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, including the Hejaz Vilayet and the Lahsa Eyalet. Earlier in the region’s history, the First Saudi state and the Second Saudi state 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. 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,
! Area<br>(km<sup>2</sup>)
! Density<br>(per km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
| 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
|-
| colspan="3" | Total
| 13
| 139
| 1,347
| 32,175,224
| 2,149,690
| 14.97
|}
Codes
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ 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
|}
See also
- Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia
- List of governorates of Saudi Arabia
- List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia