Provinces of Saudi Arabia

Provinces of Saudi Arabia
مناطق المملكة العربية السعودية
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;

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]

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,^[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)
'Asir Province	Southern Arabia	Abha	6 [11] (17)	101	2,024,285	76,693
Al-Bahah Province	Hejaz	Al Bahah	4 [5] (9)	35	339,174	9,921
Al-Jawf Province	Northern Arabia	Sakaka	2 [1] (3)	33	595,822	100,212
Al-Qassim Province	Najd	Buraidah	5 [7] (12)	153	1,336,179	58,046
Eastern Province	Eastern Arabia (Bahrain)	Dammam	7 [5] (12)	107	5,125,254	672,522
Ḥa'il Province	Najd	Ḥaʼil	1 [7] (8)	84	746,406	103,887
Jazan Province	Southern Arabia	Jazan	5 [11] (16)	31	1,404,997	11,671
Mecca Province	Hejaz	Makkah	9 [7] (16)	111	7,769,994	153,128
Medina Province	Hejaz	Madinah	4 [4] (8)	90	2,389,452	151,990
Najran Province	Southern Arabia	Najran	1 [5] (6)	59	592,300	149,511
Northern Borders Province	Northern Arabia	Arar	2 [1] (3)	17	373,577	111,797
Riyadh Province	Najd	Riyadh	12 [10] (22)	453	8,591,748	404,240
Tabuk Province	Hejaz	Tabuk	4 [2] (6)	73	886,036	146,072
Total		13	62 [76] (138)	1,347	32,175,224	2,149,690

References

^ ^a ^b "Saudi Arabia Regions". www.statoids.com.
^ "The New Addressing". Saudi Post. 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Organization of the Emirate of Makkah Province". Ministry of Interior.
^ "Law of the Provinces | The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". www.saudiembassy.net. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
^ "Saudi Arabia: Regions & Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-05.

External links

Media related to Provinces of Saudi Arabia at Wikimedia Commons

[statoids.com-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.

[:0-3] "Organization of the Emirate of Makkah Province". Ministry of Interior.

[4] "Law of the Provinces | The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". www.saudiembassy.net. Retrieved 24 August 2023.

[5] "Saudi Arabia: Regions & Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-05.

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v t e Articles on first-level administrative divisions of Asian countries
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