Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia
The Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia, officially the Organization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, consist of 13 provinces which are further divided into 136 governorates.[1] The current system was created by a series of royal orders and amendments in the early 1990s.[2][3][4]
Provinces
[edit]The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 emirates (Arabic: إمارات, romanized: Imārāt sg. Arabic: إمارة, romanized: Imārah) or regions/provinces (Arabic: مناطق, romanized: manāṭiq), each governed by a governor or emir (Arabic: أمير, romanized: amīr, lit. 'prince'),[2] known as the Provincial Governor, to differentiate them from the governors of governorates. These are:

- the Emirate of the Riyadh Province
- the Emirate of the Makkah Province
- the Emirate of the Eastern Province
- the Emirate of the Madinah Province
- the Emirate of the Al Baha Province
- the Emirate of the Al Jawf Province
- the Emirate of the Northern Borders Province
- the Emirate of the Qassim Province
- the Emirate of the Ha'il Province
- the Emirate of the Tabuk Province
- the Emirate of the 'Aseer Province
- the Emirate of the Jizan Province
- the Emirate of the Najran Province
Governorates
[edit]The 13 emirates are further divided into 136 governorates[5] (Arabic: محافظات, lit. 'muḥafazāt' sg. Arabic: محافظة, lit. 'muḥafazah'), each governed by a Governor (Arabic: محافظ, romanized: muḥāfiz). Of these, 13 are capital governorates (Arabic: أمانات, romanized: amānāt sg. Arabic: أمانة, romanized: amānah) governed by a Mayor (Arabic: أمين, romanized: amīn).
| Emirate | Governorate | Population (2004) | Total Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makkah Province | Jeddah Governorate | 2,833,169 | 5,747,971 |
| City of Makkah | 1,338,341 | ||
| Ta'if Governorate | 885,474 | ||
| Qunfudhah Governorate | 240,938 | ||
| Laith Governorate | 110,449 | ||
| Jumum Governorate | 75,993 | ||
| Rabigh Governorate | 68,966 | ||
| Khulays Governorate | 49,955 | ||
| Ranyah Governorate | 44,276 | ||
| Turbah Governorate | 42,810 | ||
| Khurmah Governorate | 39,053 | ||
| Kamil Governorate | 18,547 | ||
| Riyadh Province | City of Riyadh | 4,137,280 | 5,455,363 |
| Kharj Governorate | 323,394 | ||
| Duwaidmi Governorate | 190,138 | ||
| Majma'ah Governorate | 111,503 | ||
| Quwai'iyah Governorate | 106,579 | ||
| Wadi ad-Dawasir Governorate | 92,631 | ||
| 'Afif Governorate | 68,592 | ||
| Zulfi Governorate | 62,904 | ||
| Dir'iyah Governorate | 60,777 | ||
| Aflaj Governorate | 60,046 | ||
| Hawtat Bani Tamim Governorate | 39,719 | ||
| Muzahmiyah Governorate | 35,795 | ||
| Sulayyil Governorate | 35,011 | ||
| Shaqra' Governorate | 34,543 | ||
| Rumah Governorate | 25,312 | ||
| Dhurma Governorate | 19,688 | ||
| Thadij Governorate | 15,221 | ||
| Hariq Governorate | 13,426 | ||
| Huraymila Governorate | 12,569 | ||
| Ghat Governorate | 10,235 | ||
| Eastern Province | Ahsa' Governorate | 908,366 | 3,360,157 |
| City of Dammam | 744,631 | ||
| Qatif Governorate | 474,573 | ||
| Khobar Governorate | 455,541 | ||
| Hafr al-Batin Governorate | 338,636 | ||
| Jubail Governorate | 224,430 | ||
| Khafji Governorate | 60,975 | ||
| Buqayq Governorate | 44,863 | ||
| Na'iriyah Governorate | 44,664 | ||
| Ra's Tanura Governorate | 43,338 | ||
| Qaryat al-'Ulya Governorate | 20,140 | ||
| Madinah Province | City of Madinah | 994,175 | 1,512,076 |
| Yanbu' al-Bahr Governorate | 250,244 | ||
| Badr Governorate | 58,352 | ||
| 'Alula Governorate | 57,506 | ||
| Mahd Governorate | 53,734 | ||
| Henakiyah Governorate | 52,524 | ||
| Khaybar Governorate | 45,541 | ||
| Al Baha Province | City of Baha | 93,128 | 377,739 |
| Mukhwah Governorate | 64,365 | ||
| Baljurashi Governorate | 61,354 | ||
| Qilwah Governorate | 55,511 | ||
| Mandaq Governorate | 45,666 | ||
| Qari Governorate | 29,109 | ||
| 'Aqiq Governorate | 28,606 | ||
| Al Jawf Province | City of Sakaka | 196,503 | 361,676 |
| Qurayyat Governorate | 125,090 | ||
| Daumat al-Jandal Governorate | 40,083 | ||
| Northern Borders Province | City of 'Ar'ar | 166,428 | 279,286 |
| Rafha Governorate | 72,187 | ||
| Turaif Governorate | 40,671 |
See also
[edit]- Provinces of Saudi Arabia, the historical four provinces
- List of governorates of Saudi Arabia
- ISO 3166-2:SA, the ISO 3166-2 codes for the regions
References
[edit]- ^ "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques agrees to the addition of 46 new governorates and centers". Ar Riyadh. 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Emirate of Makkah Province". Ministry of Interior.
- ^ "Organizational Chart of the Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Ministry of Interior.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia Governorates". www.statoids.com. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques agrees to the addition of 46 new governorates and centers". Ar Riyadh. 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018.