatriates allowed into Saudi on work visas, and these now make up around 20–30% of the population of the country. Guest workers range in occupation from high skilled workers (employed to do jobs Saudis cannot do), to manual service workers (doing jobs Saudis "will not do").Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: p.34 A number of sources describe a "pecking order" among workers established by factors such as the importance of your employer, and country of origin. One source places workers from Gulf oil producing countries at the top,Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p.83 another places Americans there,{{cite book|last1=Husain|first1=Ed|title=The Islamist: Why I Became an Islamic Fundamentalist, what I Saw Inside, and ...|date=2007|publisher=Penguin|location=London|page=238|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eoBP10xBDIC&q=saudi+foreign+pecking+order&pg=PA238|access-date=February 3, 2015|isbn=9780143115984}} but all agree that Nationals from places like Bangladesh, Yemen and Philippines are at the bottom. While foreign workers from Western countries are now a small minority, numbering only approximately 100,000,{{cite book |title=The History of Saudi Arabia |last=Bowen |first=Wayne H. |year=2007 |isbn=978-0313340123 |page=6|publisher=Greenwood Press }} most of whom live in compounds or gated communities.

With a large number of unemployed Saudis, a growing population and need for government spending but stagnating oil revenues with which to pay foreign workers, the large number of expats has come to be seen as "an enormous problem" that "distorts" the Saudi economy and "keeps young people out of the labor market."

In October 2011, the Saudi Labour Ministry put a "ceiling" on the number of guest workers at 20% of the Saudi population, requiring a reduction of foreign population by up to three million over several years.{{cite news|title=Up to 3m expats could lose jobs in Saudi Arabia|url=http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-14434-up-to-3m-expats-could-lose-jobs-in-saudi-arabia/|access-date=November 25, 2014|publisher=construction week online|date=October 25, 2011}}

In March 2013, a campaign was initiated to "get rid of its illegal foreign workers, control the legal ones", and lower native-born Saudi unemployment.{{cite news|last1=Black|first1=Ian|title=Saudi Arabia's foreign labour crackdown drives out 2m migrants|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/29/saudi-arabia-foreign-labour-crackdown-migrants|access-date=November 25, 2014|work=The Guardian|date=November 29, 2013}} Approximately one million Bangladeshis, Indians, Filipinos, Nepalis, Pakistanis and Yemenis left between the campaign's beginning and the deadline (November 4, 2013), with authorities planning to expel another one million illegal foreigners in 2014. Ethiopians were a particular target of the campaign, with thousands expelled. Various human rights entities have criticised Saudi Arabia's handling of the issue.{{cite web|url=https://www.persecutionofahmadis.org/saudi-arabia-amnesty-international-calls-for-end-to-arrests-and-expulsions/ |title=Saudi Arabia: Amnesty International calls for end to arrests and expulsions " Persecution of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community |publisher=Persecutionofahmadis.org |access-date=April 4, 2014}} Prior to this workers were sometimes not hired or expelled as a way of registering Saudi disapproval of the workers' country. Saudi Arabia expelled 800,000 Yemenis in 1990 and 1991 during the Gulf War due to Yemen's support for Saddam Hussein against Saudi Arabia,"[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/01/yemen-guantanamo-al-qaida Yemen's point of no return]". The Guardian. April 1, 2009. and cut the number of Bangladeshis allowed to enter Saudi in 2013 after the Bangladeshi government cracked down on the Islamist Jamaat-e Islami party there.{{cite news|title=Revenge of the migrants' employer?|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/03/bangladesh-and-saudi-arabia|access-date=November 25, 2014|newspaper=The Economist|date=March 26, 2013|quote=Since 2009 Bangladesh has been sending to Saudi Arabia an average of only 14,500 people... That decline, ... will be worth about $200m a year in remittances alone. ... Bangladesh appears somehow to have fallen out of favour as a source of labour with the Saudis. ... Saudi Arabia silently disapproves of the imminent hangings of the leadership of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the religious party that serves as a standard-bearer for its strand of Islam in Bangladesh.}}

File:SERENATA December Performance.JPG, a Filipino children's choir in Jeddah]]

The Saudi–Yemen barrier was constructed by Saudi Arabia against an influx of illegal immigrants and against the smuggling of drugs and weapons.al-Kibsi, Mohammed. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080120230115/http://www.yobserver.com/front-page/10013538.html Saudi authorities erect barriers on Yemeni border]}}, Yemen Observer, January 12, 2008 {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

A 2004 law passed by Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers, entitles MuslimThe Articles 12.4 and 14.1 of the Executive Regulation of Saudi Citizenship System can be interpreted as requiring applicants to be Muslim. (source: {{cite web|url=http://www.moi.gov.sa/wps/wcm/connect/121c03004d4bb7c98e2cdfbed7ca8368/EN_saudi_nationality_system.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=121c03004d4bb7c98e2cdfbed7ca8368 |title=1954 Saudi Arabian Citizenship System |access-date=April 28, 2011}}) expatriates of all nationalities (except Palestinian) who have resided in the kingdom for ten years to apply for citizenship with priority being given to holders of degrees in various scientific fields.{{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=58980&d=14&m=2&y=2005 |title=Expatriates Can Apply for Saudi Citizenship in Two-to-Three Months |publisher=Arabnews.com |date=February 14, 2005 |access-date =May 1, 2010}} (The estimated 240,000 Palestinians living in Saudi Arabia are excluded, because of Arab League agreement instructions barring the Arab states from granting them citizenship of another Arab state.)

Treatment of foreign workers is also an issue. According to Human Rights Watch, as of 2014, there was a "worrying trend" of expatriate domestic workers filing "complaints of exploitation and abuse" only to face counter-allegations by their employers of "theft, witchcraft or adultery." 41 expat workers from just one country, Indonesia, faced "possible death sentences" in Saudi Arabia on charges "ranging from black magic to stealing, adultery and murder".{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Sophie|title=Saudi Arabia pledges to protect foreign workers, as Indonesian maids face execution|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/world/meast/saudi-arabia-indonesia-domestic-worker-agreement/|access-date=November 25, 2014|publisher=CNN|date=February 21, 2014}}

In 2014 Saudi men were banned from marrying women from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar and Chad.{{cite news|title=Four countries added to Saudi men's 'no marriage' list|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11305164|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141125170510/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11305164|archive-date=November 25, 2014|access-date=October 19, 2014|agency=Agence France-Presse|work=The New Zealand Herald|date=August 7, 2014}}

{{further|Slavery in Saudi Arabia}}

The history of slavery in the Arabian Peninsula goes back hundreds of years, but with time the racism of slavery in the Arabian Peninsula disappeared. Slavery was banned in 1962 and was succeeded by the kafala system.

Today, Saudis follow many of their traditional habits, especially in food and drinks. As many Saudis are originally descended from tribes of sheep and goat herders, many Saudi dishes are mainly made of sheep meat.{{Cite web|url=http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Saudi-Arabia.html|title=Food in Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabian Food, Saudi Arabian Cuisine – traditional, popular, dishes, recipe, diet, history, meals, staple, rice|website=www.foodbycountry.com|access-date=2019-03-14}}

Saudi Arabian cuisine is similar to that of the surrounding countries in the Arabian Peninsula and has been heavily influenced by Turkish, Persian, and African food. Animals are slaughtered in accordance with halal Islamic dietary laws, which consider pork forbidden (haram) and alcohol forbidden (haram). As a general rule, Saudis (like other Muslims) consider impure pork to be disgusting, but forbidden alcohol a temptation. Consequently, dietary laws regarding the former are more strictly observed than those regarding the latter.Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: p.47

People of Saudi Arabia are restricted by the religious norms related to food and drink. Thus, alcohol is prohibited in Islam and, accordingly, it is prevented in the country.{{Cite web|url=http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Saudi-Arabia.html|title=Food in Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabian Food, Saudi Arabian Cuisine – traditional, popular, dishes, recipe, diet, history, meals, staple, rice|website=www.foodbycountry.com|access-date=2019-06-18}} Furthermore, pork is also prohibited and Saudis do not eat it. Nevertheless, cows, sheep, chicken and other types of animals can't be eaten unless they are slaughtered according to the Islamic law.{{Cite web|url=https://www.justlanded.com/english/Saudi-Arabia/Saudi-Arabia-Guide/Travel-Leisure/Saudi-Arabian-food|title=Saudi Arabian food|website=www.justlanded.com|access-date=2019-06-18}}

{{main|Saudi Arabian cuisine}}

A dish consisting of a stuffed lamb, known as khūzī, is the traditional national dish. Kebabs are popular, as is shāwarmā, a marinated grilled meat dish of lamb, mutton, or chicken, sometimes wrapped in flat bread. As in other Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula, machbūs (kabsa), a rice dish with fish or shrimp, is popular. Flat, unleavened bread is a staple of virtually every meal, as are dates and fresh fruit. Coffee, served in the Arabic style, is the traditional beverage.

The appearance of modern supermarkets and commercial restaurants starting in the 1970s has changed Saudi culinary habits. International cuisine, particularly fast food, has become popular in all Saudi urban areas (i.e. in 80% of the country).Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: p.54

While traditionally Saudis ate sitting on the floor using the right hand or flat bread to take food from a roasted lamb, goat or camel carcass,Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: pp.142–3 the practice of eating while sitting on a chair at a table has become more standard practice, if not the use of knives and forks.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: pp.143

;Table manners

Coffee is often served "with great ceremony", and it is customary for a person to drink two or three cups to indicate their approval of the coffee. Cups are refilled unless a gesture—shaking the cup—is made to indicate the coffee-drinker has had enough.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: pp.145 It is considered good manners for a guest to eat heartily.

Saudi Arabia is a deserted country where many oases can be found. Accordingly, over 18 million date palms are planted in the country and 600 million pounds of dates are produced every year. Thus, dates are considered one of the main and permanent fruits in Saudi Arabia, particularly in Ramadan when dates are eaten in sunset by fasters to break their fast. Additionally, dates are eaten as a snack and many Saudi desserts are made of dates.{{Cite web|url=http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Saudi-Arabia.html|title=Food in Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabian Food, Saudi Arabian Cuisine – traditional, popular, dishes, recipe, diet, history, meals, staple, rice|website=www.foodbycountry.com|access-date=2019-07-25}} Besides dates, numerous kinds of foodstuffs are planted in Saudi Arabia, including wheat, rice, beans, watermelon and others. Animals, such as goats, sheep, cows and camels are also nurtured in the country.{{Cite web|url=http://www.safaritheglobe.com/saudi-arabia/culture/food-drinks/|title=Food, Dining, & Drinks in Saudi Arabia|website=www.safaritheglobe.com|access-date=2019-07-25}}

{{main|Media of Saudi Arabia}}

Educated Saudis are well-informed of issues of the Arab world, the Islamic world, and the world at large, but freedom of the press and public expression of opinion are not recognized by the government. The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia states that the media's role is to educate and inspire national unity, and are prohibited from acts that lead "to disorder and division".{{cite web |title=THE BASIC LAW OF GOVERNANCE |url=http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/laws/The_Basic_Law_Of_Governance.aspx |website=Saudi Embassy |access-date=February 23, 2015 |quote=Article 39 Media ... shall employ civil and polite language, contribute towards the education of the nation and strengthen unity. It is prohibited to commit acts leading to disorder and division, ... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323165604/http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/laws/The_Basic_Law_Of_Governance.aspx |archive-date=March 23, 2014 }} News stories, public speeches and other acts of personal expression cannot conflict with traditional Islamic values, or dissent from government policy, insult government officials, especially the royal family, and cannot delve too deeply into certain sensitive and taboo subject matters that might embarrass the government or spread dissent, i.e. the role of women in Saudi society, the treatment of Shiite Muslims, damage caused by natural disasters, or social problems such as the AIDS-HIV pandemic and human trafficking.

Most Saudi Arabian newspapers are privately-owned but subsidized and regulated by the government.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/791936.stm#media BBC article]

As of 2013, BBC News reported that criticism of the government and royal family and the questioning of Islamic tenets "are not generally tolerated. Self-censorship is pervasive."{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia profile|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703480|work=BBC News|access-date=August 12, 2014|date=August 22, 2013}} As of 2014, Freedom House{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia#.U-qUE6MrH4U|website=Freedom House}} rates the kingdom's press and internet "Not Free".

Labor unions and political parties are prohibited in the kingdom, although a few underground political parties do exist. The government has created a national "Consultative Council" (which is appointed not elected, and does not pass laws), and has given permission for certain "societies" to exist (though they have little ability to influence government policy).[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525348/Saudi-Arabia/45221/Cultural-life Saudi Arabia. Cultural life. britannica.com]

Informal public discussion of public policy is not actively encouraged, although it is not expressly illegal per se, unless it is deemed to be promoting immorality, dissent or disloyalty. Limited non-partisan municipal elections were held in 2005.

{{Main|Sport in Saudi Arabia}}

File:Saudi fans in Russia.jpg at the FIFA World Cup]]

The most popular sport in Saudi Arabia is Association football (soccer) in both in participation and viewing.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} It is governed by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation that was founded in 1956.

There are 60 football clubs participating in three main professional football league levels; the Saudi Professional League involving 16 football clubs, Saudi First Division League with 20 clubs and Second Division with 24 clubs. The demotics competitions also include some cups such as King club, Crown Prince Cup and Saudi Super Cup.{{Cite web|url=http://www.saff.com.sa/en/|title=Saudi Arabia Football Federation|website=www.saff.com.sa|access-date=2019-03-12}}

The Saudi Arabia national football team has qualified five times for FIFA World Cup competitions, in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, and most recently, in 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://www.saff.com.sa/en/teams/saudi-arabia|title=Saudi Football Federation: The Saudi Arabia national football team|website=www.saff.com.sa|access-date=2019-03-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617112716/http://www.saff.com.sa/en/teams/saudi-arabia|archive-date=June 17, 2018}} Moreover, it qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 10 times and had won three of them.{{Cite web|url=http://www.saff.com.sa/en/about-us|title=Saudi Arabia Football Federation – History|website=www.saff.com.sa|access-date=2019-03-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218163004/http://www.saff.com.sa/en/about-us|archive-date=December 18, 2018}}

Recently, some Saudi players have become skilled enough to play in Europe. The players were sent to Spain to play in the La Liga aiming to improve their skills better.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveprice/2018/01/22/saudi-arabia-loans-soccer-players-to-la-liga-to-boost-world-cup-2018-chances/|title=Saudi Arabia Loans Soccer Players To La Liga To Boost World Cup 2018 Chances|last=Price|first=Steve|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}

Basketball is also popular. The Saudi Arabia national team won the bronze medal at the 1999 Asian Championship.

Horse racing is also another diversion in Saudi Arabia which has a historical and cultural legacy where Friday afternoon is the traditional time of horse racing in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-horse-racing-saudi-idUSKBN1FR0Q7|title=New Saudi horse racing championship to have $17 million in prizes|date=2018-02-07|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-03-12|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/horse-racing-in-saudi-arabia-a-passion-that-parades-at-the-city-track-1.176011|title=Horse racing in Saudi Arabia, a passion that parades at the city track|website=The National|date=December 12, 2016 |language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}} The establishment of the Equestrian Club of Riyadh in 1965 was a result of the importance of horse racing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.frusiya.com/pages/content.php?id=2|title=the Equestrian Club of Riyadh|website=www.frusiya.com|access-date=2019-03-12}} Moreover, now Saudis are the dominant player in some international horse racing such as Royal Ascot to Longchamp and Melbourne.

File:King Abdullah in his youth.jpg practicing falconry, a traditional pursuit in Saudi Arabia]]

Falconry is another sport with long traditions rooted in Bedouin culture.Peter North; Harvey Tripp (15 November 2009). CultureShock! Saudi Arabia: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. {{ISBN|978-981-4435-27-7}}. It mainly consists of raising falcons, training them and using them for hunting.{{Cite web|url=https://kawa-news.com/en/falconry-is-about-sport-and-tradition-in-saudi-arabia/|title=Falconry is about Sport and Tradition in Saudi Arabia|date=2019-01-23|website=KAWA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-12}} Despite the inscription of Falconry by the UNESCO as a living human heritage,{{Cite web|url=http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/547438/SAUDI-ARABIA/Riyadh-to-host-first-ever-Saudi-falconry-exhibition|title=Riyadh to host first ever Saudi falconry exhibition|date=2018-11-07|website=Saudigazette|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}{{Cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists|title=UNESCO – Falconry, a living human heritage|website=ich.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}} it is also emerging as a sport.

Camel racing is a uniquely Arabian sport practiced in the kingdom (and the UAE) that still has some mass popularity. There are camel racetracks in most of the kingdom's major centres, and races for prize money on many weekends throughout the winter months. Like racehorses, camels with breeding pedigrees may be very valuable.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2012: pp. 180–181

{{Main|Women's sport in Saudi Arabia}}

In 2012, Saudi Arabia included women in its Olympic team for the first time. Two female athletes—a runner and judoka—participated. The inclusion followed international criticism for years of exclusion,{{cite web|title=IOC/Saudi Arabia: End Ban on Women in Sport|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/15/iocsaudi-arabia-end-ban-women-sport|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=February 15, 2012}} but was controversial in the kingdom, and "prompted some to abuse the morals" of the athletes on social media.{{cite web|last1=McDowall|first1=Angus|title=Saudi authorities asked to allow school sport for girls: agency|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-sports-girls-idUSBREA380SF20140409|work=Reuters|access-date=October 22, 2014|date=April 9, 2014|quote=In 2012 Saudi Arabia included women in its Olympic team for the first time, a move that won support from many of its citizens but also prompted some to abuse the morals of the two female athletes, a runner and judoka, on social media.}}

As of April 2014, Saudi authorities in the education ministry have been asked by the Shoura Council to consider lifting a state school ban on sports for girls with the proviso that any sports conform to Sharia rules on dress and gender segregation, according to the official SPA news agency.

Women participation have then increased as four athletes were sent to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. They were two runner Sarah Attar, and Cariman Abu al-Jadail joined by judo athlete Wujud Fahmi and fencing competitor Lubna al-Omair.{{Cite web|url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20813494/two-female-runners-to-compete-in-the-olympics-for-saudi-arabia/|title=Two Female Runners to Compete in the Olympics for Saudi Arabia|last=Hamilton|first=Michelle|date=2016-08-02|website=Runner's World|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-12}}

In 2018, more than 1300 girls participated in a 3 km marathon, al-Ahsa Runs, for the first time in the country.{{Cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2018/03/03/PICTURES-First-marathon-for-women-in-Saudi-Arabia.html|title=PICTURES: 'Al-Ahsa Runs,' first marathon for women in Saudi Arabia|website=english.alarabiya.net|date=March 3, 2018|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}

{{main|Saudi Arabian art}}

Visual arts tend to be dominated by geometric, floral, and abstract designs and by calligraphy. Sunni Islam traditionally prohibits creating representations of people. With the advent of oil wealth in the 20th century came exposure to outside influences, such as Western housing styles, furnishings, and clothes.{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia – entertainment-the-arts-sport-and-cuisine|url=http://www.country-stats.com/en/countries/asia/saudi-arabia/10602-saudi-arabia-entertainment-the-arts-sport-and-cuisine.html|website=Country Stats.|access-date=February 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224052436/http://www.country-stats.com/en/countries/asia/saudi-arabia/10602-saudi-arabia-entertainment-the-arts-sport-and-cuisine.html|archive-date=February 24, 2015}}

Calligraphy is the art of forming arranging beautiful letters and symbols, and it is among the dominant art forms in Saudi Arabia. This art has been emerging in different themes such as metalwork, ceramics, glass textiles, painting, and sculpture.{{Cite web|url=https://www.saudiembassy.net/culture-art/|title=Culture & Art {{!}} The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia|website=www.saudiembassy.net|access-date=2019-02-12}}

Apart from the dominant art forms, there were some portrait paintings and sculptures produced by some artists in the 1960s like Artist Dia Aziz Dia from Jeddah.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31599674|title=Saudi Arabia showcases modern art|date=2015-03-03|access-date=2019-03-12|language=en-GB}}

File:Al-Qatt Al-Asiri Wall Art.jpg

Al-Qatt Al-Asiri is another essential art form represents the identity of the Asir region. It is the art of interior wall decoration usually carried out by women. The base of this art is white gypsum with colorful patterns of geometric shapes and symbol painted on it.{{Cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists|title=UNESCO – Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, female traditional interior wall decoration in Asir, Saudi Arabia|website=ich.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}} This art form is now inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The ten-day-long Jenadriyah National Festival celebrates the founding of the kingdom and showcases Saudi culture and heritage, traditional crafts such as pottery and woodcutting, folk dance and traditional songs.Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: pp.176

{{main|Music of Saudi Arabia}}

Music and dance have always been part of Saudi life. Bedouin poetry, known as nabaṭī, is still very popular.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525348/Saudi-Arabia |title=Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Saudi Arabia|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=April 28, 2011}}

Traditional music is generally associated with poetry and is sung collectively. Instruments include the rabābah, an instrument not unlike a three-string fiddle, and various types of percussion instruments, such as the ṭabl (drum) and the ṭār (tambourine).

Al-sihba folk music has its origins in al-Andalus. In Mecca, Medina and Jeddah, dance and song incorporate the sound of the mizmar, an oboe-like woodwind instrument, in the performance of the mizmar dance. The drum is also an important instrument according to traditional and tribal customs. Samri is a popular traditional form of music and dance in which poetry is sung.

Of the native dances, the most popular is a martial line dance known as the Al Ardha, which includes lines of men, frequently armed with swords or rifles, dancing to the beat of drums and tambourines. As one non-Saudi described it, the performance consists of: "barefooted males clad in their normal street clothes of thobe and gutra jumping up and down mostly in one spot while wielding swords".Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: pp.160

Dahha is another popular dance in Northern Saudi performed by one line of men or two lines facing each other while a man in between sings a poem which can be a satirical, eulogy or a descriptive poem.^ Lisa Urkevich (17 December 2014). Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Routledge. pp. 22–. {{ISBN|978-1-135-62816-1}}.

{{See also|List of Saudi Arabian writers}}

Bedouin poetry is a cultural tradition in Saudi Arabia. According to Sandra Mackey, author of The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom, "the role that formal poetry, prose, and oratory play in Saudi culture is totally alien to Western culture."Mackey, p. 180. Mackey explained that the Bedouin poet was the origin of Saudi society's traditionally strong attachment to the concept of language. She said that poetry "can arise in the most curious of situations" due to the role of poetry in Saudi culture.

The literary renaissance began during the first quarter of the 20th century where the literary genre of poetry was improved in language and number of poets. The pioneer poets during that era include Mohammed Faqi (1914-2004), Tahir Zamakhshri (1914-1987), and Hasan Alqurashi (1926-2004).Mansur Ibrahim Hazimi; Izzat Khattab (27 July 2006). Beyond The Dunes: An Anthology of Modern Saudi Literature. I.B.Tauris. p. 15. {{ISBN|978-1-85043-972-1}}.

Novel writing is another literary genre in Saudi literature where the first Saudi novel was The Twins (1930) by Abdul Alquddus Alansari.Sebastian Maisel; John A. Shoup (2009). Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab States Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Arab States. Greenwood Press. pp. 267–. {{ISBN|978-0-313-34442-8}}. In the modern era of Saudi novel, some novel writer becomes popular like Turki Alhamad, Abdu Khal Raja Alim.

Theatre in Saudi Arabia back to 1928 where their origins were schools. The earliest attempts were in Qassim and Makkah, and subsequently, universities contributed to the theatre activities.{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1285931/saudi-arabia|title=Reforms raise the curtain on Saudi Arabia's theater revival|date=2018-04-16|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}

Contemporary Saudi novelists and artists include:

• Abdul Rahman Munif (many of his books were banned and his citizenship revokedMunif biography in Peter Theroux's translation – {{Cite book | author=Abdelrahman Munif | others=Translated by Peter Theroux | title=Cities of Salt | year=1987 | publisher=Vinatage International | location=New York | isbn=0-394-75526-X | pages=629}})
• Turki al-Hamad
• Raja'a Alem
• Rajaa Al Sanie, author of best-selling novel Girls of Riyadh
• Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi
• Haifaa al-Mansour

{{see also|Cinema of Saudi Arabia|Theatre in Saudi Arabia}}

File:Riyadh Front, 2023.jpg movie theater (center) at Riyadh Front in 2023]]

During the 1970s, cinemas were numerous in the kingdom although they were seen as contrary to tribal norms.[http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/01/05/return-of-cinema-in-saudi-arabia-provokes-critics/3473/ World Focus] January 5, 2009 All cinemas and theaters were closed in 1980 as a political response to the Islamic revival and the increase in Islamist activism, most particularly the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. As of 2018, cinemas opened in multiple cities including Riyadh and Jeddah.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 should bring cinemas back to the country in early 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42308121|title=Saudi Arabia to allow cinemas from 2018|date=2017-12-11|access-date=2019-10-15|language=en-GB}}Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: pp.176 {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/887469965 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/887469594 cite #198 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. User:GreenC bot/Job 18}} The establishment of the General Authority for Entertainment in 2016 has pushed for entertainment options of the including cinemas, public concerts, international conferences, competitions, singing show and other cultural activities.{{Cite web|url=http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/557564/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudis-expats-welcome-calendar-full-of-entertainment-activities|title=Saudis, expats welcome calendar-full of entertainment activities|date=2019-01-23|website=Saudigazette|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/middleeast/saudi-arabia-just-took-another-big-step-to-promote-cultural-activities/ar-AAy8uls|title=Saudi Arabia just took another big step to promote cultural activities|website=www.msn.com|access-date=2019-03-12}}

{{Portal|Saudi Arabia}}

• Arab culture
• Architecture of Saudi Arabia
• Asian culture
• Middle Eastern culture
• West Asian culture

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book

|last1=Long

|first1=David E.

|title=Culture and Customs of Saudi Arabia

|date=2005

|publisher=Greenwood Press

|location=Westport, CT

|isbn=0313320217

|ref=DEL2005

|url-access=registration

|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00long

}}

• {{cite book

|title=Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present

|last=Otto

|first=Jan Michiel

|year=2010

|isbn=978-90-8728-057-4

|ref=JMO2010}}

• {{cite book

|last1=Tripp

|first1=Harvey

|last2=North

|first2=Peter

|title=Culture Shock, Saudi Arabia. A Guide to Customs and Etiquette

|date=2003

|publisher=Times Media Private Limited

|location=Singapore; Portland, Oregon

|ref=HT2003}}

• {{cite book|title=CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Saudi Arabia|last1=Tripp

|first1=Harvey

|last2=North

|first2=Peter

|edition=3rd|date=2009|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|url=https://archive.org/stream/CultureShockSaudiArabia/Culture%20Shock!%20Saudi%20Arabia_djvu.txt|ref=HT2009}}

• {{cite book|title=CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Saudi Arabia|last1=Tripp

|first1=Harvey

|last2=North

|first2=Peter

|edition=4th|date=2012|publisher=Marshall Cavendish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRWJAAAAQBAJ&q=+impoverished+nomadic+country+|ref=HT2012|isbn=9789814435277

}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101123103422/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148843.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2010]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111107025636/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1012.html Consular Information Sheet]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070203235532/http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/arabia/index.html Saudi Arabia a cultural profile]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRaEPSORi_w Fashion show women's heritage Arabia]
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/opinion/sunday/saudi-women-break-a-barrier-the-right-to-sell-lingerie.html Saudi Women Shatter the Lingerie Ceiling]

{{Saudi Arabia topics}}

{{Culture of Asia}}

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