Location and area
Asir lies in the south-west of Saudi Arabia and was formally constituted as an administrative region in 1992 (1412 AH). It borders the Najran Region to the east, the Jazan Region and part of Yemen to the south, the Makkah and Al-Baha regions to the north and the Riyadh Region to the north-east, while to the west it faces the Red Sea.
It covers about 80,000 km², or 4.1% of the Kingdom, making it the tenth region by area and the fifth by population. Its landscape joins plain, coast and mountain, which is why Saudipedia describes it as a tourist destination for visitors from within the Kingdom and across the Gulf.
Population
The 2022 Saudi census counted 2,024,285 people in Asir, 6.3% of the Kingdom's population, making it one of five regions with more than two million residents. Saudi nationals make up 71.4% of them, and with about 25 people per km² the region has the third-highest population density in the Kingdom.
Khamis Mushait Governorate holds 29.7% of the region's people and the city of Abha 20.9%, while about 15% live along the coast.
Emirate and governorates
Abha is the administrative capital and seat of the Emirate, whose headquarters stand on Imam Mohammed bin Saud Road. Its governorates are Khamis Mushait, Bisha, Al-Namas, Muhayil, Tathlith, Rijal Almaa, Dhahran al-Janoub, Sarat Abidah, Ahad Rufaidah, Balqarn, Al-Majardah, Tanomah, Tarib, Bariq, Al-Birk, Al-Harajah, Al-Amwah and Al-Farshah.
Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been governor since 2018 (1440 AH), and Prince Khalid bin Sattam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz was appointed deputy governor on 12 December 2023 (28 Jumada al-Ula 1445 AH). The Asir Development Authority, set up in 2018 and based in Abha, is chaired by the region's governor and prepares its strategic plans, development policies and building and land-use regulations.
Mountains, valleys and climate
Asir is a mountain land: it holds 29% of the Kingdom's mountains and its twelve highest peaks. The highest is Al-Soudah, about 20 km from Abha, at 3,015 m, the highest peak of the Sarawat range; its slopes carry juniper, acacia and wild olive. Lava fields cover 2.5% of the region, some of them about 30 million years old, while sand accounts for barely 1% of the Kingdom's sandy land. Eight of the Kingdom's valleys cross the region, and its rugged ravines and paths are said to have given Asir its name.
The region has a 140 km Red Sea coastline shared by three governorates: Rijal Almaa, Muhayil and Al-Birk. Winters are relatively cold and summers mild, with August temperatures not exceeding 24°C. Seasonal winds bring frequent rain and occasional storms, heaviest on the heights; Abha receives roughly 300–470 mm a year, the highest in the Kingdom, and snow falls on the high peaks in winter. According to Saudipedia, the region holds about 70% of the Kingdom's vegetation cover.
Abha, the capital
Abha is known as the Bride of the Mountain, the Lady of the Fog and Beautiful Abha. It became the capital of the Emirate of Asir in 1827, and in 2017 it was named Capital of Arab Tourism. Around it rise Shamsan Mountain, about 2,277 m high, and the Raydah Nature Reserve, some 9 km² at about 2,000 m.
In the city stands Al-Muftaha Village, inaugurated between 1988 and 1990 as a cultural landmark, home to the King Fahd Cultural Centre and the Talal Maddah Theatre, one of the largest theatres in the Kingdom. Its Tuesday Market has been held for nearly two hundred years, and since 2022 the city has hosted the Qemam Festival of mountain performing arts.
Villages and heritage
Asir counts 4,275 historic villages and 651 archaeological sites. Its best-known art is Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, the decoration of interior walls, especially the rooms where guests are received, with geometric shapes and symbols on a base of white gypsum. It was traditionally practised by women, who passed it from one generation to the next, and in 2017 UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The region's traditional dress, in black and red, is still worn with some changes.
The historic village of Rijal Almaa, about 45 km from Abha, has eight palaces of up to six storeys, faced outside with white quartz and painted inside with Al-Qatt Al-Asiri. The Aqabat al-Sama road links the heights of Abha with Rijal Almaa on the Tihama slopes.
Roads and air travel
The region's roads total 5,259 km, the fifth-longest network among the regions; the longest route links Abha with the Makkah and Najran regions. Abha International Airport, about 22 km from the city, was established in 1977 and upgraded from a regional to an international airport in 2020.
Development projects
In 2021 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the Asir Development Strategy under the slogan "Peaks and Values", with SAR 50 billion allocated to make the region a year-round global destination and to attract more than 10 million visitors by 2030. It comprises 17 economic programmes in four pillars (tourism, agriculture, small and medium enterprises and ease of doing business), eight initiatives on heritage, culture and society, and two environmental programmes on nature conservation and architectural identity.
On 24 February 2021 he announced the Soudah Development Company, owned by the Public Investment Fund, covering about 627 km² of Al-Soudah and parts of Rijal Almaa. On 25 September 2023 he launched the Soudah Peaks project, spread over six zones (Tahlal, Sahab, Sabrah, Jareen, Rijal and the Red Rock) with no more than 1% of the land built on; its first phase, due in 2027, includes 940 hotel rooms, 391 homes and 32,000 m² of commercial space. Abha will also host matches of the FIFA World Cup 2034 at King Khalid University Stadium, to be expanded to more than 45,000 seats.