Provinces of Saudi Arabia

The provinces of Saudi Arabia, also referred to as regions, are the 13 first-level administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Each province is governed by a governor (emir).

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 or influenced by the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922), including the Hejaz Vilayet and the Lahsa Eyalet. Earlier in the region’s history, the First Saudi State (1727–1818) and the Second Saudi State (1824–1891) had established Saudi rule over much of Najd and its surroundings, laying the groundwork for later unification efforts. After unification, these historical regions — such as Najd and Asir — along with former Ottoman territories like Hejaz, formed the basis for the kingdom’s evolving administrative divisions, which were later reorganized into modern provinces.

King Fahd issued Royal Order A/92 on March 2, 1992, known as Law of the Provinces, which provided for the division of the kingdom into 13 provinces. Subsequently, the five previous provinces were divided into thirteen provinces, 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 Historicalregion Seat / Largest city Governorates Marakiz Population(2022 census) Area(km2) Density(per km2) 1 Asir Province South Arabia Abha / Khamis Mushait 17 101 2,024,285 76,693 26.40 2 Al-Baha Province Hejaz Al-Baha 9 35 339,174 9,921 34.20 3 Al-Jouf Province Badiyat al-Sham Sakaka 3 33 595,822 85,212 6.99 4 Al-Qassim Province Najd Buraydah 12 153 1,336,179 58,046 23.01 5 Eastern Province Eastern Arabia Dammam 12 107 5,125,254 672,522 7.62 6 Hail Province Najd Hail 8 84 746,406 103,887 7.19 7 Jazan Province South Arabia Jizan 16 31 1,404,997 11,671 120.43 8 Mecca Province Hejaz Mecca / Jeddah 17 111 7,769,994 153,128 50.76 9 Medina Province Hejaz Medina 8 90 2,389,452 151,990 15.72 10 Najran Province South Arabia Najran 6 59 592,300 149,511 3.96 11 Northern Borders Province Badiyat al-Sham Arar 3 17 373,577 111,797 3.34 12 Riyadh Province Najd Riyadh 22 453 8,591,748 404,240 21.25 13 Tabuk Province Hejaz Tabuk 6 73 886,036 146,072 6.07 Total 13 139 1,347 32,175,224 2,149,690 14.97

Codes + ISO 3166-2:SA – Codes for the Provinces of Saudi Arabia Code Province (EN) Province (AR) SA–14 Asir Province منطقة عسير SA–11 Al-Baha Province منطقة الباحة SA–08 Northern Borders Province منطقة الحدود الشمالية SA–12 Al-Jouf Province منطقة الجوف SA–03 Medina Province منطقة المدينة المنورة SA–05 Al-Qassim Province منطقة القصيم SA–01 Riyadh Province منطقة الرياض SA–04 Eastern Province المنطقة الشرقية SA–06 Hail Province منطقة حائل SA–09 Jazan Province منطقة جازان SA–02 Mecca Province منطقة مكة المكرمة SA–10 Najran Province منطقة نجران SA–07 Tabuk Province منطقة تبوك

Provinces of Saudi Arabia

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