Location and terrain
The Eastern Province is the largest region of Saudi Arabia, covering 540,000 km², or 27.6% of the Kingdom. It borders Kuwait and Iraq to the north, Qatar and Bahrain to the east, and the UAE and Oman to the south. It is a desert plain stretching from the Arabian Gulf coast to the Dahna desert, reaching south into the Empty Quarter, the largest continuous sand desert in the world.
It is among the most biodiverse parts of the Kingdom, combining desert, coast and watercourses, and is known for caves that keep a constant temperature year-round. Its inhabited islands include Tarout and Jannah, and the largest island is Abu Ali, at 59.3 km².
The climate is generally moderate, with clear skies and fresh air most of the time. From May to August temperatures reach 46°C with high humidity; from November to February they can fall to 8°C, with light rain that is rarely heavy.
Population
The 2022 Saudi Census counted 5,125,254 people, making it the third most populous region; it has held about 14% of the Kingdom's population since 1999. Saudi citizens make up 57.6% of residents and young people about 15%. Density is low, at about nine people per km².
Average individual income is SAR 16,605, the highest of any region, and each resident has 378 litres of water a day.
Emirate and administration
The name Eastern Province took its present form in 1412 AH (1992), when the Law of Provinces divided the Kingdom into thirteen regions. Its capital is Dammam, and Al-Ahsa Governorate makes up the largest part of its area. Its main cities include Dhahran, al-Khobar, al-Qatif, Hofuf, al-Mubarraz, al-Uyun, Abqaiq, Ras Tanura, al-Jubail, al-Khafji, Hafar al-Batin and al-Nuayriyah.
The governor is appointed by royal order with the rank of minister; the emirate's duties include maintaining security, overseeing justice, and monitoring and improving services. Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz was appointed governor in 1434 AH (2013), and Prince Saud bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud deputy governor at the excellent rank in 1445 AH (2023).
The Sharqia Development Authority was established on 2 Safar 1436 AH (24 November 2014), with its headquarters in Dammam, to set development policy and prepare plans; it began institutional operations on 10 December 2019. The Eastern Province Municipality, also in Dammam, oversees five municipalities: Dhahran, East Dammam, Central Dammam, West Dammam and al-Khobar.
An ancient history
The region is among the oldest inhabited parts of the Arabian Peninsula, known by names such as al-Jarhaa, Hajar and the Bahrain region, and settled in turn by peoples including the Amalekites, Canaanites and Phoenicians. Its springs, fertile land and position between the outside world and the Peninsula's interior made it a caravan crossing and a trading centre, and states rose on its land thousands of years before the Common Era.
Bayt al-Bay'ah in Hofuf, built in 1788 by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Omar bin Mohammed al-Mulla, is where King Abdulaziz stayed on 4 May 1913 (1331 AH) when the people of Al-Ahsa pledged allegiance to him; the 705 m² house is now a museum. Formal education in the region began in Hofuf with the opening of the Princes' School in 1360 AH (1941).
Al-Ahsa and World Heritage
Al-Ahsa Oasis has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2018. With about 2.5 million date palms, the inscribed property covers 8,544 ha in twelve components, including gardens, canals, springs, wells and Lake al-Asfar, along with historic buildings, urban fabric and archaeological sites.
The Jawatha Mosque, about 20 km northeast of Hofuf, was built by the Banu Abd al-Qays in 7 AH (628 AD); it was the first mosque founded in the east of the Peninsula and the second, after the Prophet's Mosque, to hold Friday prayers. In Hofuf stands Ibrahim Palace, built in 963 AH (1555) and renovated in 1216 AH (1801); it covers 18,200 m² and combines Islamic and military architecture. In al-Mubarraz, Sahoud Palace is enclosed by a wall with seven towers.
About 65 km east of Hofuf lies the historic port of al-Uqair, once the trade gateway for Al-Ahsa and Najd. Its landmarks include a customs house, a khan, a market, an old mosque and a fort.
Coast and islands
Tarout Castle stands on a hill in the centre of Tarout Island that dates back to the fifth millennium BC; the island was a major centre of the Dilmun civilization. The castle had four towers, three of which survive. Darin, historically called the port of musk and amber, was a stop for goods from India and silk from China; it was joined to Tarout after the channel between them was filled in 1979.
Thaj, 95 km west of al-Jubail, is the largest archaeological site in the east of the Kingdom and was a flourishing urban centre in the last centuries BC and the first centuries AD. A Hellenistic-era tomb there yielded the 46 cm statue known as the Girl of Thaj, dating to the 1st century AD. Al-Jubail's archaeological sites include Dafi, a port for Thaj in the 3rd century BC; Mardumah, from the Umayyad period into the 13th century; and al-Dawsariyah, more than seven thousand years old, with evidence of herding and fishing.
Museums, markets and culture
The Dammam Regional Museum occupies a 17,849 m² site, with a 13,500 m² building on five levels and seven exhibition halls. The Al-Ahsa Museum of Archaeology and Folk Heritage in Hofuf opened in 1983 on 4,000 m² and holds more than 1,400 items spanning the Stone Age to the Dilmun, Assyrian and Babylonian periods.
Historic markets include Souq al-Qaisariyah in Al-Ahsa, built in 1822 with 422 shops and renovated in 1916; the Wednesday Market in al-Mubarraz, 45,000 m², reopened after renovation in 2022; al-Qatif's Thursday Market, more than a century old; Souq al-Hub in Dammam; and the Sunday Market near al-Qarah Mountain.
The Eastern Province Literary Club in Dammam (1989) held the first Darin Cultural Forum in 2011, and the Al-Ahsa Literary Club in Hofuf (2007) publishes the magazines al-Mushaqqar and Jawatha.
Oil, ports and industry
The region has eleven crude oil fields, accounting for about 68% of the Kingdom's exports, and six ports overseen by the Saudi Ports Authority, three commercial and the rest oil or industrial. King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, the Kingdom's main Gulf port, covers 19 km² with 43 berths and a capacity of 105 million tonnes, and is linked by rail to the Riyadh dry port. King Fahd Industrial Port in al-Jubail (1982) has 34 berths and 70 million tonnes of capacity; Jubail Commercial Port (1974) has 16 berths and 36 million tonnes; and Ras al-Khair (2016), the Kingdom's newest industrial port, has 14 berths and 35 million tonnes.
King Abdulaziz inaugurated Ras Tanura Port in 1358 AH (1939); about 90% of the Kingdom's hydrocarbon exports pass through it, and its refinery processes 525,000 barrels a day. Al-Khafji Port shipped its first crude in 1960. The region's eight industrial cities hold more than 1,685 factories; the oldest is Dammam's First Industrial City (1973), and they include King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) near Abqaiq, covering 50 million m², and Ras al-Khair Industrial City for mining industries.
Transport and education
The region has three international airports. King Fahd International Airport in Dammam opened in 1999 and is the Kingdom's third busiest by passengers; in 2023 it handled about 10 million travellers on 37 airlines to 43 destinations, and it has two parallel 4,000 m runways. Al-Ahsa International Airport (1985) has a capacity of 400,000 passengers, being expanded to 1 million and then 4 million. Al-Qaisumah International Airport in Hafar al-Batin (1962) was expanded in 2022 to serve more than 700,000 passengers a year. 89% of visitors arrive by road, and a railway links Dammam with Riyadh.
In 1443 AH (2022) the region had 567,213 students in 2,881 schools, including 1,354 schools with 244,570 students in Al-Ahsa and 735 schools with 119,569 students in Hafar al-Batin.