The provinces of Saudi Arabia, also known as regions (), are the 13 first-level
administrative division
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
s of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
History
After the
unification of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom was divided into four provinces: the '
Asir Province,
Al Hasa' Province, the
Hejaz Province and the
Najd Province.
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 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 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
governorate
A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...
s (''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
Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
'' (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 king of Saudi Arabia, officially the king of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (; ''Malik al-Mamlakat al-ʿArabiyat as-Suʿūdiyya''), is head of state and of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who holds absolute power. He is the head of the Saudi ...
. The ''emir'' is given the rank of minister, while the deputy ''emir'' is given the rank of
excellence.
List
See also
*
List of governorates of Saudi Arabia
The Governorates of Saudi Arabia, officially the Governorates of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, () are the second-level administrative divisions of Saudi Arabia after the 13 first-level Provinces of Saudi Arabia. There are 136 governorates classi ...
*
List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia
The following is a list of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia.
List of Metro Cities
There are 5 large cities or metropolitan area, metro cities in Saudi Arabia with the population over a million or more.
Alphabetical list of cities and towns
...
*
Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia
*
List of Arabian cities by population
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Provinces of Saudi Arabia
Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia 1
Saudi Arabia 1
Provinces, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia geography-related lists