Provinces of Saudi Arabia

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

Emirates of the Provinces of Saudi Arabia
إمارات مناطق المملكة العربية السعودية
CategoryProvinces within a unitary state
LocationKingdom of Saudi Arabia
Number13
Populations320,524 (Northern Borders) – 6,915,006 (Makkah)
Areas9,920 km2 (3,831 sq mi) (Al-Bahah) – 672,520 km2 (259,662 sq mi) (Eastern Province)
Government
Subdivisions

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 the Regions' System, which provided for the division of the kingdom into 13 emirates. Subsequently, the five previous provinces were divided into thirteen geographic regions, called provinces (manātiq) and administrative regions, called the emirates of the provinces (imārāt al-manātiq). The emirates 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 emirate 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 of the Emirates of the Provinces of Saudi Arabia
Emirates of the Provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Historic
Region		 Regions Capital Governorates Marakiz Population
(2017 Census)		 Approximate
area (km2)
Hejaz Mecca Region Makkah 16 111 8,557,766 153,128
Najd Riyadh Region Riyadh 21 453 8,216,284 404,240
Eastern Arabia Eastern Region Dammam 11 107 4,900,325 672,522
Southern Arabia 'Asir Region Abha 16 101 2,211,875 76,693
Southern Arabia Jazan Region Jazan 16 31 1,567,547 11,671
Hejaz Medina Region Madinah 8 90 1,423,935 151,990
Najd Al-Qassim Region Buraidah 12 153 1,423,935 58,046
Hejaz Tabuk Region Tabuk 6 73 910,030 146,072
Najd Ha'il Region Ha'il 8 84 699,774 103,887
Southern Arabia Najran Region Najran 7 59 582,243 149,511
Badiah Al-Jawf Region Sakaka 3 33 508,475 100,212
Hejaz Al-Bahah Region Al-Baha 9 35 476,172 9,921
Badiah Northern Borders Region Arar 3 17 365,231 111,797
Total 136 1,347 31,843,592 2,149,690

See also

References
  1. "Saudi Arabia Regions". www.statoids.com.
  2. "The New Addressing". Saudi Post. 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. "Organization of the Emirate of Makkah Province". Ministry of Interior.
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