Location and terrain
The Riyadh Region lies in the centre of Saudi Arabia on the Najd plateau. It borders the Eastern Province to the east and northeast, al-Qassim to the north, Najran and Asir to the south, and the Makkah Region and part of the Madinah Region to the west. Covering about 380,000 km², roughly 19.4% of the Kingdom, it is the second-largest region by area; its highest point stands about 600 m above sea level.
Along the plateau's eastern edge runs the Tuwaiq range, stretching from north of az-Zulfi to the Empty Quarter in the south, with some forty valleys branching from it. The climate is broadly dry and continental: hot summers, cold winters and scant rain that falls mostly in winter.
Population
Riyadh is the Kingdom's most populous region, with 8,591,748 residents in the 2022 Saudi census, a density of about 18 people per km² and an annual growth rate of 2.703%, second only to the Makkah Region.
Most of them live in Riyadh city, which occupies only about 1% of the region's land yet had 7,009,120 residents in the 2022 census.
Emirate and governorates
The region was formally constituted in 1992 (1412 AH) under the Law of Provinces. Its administrative capital is Riyadh, and the Emirate sits at Qasr al-Hukm in the city centre. It has 22 governorates, more than any other region, and 504 administrative centres.
The governorates fall into two categories. Category A: Diriyah, al-Kharj, al-Dawadmi, al-Majma'ah, al-Quway'iyah, al-Aflaj, Wadi al-Dawasir, az-Zulfi, Shaqra, Hawtat Bani Tamim and al-Ghat. Category B: Afif, as-Sulayyil, Dhurma, al-Muzahimiyah, Rimah, Thadiq, Huraymila, al-Hariq, Marat, ad-Dilam and ar-Rain. As-Sulayyil is the largest governorate in the region and the third largest in the Kingdom.
The first governor was Prince Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1937–1947); the longest-serving was King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, at 56 years. Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was appointed governor by Royal Order on 29 January 2015 (9 Rabi' al-Akhir 1436 AH), and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud deputy governor on 22 April 2017 (25 Rajab 1438 AH).
Cradle of the Saudi state
The region holds two historic capitals: Diriyah, capital of the First Saudi State, and Riyadh, capital of the Second Saudi State and of the modern Kingdom. Diriyah was founded in 1446 by Mani' al-Muraydi, ancestor of the ruling family. There Imam Mohammed bin Saud founded the First Saudi State on 22 February 1727, the date now marked as Founding Day, and Diriyah remained its capital until 1818.
Riyadh was where unification began. At dawn on the fifth of Shawwal, in January 1902, King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud recaptured the town, opening the founding of the Kingdom; the unification that followed took nearly three decades and culminated in 1932.
Heritage landmarks
At-Turaif district in Diriyah has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2010. A witness to the Najdi architectural style, it preserves the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble on the edge of the Diriyah oasis, across a listed area of 28.78 hectares; its Salwa Palace was the seat of government of the First Saudi State. Next to it is al-Bujairi, Diriyah's historic centre of learning, both set along Wadi Hanifah, a valley more than 120 km long.
In central Riyadh stands Masmak Fortress, the mud-brick stronghold through which King Abdulaziz entered the city in 1902. Restored by the Riyadh Municipality in 1980 and opened as a museum in 1996, it has about 44 rooms, 17 exhibition halls and four corner watchtowers, each about 18 m high.
Al-Murabba Palace, the first palace built for King Abdulaziz, was constructed in 1936 and occupied in 1938. It served as the seat of government: the Kingdom's first laws were issued there, and its political division became the core of today's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It now stands within the King Abdulaziz Historical Center under the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah).
Getting around
The car is the main way to travel between governorates: Diriyah is no more than about 20 km from the capital, while Wadi al-Dawasir, the farthest, is about 613 km away. King Khalid International Airport, north of Riyadh, handles about 26 million passengers a year.
Within the capital, the Riyadh Metro links 85 stations over 176 km, serving dense neighbourhoods, points of interest and government entities.
Development projects
Some 2,980 projects worth about SAR 264 billion are located in the region, spanning services, utilities, housing, transport, roads, environment and economic development, among them Vision 2030 mega projects.
Notable among them are King Salman Park in central Riyadh, which Saudipedia describes as the world's largest park; the 135 km Sports Boulevard linking east and west Riyadh; Green Riyadh, covering 30.35% of the capital; and Riyadh Art, which aims to turn the city into an open-air gallery.
Universities
The region has eight public universities, more than any other, five of them in the capital and the rest in other governorates. Two of them, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University and King Saud University, were ranked among the world's top 1,000 in the 2021 QS World University Rankings.