Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
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The Eastern Province (
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: المنطقة الشرقية al-Mintaqah ash-Sharqīyah), also known as the Eastern Region, is a
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third most populous after the Riyadh Province and
Mecca Province Mecca Province (, ), officially Makkah Province, is one of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the third-largest province by area at and the most populous with a population of 8,557,766 as of 2017, of which 4,041,189 were foreign nationals ...
. As of 2022, the population is 5,125,254. Its name reflects its location in the eastern part of the country. More than a third of the population is concentrated in the Dammam metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 1.53 million as of 2022, Dammam, the capital of the province, is the fourth most populous city in the kingdom. The incumbent governor of the province is Saud bin Naif. Other populous cities in the province include Qatif, Hofuf, Hafr al-Batin, Jubail and
Khobar Khobar () is a city and List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 409,549 ...
. The region is extremely popular among tourists for its beaches on the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and proximity to the other countries of the eastern
Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
, such as the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
,
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
and
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
, with the latter being linked to the province via the 25 km (15 mi) long King Fahd Causeway. The Province also shares a border with
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
,
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
,
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. The province is bordered to the west, from north to south, by the provinces of the Northern Borders, Ha'il, Al-Qassim,
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
and Najran. The Eastern Province encompasses the entire east coast of Saudi Arabia and acts as a major platform for most of the kingdom's oil production and exports. Oil was first found in the country in the Eastern Province, at the Prosperity Well site (formerly known as Dammam No.7). The Ghawar oil field, located in the
Al-Ahsa Governorate Al-Ahsa (, locally pronounced ''Al-Ḥasāʾ'' ()) also known as Hajar () is the largest Governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, named after the Al-Ahsa Oasis. In Classical Arab ...
, measuring 8,400 sq.km. (3,240 sq.mi.) is the largest oil field in the world, and accounts for roughly a third of the kingdom's oil production. The Safaniya oil field, located off the coast of the province, is the largest offshore oil field in the world. The Jubail Industrial City, part of the city of Jubail, the fifth most populous in the province, is the largest industrial city in the world. The Province was home to the Dilmun civilization which was an ancient Semitic-speaking
polity A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people org ...
in
Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia () is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province), and the United Arab ...
. Founded in the late 4th millennium BC and lasting until approximately 538 BC it is regarded as one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Dilmun was an important and prosperous trading centre for millennia with well-developed and long-standing trading, commercial and cultural ties with nearby
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
in particular and the
Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the Northwestern South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...
. A number of scholars have suggested that Dilmun originally designated the eastern province of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, notably linked with the major Dilmunite settlements of Umm an-Nussi and Umm ar-Ramadh in the interior and Tarout Island on the coast.


Geography

Approximately two-thirds of the province is desert, comprising, from south to north, the Rub' al Khali, Dahna and Nafud deserts, with the Rub' al-Khali alone making up more than half of the area of the province. Areas such as Hafr al-Batin and the Al-Ahsa Oasis have become important sites for
desert farming Desert farming is the practice of developing agriculture in deserts. As agriculture depends upon irrigation and water supply, farming in arid regions where water is scarce is a challenge. However, desert farming has been practiced by humans for ...
due to the advancements made during the
Green Revolution The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period during which technology transfer initiatives resulted in a significant increase in crop yields. These changes in agriculture initially emerged in Developed country , devel ...
in farming and irrigation techniques. The entire eastern coast of the kingdom lies in the Eastern Province. The region borders, from north to south, the countries of
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
,
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
,
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
,
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
,
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
, and
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
.


History

The Eastern Province was home to the Dilmun civilization for several millennia which was an important trading center from the late
4th millennium BC File:4th millennium BC montage.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: The Temple of Ġgantija, one of the oldest freestanding structures in the world; Warka Vase; Bronocice pot with one of the earliest known depictions of a wheeled vehicle; Kish ...
to 800 BC. At the height of its power, Dilmun controlled the Persian Gulf trading routes. Dilmun was very prosperous during the first 300 years of the second millennium. The Dilmun civilization was the centre of commercial activities linking traditional agriculture of the land—then utterly fertile due to artesian wells that have dried since, and due to a much wetter climate—with maritime trade between diverse regions such as the Meluhha (suspected to be Indus Valley Civilisation),
Magan Magan may refer to: Places * Magan (civilization) * Magan, Russia * Magan Airport * Magán, Spain *Magan, alternative name of Mahin, a village in Iran * Aman Magan, a village in Iran People * Magan (name) Film and television *'' Azhagiya Tamil ...
(
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
), and
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
. The Dilmun civilization is mentioned first in Sumerian
cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...
clay tablets dated to the late third millennium BC, found in the temple of goddess
Inanna Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
, in the city of
Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...
. One of the earliest inscriptions mentioning Dilmun is that of king Ur-Nanshe of
Lagash Lagash (; cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Lagaš'') was an ancient city-state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash ( ...
() found in a door-socket: "The ships of Dilmun brought him wood as tribute from foreign lands." The great commercial and trading connections between Mesopotamia and Dilmun were strong and profound to the point where Dilmun was a central figure to the Sumerian creation myth.The Arab world: an illustrated history p.4 Dilmun was described in the saga of Enki and Ninhursag as pre-existing in paradisiacal state, where predators don't kill, pain and diseases are absent, and people do not get old. Likewise the Sumerian tale of the garden paradise of Dilmun may have been an inspiration for the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
story. Dilmun's commercial power began to decline between 1000 BC and 800 BC because piracy flourished in the Persian Gulf. The most recent reference to Dilmun came during the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Neo-Babylonian administrative records, dated 567 BC, stated that Dilmun was controlled by the king of Babylon. The name of Dilmun fell from use after the collapse of Babylon in 538 BC. The northern part of the Eastern Province later became inhabited by the Arab
Lakhmids The Lakhmid kingdom ( ), also referred to as al-Manādhirah () or as Banū Lakhm (), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by the Lakhmid dynasty from to 602. Spanning Eastern Arabia and Sawad, Southern Mesopotamia, it existed as a d ...
around 300 AD, with the coastal regions claimed by the Sasanians but governed by the Lakhmids. The entire
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...
fell into Muslim hands during the
Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...
and the
Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...
, after
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
's death. The region stayed stable during the first three Islamic caliphates. During the
Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...
, the region was taken over by the Qarmatians, a
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
group of the
Isma'ili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...
branch, around 899 AD. The Qarmatians attacked
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
and
Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
in 930 ADGlassé, Cyril. 2008. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam''. Walnut Creek CA: AltaMira Press p. 369 and held the
Black Stone The Black Stone () is a rock set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the ancient building in the center of the Masjid al-Haram, Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic which, according to Muslim tradi ...
to ransom in
Ain Al Kuayba Ain Al Kuayba is a freshwater spring located in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. It hosted the Black Stone, black stone in 929, 930 (317H) after it had been looted from Kaaba by Abu Tahir al-Jannabi. In 2012 it was mistakenly bulldozed by a construction contr ...
, Qatif. The region was ruled by the Qaramatians until 976 AD, when after losing to the Abbasids, they were reduced to the status of a local power. After Bahrain and Qatif seceded from Qarmatian rule around 1058 AD, they retreated to the Al-Ahsa Oasis, to which Abdullah bin Ali Al Uyuni laid siege and invaded in 1076 AD, ending the rule of Qarmatians in Ahsa and founding the Uyunid Emirate. Not much is known of the Uyunids, except that they were the descendants of the Abd al-Qays tribe. They were involved in several internal disputes, causing the emirate to become unstable and eventually leading to the rise of the Bedouin Usfurids. The Usfurids saw a short period of stability. After overthrowing their former allies, the Uyunids, they had an uneasy relationship with the Persian rulers of Hormuz, who took control of the former Uyunid cities of Qatif and Bahrain around 1320 AD. This eventually led to the fall of the Usfurids. The region was mostly overlooked until the 1500s, when the Jabrids took over around 1507 AD, but they too fell due to internal conflicts in or around the 1540s. In 1551 AD, the Ottomans invaded the region during their first war with the Safavids, and kept it under their control until 1671. After several years of unrest between the Ottomans, Saudis and Rashidis, the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, also known as the Third Saudi State, under
Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...
, took the entire
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...
from Ottoman and Rashidi control. Most of the Eastern Province came under the Hasa region, and as such, the emirate has been under Saudi control since 1902. In 1923, the Dawasir of
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
moved into the area which is now
Khobar Khobar () is a city and List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 409,549 ...
, and later spread into Dammam, and they are credited with the foundation of the two cities. In the early 1990s, during the First Gulf war, Iraqi troops crossed the Kuwaiti-Saudi border and seized the town of Khafji. The US and Saudi Arabian armies were able to kick them out. This was known as the Battle of Khafji.


Demographics


Population

According to the Population Characteristics Surveys conducted by the General Authority for Statistics, the Eastern Province had a population of 4,900,325 as of December 2017, of which 3,140,362 were Saudis and 1,759,963 were foreign nationals. The Eastern Province is the third most populous province in Saudi Arabia, after
Mecca Province Mecca Province (, ), officially Makkah Province, is one of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the third-largest province by area at and the most populous with a population of 8,557,766 as of 2017, of which 4,041,189 were foreign nationals ...
and Riyadh Province. With an estimated population of 1,225,000 as of 2019, Dammam is the most populous city in the province and the sixth most populous city in the country. The governorate with the largest population is the
Al-Ahsa Governorate Al-Ahsa (, locally pronounced ''Al-Ḥasāʾ'' ()) also known as Hajar () is the largest Governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, named after the Al-Ahsa Oasis. In Classical Arab ...
. It is also the largest governorate in terms of land area. The province had the lowest
dependency ratio The dependency ratio is an age-population ratio of those typically not in the labor force (the ''dependent'' part ages 0 to 14 and 65+) and those typically in the labor force (the ''productive'' part ages 15 to 64). It is used to measure the press ...
in the kingdom at around 36%, as of 2016. The
sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...
for Saudis was 109 males per 100 females and 150 males per 100 females for non-Saudis, yielding a common sex ratio of 151 males per 100 females. 1% of children in the province were orphans.


Religion

Sunni traveler,
Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...
(1304 - 1369 A.D.) mentioned: "Then we traveled to the city of Al- Qatif, its name is derived from fruit picking, which is an oasis of water and a large city with many palm trees inhabited by Shia Arabs." The local Saudi population is entirely Muslim, with the majority being
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Muslims.
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
constitute a large minority, concentrated especially in Qatif and Al-Ahsa governorates. Common religions among non-Saudis are Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity.


Languages

The official language of Saudi Arabia is
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. The standard spoken dialect in the Eastern Province is a variant of
Najdi Arabic Najdi Arabic (, Najdi Arabic: , ) is the group of Arabic varieties originating from the Najd region of Saudi Arabia. Outside of Saudi Arabia, it is also the main Arabic variety spoken in the Syrian Desert of Iraq, Jordan, and Syria (with the exc ...
, similar to the urban Najdi spoken in Riyadh, but influenced by other dialects local to the Eastern Province. Other dialects spoken natively in the Eastern Province include: #
Gulf Arabic Gulf Arabic or Khaleeji ( ' local pronunciation: or ', local pronunciation: ) is a variety of the Arabic language spoken in Eastern Arabia around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq, ...
dialects,Languages of Saudi Arabia
''
Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...
''
spoken by approximately 2 million people, including Hasawi variants, Bahraini variants, and others. # Baharna dialects spoken in Qatif. # Najdi-type dialects spoken among settled bedouin tribes. This includes Central Najdi dialects such as the dialects of Bani Khalid, Southern dialects such as the dialects of Al Murrah and Ajman, and Mixed Northern-Central Najdi dialects such as dialects of Al-Dhafeer. There are also many dialects spoken by Saudis who have immigrated from elsewhere, such as other Najdi dialects, South Arabian dialects, and Hejazi dialects. The
Mehri language Mehri () is the most spoken of the Modern South Arabian languages (MSALs), a subgroup of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. It is spoken by the Mehri tribes, who inhabit isolated areas of the eastern part of Yemen, western Oman, pa ...
is also spoken by Mehri Saudis. Saudi Sign Language is the principal language of the deaf community. The large expatriate communities also speak their own languages, the most numerous of which are some of the Indian languages, Filipino/ Tagalog, Bengali,
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
, as well as Arabic dialects such as Egyptian, Levantine, and Yemeni.


Education

From 1,264,687 male residents who were above the age of 10, 88.78%, representing 1,122,738 persons had some form of formal education. As for females, from the 1,161,677 residents above the age of 10, 80.77% or 938,233 persons were formally educated.


Housing

44.42% of residential units in the Eastern Province are apartments and 96.29% of residential units are made of
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
.
Homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
was not reported.


Health

3.51% of the province's Saudi residents, who were above the age of 15, reported some form of
disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...
in 2016, with
visual impairment Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...
being the most common form of disability and 42,052 persons suffering from some form of visual impairment. 58,000 persons reported severe or extreme disability. 285,754 Saudi residents above the age of 15 reported that they were regularly
smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...
, with 254,233 reporting daily smoking and 31,521 reporting intermittent smoking.


Economy

The economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is largely dependent on oil. As such, the Eastern Province, being the province with most of Saudi Arabia's oil reserves enjoys a high economic position.
Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- l ...
, the
state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...
oil company of Saudi Arabia and an organization of major significance in the
petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (often by oil tankers ...
, is based in
Dhahran Dhahran (, ) is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 143,936 as of 2022, it is a major administrative center for the History of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia, Saudi ...
in the Dammam metropolitan area. It became the fifth company in the world to reach a
market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...
of $1 trillion ($1,000,000,000,000) on December 11, 2019. After going public the same day in what is considered the largest
Initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
ever as of December 2019, the next day, on December 12, 2019, the company reached a market cap of $2 trillion, becoming the first and only company in the world to break the record. The kingdom's main oil and gas fields are located in the Eastern Province with sites such as the
Ghawar Field Ghawar (Arabic: الغوار) is an oil field located in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Measuring (some ), it is by far the largest conventional oil field in the world, and accounts for roughly a third of the cumulative ...
, the largest onshore
oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...
in the world and the Safaniya oil field, the largest Offshore drilling field in the world. Petroleum is refined in various refineries spread across the kingdom and shipped to dozens of countries from port cities such as
Ras Tanura Ras Tanura (, presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city and semi-governorate in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Per ...
. The East–West pipeline enables efficient transport of oil from the eastern oil fields and refineries to the western refineries and ports, such as Rabigh and
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
. Saudi Arabia's largest agricultural product, dates, also forms a large part of the province's economy. Every year thousands of tonnes of dates are harvested from the date palms in the giant oasis of Al-Ahsa Oasis to be sold in and around the kingdom.


Transportation


Air

Dammam's King Fahd International Airport, operating since October 1999, the largest airport in the world in terms of land area, serves as the primary hub for the entirety of the Eastern Province. Located 30 km northwest of the city, the airport is well connected by air to 43 destinations in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, provided by 37 airlines. Other airports in the province include Al-Ahsa International Airport and Hafar al-Batin–Qaisumah International Airport. Saudi Aramco has a separate terminal at the King Fahd International Airport for their employees and aircraft with scheduled flights to Shaybah, Yanbu, Jeddah and other sites where the company is active.


Sea

Built in the 1940s, the King Abdulaziz Sea Port, located on the coast of the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
, is the second largest and second busiest port in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, after the Jeddah Islamic Port in Jeddah. It is also the largest port in the Persian Gulf. The port is equipped with 9 ports with 214 platforms. The port receives more than 15,000 ships carrying more than 13 million containers or 532 million tons of cargo annually.


Roads

Highway 95 (Route 5M) connects Khafji on the
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
i border in the north to the Ramlah border station on the
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
i border in the south via Jubail,
Ras Tanura Ras Tanura (, presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city and semi-governorate in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Per ...
, the Dammam metropolitan area, the Salwa border station on the
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
i border and the Batha' border station with the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. Highway 40 (Route 80M) connects
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
and Dammam via the 25 km (15 mi) King Fahd Causeway over the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and onward to
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
on the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
via
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
,
Taif Taif (, ) is a city and governorate in Mecca Province in Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat Mountains, the city has a population of 563,282 people in 2022, mak ...
and
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. Highways 605, 610, 613, 614, 615, 617 and 619, known locally by other popular names, connect the Dammam metropolitan to Ras Tanura, Jubail, the King Fahd International Airport, Abqaiq and Hofuf. Intercity bus services are operated in the province by the Saudi Public Transport Company.
Umrah The Umrah () is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the '' Ḥajj'' (; "pilgrimage"), which has specific d ...
and
Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
shuttle services are also provided to residents of the kingdom by private contractors. Shuttle services also connect the Dammam metropolitan area to the Bahrain International Airport, northeast of
Manama Manama ( ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and List of cities in Bahrain, largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 297,502 as of 2012. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is ...
in Bahrain.


Railway

There is two lines in the Eastern Province, the Dammam–Riyadh line a passenger line, which runs from Dammam to Riyadh via Abqaiq and Hofuf, and the other freight, which runs directly from Dammam to Riyadh, are managed by Saudi Arabia Railways.


Metro

A plan to build a Metro in Dammam was also in the works, but its current status is unknown.


Governorates


Governors


See also

*
Provinces of Saudi Arabia The provinces of Saudi Arabia, also known as regions (), are the 13 first-level administrative divisions of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. History After the unification of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom was divided into four provinces: ...
*
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 ...
*
Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia () is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province), and the United Arab ...
* Shia Islam in Saudi Arabia


References


{{Authority control Provinces of Saudi Arabia