Provinces of Saudi Arabia

The provinces of Saudi Arabia, also known as regions (Arabic: مناطق المملكة العربية السعودية, romanized: Manāṭiq al-Mamlakat il-'Arabiyyat il-Sa'udiyyah), are the 13 first-level administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.^[1][2][3]

Provinces of Saudi Arabia مناطق المملكة العربية السعودية
Tabuk Bahah —– Jawf Madinah Makkah Jizan Ha'il Northern Borders Asir Qasim Riyadh Najran Eastern Province
Category	Provinces within a unitary state
Location	Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Number	13
Populations	373,577 (Northern Borders Province) – 8,591,748 (Riyadh Province)
Areas	9,920 km2 (3,831 sq mi) (Al-Bahah Province) – 672,520 km2 (259,662 sq mi) (Eastern Province)
Government	Provincial government, national government
Subdivisions	Governorates

History

Prior to the unification of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the Arabian Peninsula was composed of several distinct regions, many of which had been part of the Ottoman Empire, such as the Hejaz Vilayet and the Lahsa Eyalet. After unification, these historical regions — including Hejaz, Najd, Asir, and Al-Hasa — formed the basis for the kingdom’s evolving administrative divisions, which were later reorganized into modern provinces.^[1]

King Fahd issued Royal Order A/92 on March 2, 1992, known as Law of the Provinces,^[4] which provided for the division of the kingdom into 13 provinces. Subsequently, the five previous provinces were divided into thirteen regions, called provinces (manātiq), each governed by administrative bodies called the emirates of the provinces (imārāt al-manātiq). The provinces form the first-level administrative division of the Organization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are further divided into 136 governorates (muḥāfaẓāt), which are the second-level division,^[3] which are further subdivided into 1,347 municipal-level units (marakiz), and further subdivided into villages (qura) and neighborhoods (ahya).

Government

Each province is governed by an Emir (provincial governor), who is assisted by the deputy emir, called nā'ib. The persons holding these positions are appointed by the King of Saudi Arabia. The emir is given the rank of minister, while the deputy emir is given the rank of excellence.^[3]

List

Provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Province	Historical region	Capital (central city)	Governorates	Marakiz	Population (2022 census)[5]	Area (km2)	Density (per km2)
Asir Province	South Arabia	Abha	6 [11] (17)	101	2,024,285	76,693	26.40
Al-Baha Province	Hejaz	Al-Baha	4 [5] (9)	35	339,174	9,921	34.20
Al-Jouf Province	Southern Badiyat al-Sham	Sakākā	2 [1] (3)	33	595,822	100,212	5.95
Al-Qassim Province	Najd	Buraidah	5 [7] (12)	153	1,336,179	58,046	23.01
Eastern Province	Eastern Arabia (Bahrain)	Dammam	7 [5] (12)	107	5,125,254	672,522	7.62
Ḥa'il Province	Najd	Ḥaʼil	1 [7] (8)	84	746,406	103,887	7.19
Jazan Province	South Arabia	Jizan	5 [11] (16)	31	1,404,997	11,671	120.43
Mecca Province	Hejaz	Mecca	9 [7] (16)	111	7,769,994	153,128	50.76
Medina Province	Hejaz	Medina	4 [4] (8)	90	2,389,452	151,990	15.72
Najran Province	South Arabia	Najran	1 [5] (6)	59	592,300	149,511	3.96
Northern Borders Province	Southern Badiyat al-Sham	Arar	2 [1] (3)	17	373,577	111,797	3.34
Riyadh Province	Najd	Riyadh	12 [10] (22)	453	8,591,748	404,240	21.25
Tabuk Province	Hejaz	Tabuk	4 [2] (6)	73	886,036	146,072	6.07
Total		13	62 [76] (138)	1,347	32,175,224	2,149,690	14.97

Codes

Code	Subdivision name (ar) (BGN/PCGN 1956)	Subdivision name (ar) [note 1]	Subdivision name (en) [note 2]
SA-14	Asir	عَسِيْر	Asir
SA-11	Al-Baha	ٱلْبَاحَة	Baha
SA-08	Northern Borders Province	الحدود الشمالية	Northern Borders
SA-12	Al-Jouf Province	الجوف	Jouf
SA-03	Medina Province	ٱلْمَدِيْنَة ٱلْمُنَوَّرَة	Medina
SA-05	Qassim	القصيم	Qassim
SA-01	Riyadh Province	الرياض	Riyadh
SA-04	Eastern Province	الشرقية	Eastern
SA-06	Ḥa'il Province	حَائِل	Hail
SA-09	Jazan Province	جازان	Jazan
SA-02	Mecca Province	مكة	Mecca
SA-10	Najran Province	نجران	Najran
SA-07	Tabuk Province	تَبُوْك	Tabuk

Notes

1. For reference only, Arabic name in Arabic script not included in the ISO 3166-2 standard.
2. For reference only, English name not included in the ISO 3166-2 standard.

See also

• Saudi Arabia portal

• List of governorates of Saudi Arabia
• List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia
• Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia