Provinces of Saudi Arabia explained

Provinces of Saudi Arabia
Category:Provinces within a unitary state
Territory:Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Current Number:13
Population Range:373,577 (Northern Borders Province) – 8,591,748 (Riyadh Province)
Area Range:3831order=flipNaNorder=flip (Al-Bahah Province) – 259662order=flipNaNorder=flip (Eastern Province)
Government:Provincial government, national government
Subdivision:Governorates

The provinces of Saudi Arabia, also known as regions, are the 13 first-level administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[1] [2] [3]

History

After the unification of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom was divided into seven provinces: the 'Asir Province, Al Hasa' Province, the Hejaz Province, the Najd Province, the Rub' al-Khali Province and the Shammar Province.[1]

King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 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, 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.

List

Provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia !Province!Historical
region!Capital
(central city)!Governorates!Marakiz!Population
(2022 census)[5] !Area
(km2)
'Asir ProvinceSouthern ArabiaAbha6 [11] (17)1012,024,28576,693
Al-Bahah ProvinceHejazAl Bahah4 [5] (9)35339,1749,921
Al-Jawf ProvinceNorthern ArabiaSakaka2 [1] (3)33595,822100,212
Al-Qassim ProvinceNajdBuraidah5 [7] (12)1531,336,17958,046
Eastern ProvinceEastern Arabia (Bahrain)Dammam7 [5] (12)1075,125,254672,522
Ḥa'il ProvinceNajdḤaʼil1 [7] (8)84746,406103,887
Jazan ProvinceSouthern ArabiaJazan5 [11] (16)311,404,99711,671
Mecca ProvinceHejazMakkah9 [7] (16)1117,769,994153,128
Medina ProvinceHejazMadinah4 [4] (8)902,389,452151,990
Najran ProvinceSouthern ArabiaNajran1 [5] (6)59592,300149,511
Northern Borders ProvinceNorthern ArabiaArar2 [1] (3)17373,577111,797
Riyadh ProvinceNajdRiyadh12 [10] (22)4538,591,748404,240
Tabuk ProvinceHejazTabuk4 [2] (6)73886,036146,072
Total1362 [76] (138)1,34732,175,2242,149,690

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Saudi Arabia Regions. www.statoids.com.
  2. Web site: The New Addressing. Saudi Post. 9 February 2014. 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140303165120/http://www.sp.com.sa/English/ProductsandServices/Pages/PostalCoding.aspx. 3 March 2014.
  3. Web site: Organization of the Emirate of Makkah Province. Ministry of Interior.
  4. Web site: Law of the Provinces The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . www.saudiembassy.net . 24 August 2023.
  5. Web site: Saudi Arabia: Regions & Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information . 2024-02-05 . www.citypopulation.de.