View source for Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

{{Hatnote|This article is about the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. For other uses, see [[Eastern Province (disambiguation)|Eastern Province]].}}
{{short description|Administrative region of Saudi Arabia}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Eastern Province
| area_rank          = 1
| subdivision_type2  = Locality
| subdivision_type3  = Municipalities
| subdivision_type4  = Region
| subdivision_name4  = [[Eastern Arabia]]
| unit_pref          = metric
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_as_of   = 2022
| subdivision_type1  = Governorates
| area_code          = 013
| postal_code        = 3XXXX
| timezone           = [[Saudi Arabia Standard Time|SAST]]
| utc_offset         = +03:00
| iso_code           = SA–04
| population_rank    = 3
| official_name      = 
| population_total   = 5,125,254
| demographics_type1 = [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] (2022)
| demographics1_title1 = Total
| demographics1_info1 = [[Dollar sign|US$]] 343.8 billion.<ref>{{citation|title=Estimating Saudi Arabia's Regional GDP Using Satellite Nighttime Light Images|url=https://www.kapsarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Estimating-Saudi-Arabia%E2%80%99s-Regional-GDP-Using-Satellite-Nighttime-Light-Images.pdf|website=www.kapsarc.org|access-date=2024-01-29|archive-date=2024-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406190632/https://www.kapsarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Estimating-Saudi-Arabia%E2%80%99s-Regional-GDP-Using-Satellite-Nighttime-Light-Images.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 672522
| leader_name1       = [[Saud bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud|Saud bin Bandar]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-13 |title=Royal decrees hand new roles to Saudi royals and other officials |url=https://arab.news/9g5px |access-date=2025-06-03 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref>
| leader_name        = [[Saud bin Nayef Al Saud|Saud bin Nayef]]
| leader_title1      = Deputy Governor
| government_type    = Development Authority / [[Municipality]]
| governing_body     = * [[Sharqia Development Authority]]<br>(Upper body)
* [[Eastern Province Municipality]]<br>(Lower body)
| leader_title       = Governor
| image_map          = Ash Sharqiyah in Saudi Arabia.svg
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Saudi Arabia}}
| subdivision_type   = [[Country]]
| settlement_type    = [[Provinces of Saudi Arabia|Province]]
| seat               = [[Dammam]]
| seat_type          = Seat
| parts_type         = [[List of governorates of Saudi Arabia|Governorates]]
| parts_style        = para
| p1                 = 12
| native_name_lang   = ar
| native_name        = المنطقة الشرقية
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
  | total_width            = 315
  | border                 = infobox
  | perrow                 = 1/2/2/1
  | caption_align = center
| image1          = Ajdan Walk, Saudi Arabia.png
| caption1        = Ajdan Walk
| image2          = Khobar water tower.jpg
| caption2        = [[Khobar]] Water Tower
| image3          = King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) (cropped).png
| caption3        = [[King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture|Ithra Center]]
| image4          = واجهة-قلعة-تاروت.jpg
| caption4        = [[Tarout Castle]]
| image5          = Qatif corniche (2).jpg
| caption5        = [[Qatif|Qatif Sea]] 
| image6          = Al-Ahsa Palm Oasis 2023.jpg
| caption6        = [[Al-Ahsa Oasis]] 
}}
| image_seal         = <noinclude>Eastern Province Municipality Logo.svg</noinclude>
| website            = {{URL|https://www.eamana.gov.sa/}}
}}
The '''Eastern Province''' ([[Arabic]]: المنطقة الشرقية‎, [[Romanization of Arabic|romanized]]: al-Mintaqah ash-Sharqīyah), also known as the '''Eastern Region''', is a [[Provinces of Saudi Arabia|province]] in [[Saudi Arabia]]. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third most populous after [[Riyadh Province|Riyadh]] and [[Mecca Province|Mecca]] provinces. As of 2022, the population is 5,125,254.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/population_characteristics_surveysar.pdf|title=Population Characteristics surveys|date=2017|website=General Authority for Statistics|access-date=2019-01-09|archive-date=2020-02-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209031618/https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/population_characteristics_surveysar.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/407209|title=Riyadh most populous Saudi city, Makkah most populous province|date=2012-02-25|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> 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 seat of the province, is the fourth most populous city in the kingdom. Other populous cities in the province include [[Qatif City|Qatif]], [[Hofuf]], [[Hafar al-Batin]], [[Jubail]] and [[Khobar]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/saudi-arabia-population/cities/|website=worldpopulationreview.com|access-date=2020-04-02|title=Population of Cities in Saudi Arabia (2021)|archive-date=2020-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307055531/http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/saudi-arabia-population/cities/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The region is extremely popular among tourists for its beaches on the [[Persian Gulf|Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf)]] and proximity to the other countries of the eastern [[Arab world]], such as the [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Qatar]] and [[Bahrain]], with the latter being linked to the province via the 25&nbsp;km (15&nbsp;mi) long [[King Fahd Causeway]]. The Province also shares a border with [[Oman]], [[Yemen]], [[Kuwait]] and [[Iraq]]. The province is bordered to the west, from north to south, by the provinces of the [[Northern Borders Province|Northern Borders]], [[Hail Province, Saudi Arabia|Hail]], [[Al-Qassim Province|Al-Qassim]], [[Riyadh Province|Riyadh]] and [[Najran Province|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. [[Petroleum|Oil]] was first found in the country in the Eastern Province, at the Prosperity Well site (formerly known as Dammam No.7). The [[Ghawar Field|Ghawar oil field]], located in the [[Al-Ahsa Governorate]], measuring 8,400 sq.km. (3,240 sq.mi.) is the largest oil field in the world,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/projects/ghawar-oil-field/|title=Ghawar Oil Field|website=Hydrocarbons Technology|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-04}}</ref> and accounts for roughly a third of the kingdom's oil production. The [[Safaniya Oil Field|Safaniya oil field]], located off the coast of the province, is the largest [[Offshore drilling|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/world-s-largest-industrial-areas.html|title=The World's Largest Industrial Areas|website=WorldAtlas|date=10 June 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref>

The Province was home to the [[Dilmun]] civilization which was an ancient [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]–speaking [[polity]] in [[Eastern Arabia]]. 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22596270|title=Bahrain digs unveil one of oldest civilizations|publisher=[[BBC]]|work=BBC News|date=2013-05-21|last1=Smith|first1=Sylvia}}</ref><ref name="uns">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1192 |title=Qal'at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=17 August 2011}}</ref> Dilmun was an important and prosperous trading centre for millennia with well-developed and long-standing trading, commercial and cultural ties with nearby [[Mesopotamia]] in particular and the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]].
A number of scholars have suggested that Dilmun originally designated the eastern province of [[Saudi Arabia]], notably linked with the major Dilmunite settlements of Umm an-Nussi and Umm ar-Ramadh in the interior and [[Tarout Island]] on the coast.<ref>Roads of Arabia p.180</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Rub al Khali 002.JPG|thumb|248x248px|The [[Rub' al Khali|Rub' al-Khali]] or Empty Quarter, comprises more than a third of the Eastern Province]]
Approximately two-thirds of the province is desert, comprising, from south to north, the [[Rub' al Khali]], [[Ad-Dahna Desert|Dahna]] and [[Nafud desert|Nafud]] deserts, with the Rub' al-Khali alone making up more than half of the area of the province. Areas such as [[Hafar al-Batin|Hafr al-Batin]] and the [[Al-Ahsa Oasis]] have become important sites for [[desert farming]] due to the advancements made during the [[Green Revolution]] 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]], [[Kuwait]], [[Bahrain]], [[Qatar]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Oman]], and [[Yemen]].

==History==
[[File:Mohammad adil-Rashidun empire-slide.gif|thumb|335x335px|The [[Rashidun Caliphate]] expanded the Muslim world into three continents within 20 years of the death of [[Muhammad]]]]
The Eastern Province was home to the Dilmun civilization for several millennia which was an important trading center from the late [[4th millennium BC]] to 800 BC.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} At the height of its power, Dilmun controlled the Persian Gulf trading routes.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} Dilmun was very prosperous during the first 300 years of the second millennium.<ref>{{cite web|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=2BevKadehakC |page=152 }} |title=Dilmun and Its Gulf Neighbours|author=Harriet E. W. Crawford|author-link=Harriet Crawford|year=1998|page=152}}</ref>

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 (civilization)|Magan]] ([[Oman]]), and [[Mesopotamia]].<ref name="uns"/> The Dilmun civilization is mentioned first in [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] [[cuneiform]] clay tablets dated to the late third millennium BC, found in the temple of goddess [[Inanna]], in the city of [[Uruk]]. 
One of the earliest inscriptions mentioning Dilmun is that of king [[Ur-Nanshe]] of [[Lagash]] ({{circa|2300 BC}}) found in a door-socket: "The ships of Dilmun brought him wood as tribute from foreign lands."<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=iY9xp4pLp88C |page=308 }} |title=The Sumerians: their history, culture, and character |page=308 |author=Samuel Noah Kramer |year=1963 }}</ref>

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.<ref name="ReferenceA">The Arab world: an illustrated history p.4</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Likewise the Sumerian tale of the garden paradise of Dilmun may have been an inspiration for the [[Garden of Eden]] story.<ref name="ed">{{cite book|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=jwddi0p4jQkC |page=10 }} |title=Getting Back Into the Garden of Eden|author=Edward Conklin|page=10}}</ref><ref name="University of Pennsylvania Press">{{cite book|last1=Kramer|first1=Samuel Noah|title=Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C.: Revised Edition|date=1961|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-0-8122-1047-7|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/sum/|access-date=21 May 2017|pages=54–59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kramer|first1=Samuel Noah|title=The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character|url=https://archive.org/details/sumerianstheirhi00samu|url-access=registration|date=1963|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|isbn=978-0-226-45238-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sumerianstheirhi00samu/page/145 145–150]|quote=In fact, there is some reason to believe that the very idea of a paradise, a garden of the gods, originated with the Sumerians.}}</ref>

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 [[fall of Babylon|collapse of Babylon]] in 538 BC.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
 
The northern part of the Eastern Province later became inhabited by the Arab [[Lakhmid kingdom|Lakhmids]] around 300 AD, with the coastal regions claimed by the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanians]] but governed by the Lakhmids. The entire [[Arabian Peninsula]] fell into Muslim hands during the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] and the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]], after [[Muhammad]]'s death.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=Atlas of world history |year=2000 |last=Black |first=Jeremy|publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |isbn=0-7894-4609-X |oclc=42953915 }}</ref> The region stayed stable during the first three Islamic caliphates. 
[[File:IbnSaud.jpg|thumb|[[Ibn Saud|King Ibn Saud]] is largely accepted to be the founder of present-day [[Saudi Arabia]], also known as the Third Saudi State]]During the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], the region was taken over by the [[Qarmatians]], a [[Shia Islam|Shia]] group of the [[Ismailism|Isma'ili]] branch, around 899 AD. The Qarmatians attacked [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] in 930 AD<ref name="Glasse">Glassé, Cyril. 2008. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam''. Walnut Creek CA: AltaMira Press p. 369</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Edward William Lane|title=Arabic-English Lexicon|url=http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h902,ll=2614,ls=9,la=3606,sg=851,ha=614,pr=126,vi=296,mgf=723,mr=536,mn=1113,aan=520,kz=2127,ulq=1410,uqa=346,uqw=1307,umr=877,ums=738,umj=656,uqq=306,bdw=714,amr=517,asb=792,auh=1288,dhq=453,mht=736,msb=198,tla=85,amj=646,ens=1,mis=1|page=2519|author-link=Edward William Lane}}</ref> and held the [[Black Stone]] to ransom in [[Ain Al Kuayba]], [[Qatif]].<ref name=":6">{{cite web|author={{lang|ar|محمد العبدالله (القطيف)}}|date=2019-06-23|script-title=ar:القطيف: إعادة رونق عين «الكعيبة» الأثري|url=https://www.okaz.com.sa/local/na/1733373|access-date=2021-08-04|website=Okaz|language=Arabic}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=":4" />

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.<ref name=":4" />

In 1551 AD, the Ottomans invaded the region during their [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555)|first war with the Safavids]], and kept it under their control until 1671.<ref name=":4" /> 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, took the entire [[Arabian Peninsula]] from Ottoman and [[Emirate of Jabal Shammar|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]] moved into the area which is now [[Khobar]], 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 pyramid|year=2016|mmax=8|fmax=8|m0=4.23|m5=4.53|m10=3.82|m15=3.41|m55=2.18|m75=0.2|m70=0.33|m65=0.48|m60=1.18|m35=7.76|m50=3.36|m45=4.88|m40=6.60|m30=6.58|m25=5.80|m20=4.45|m80=0.17|f60=0.67|f30=4.07|f35=3.78|f40=3.11|f45=2.20|f50=1.50|f55=1.05|f65=0.46|f5=4.03|f70=0.28|f75=0.21|f80=0.19|f15=3.02|f10=3.41|f0=3.98|f25=4.43|f20=3.63}}

=== Population ===
According to the Population Characteristics Surveys conducted by the [[General Authority for Statistics (Saudi Arabia)|General Authority for Statistics]], the Eastern Province had a population of 4,900,325 as of December 2017,<ref name=":0" /> 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]] and [[Riyadh Province]]. With an estimated population of 1,225,000 as of 2019,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/22416/ad-dammam/population|title=Ad-Dammam, Saudi Arabia Population 1950-2020|website=www.macrotrends.net|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> 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]]. It is also the largest governorate in terms of land area. The province had the lowest [[dependency ratio]] in the kingdom at around 36%, as of 2016.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/en-demographic-research-2016_2.pdf|title=Demographic Survey 2016|website=General Authority for Statistics|access-date=2020-04-04|archive-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080848/https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/en-demographic-research-2016_2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[sex ratio]] 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.<ref name=":5" /> 1% of children in the province were orphans.<ref name=":5" />

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Saudi Arabia}} 
The local Saudi population is entirely Muslim, with the majority being [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Muslims. [[Shia Islam|Shia]] constitute a large minority, concentrated especially in [[Qatif]] and [[Al-Ahsa Governorate|Al-Ahsa]] governorates. Common religions among non-Saudis are Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}

===Languages===
The official language of Saudi Arabia is [[Arabic]]. The standard spoken dialect in the Eastern Province is a variant of [[Najdi Arabic]],<ref>{{citation|last1=Al Bohnayyah |first1=Moayyad |title=Dialect Variation and Change in Eastern Arabia: Al-Ahsa Dialect |date=2019 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348448217 |access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref> 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]] dialects,<ref name="ksa">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl_dDVctycgC&pg=RA3-PA38 |title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Volume 4 |chapter=Gulf Arabic |edition=2nd |year=2003 |page=38 |isbn=978-019513977-8 |editor-last=Frawley |editor-first=William J. |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]], USA }}</ref><ref name="per">[http://www.ethnologue.com/country/sa/languages Languages of Saudi Arabia] ''[[Ethnologue]]''</ref> spoken by approximately 2 million people, including [[Al-Ahsa Governorate|Hasawi]] variants, [[Bahraini Gulf Arabic|Bahraini]] variants,<ref>{{citation|last=Alaodini |first=Hind |title=A Sociolinguistic study of the Dawāsir dialect in Dammam, Eastern Arabia: fortition of /j/ and unrounding of /a:/ |date=June 2019 |url=http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/24935 |publisher=University of Essex |language=en }}</ref> and others.
# [[Bahrani Arabic|Baharna dialects]] spoken in [[Qatif]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Prochazka |first=Theodore |title=THE SPOKEN ARABIC OF AL-QAṬĪF |journal=Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik |year=1990 |issue=21 |pages=63–70 |jstor=43615788 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43615788 }}</ref>
# 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 (tribe)|Ajman]], and Mixed Northern-Central Najdi dialects such as dialects of [[Al-Dhafeer]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ingham |first1=Bruce |title=Najdi Arabic : central Arabian |date=1994 |publisher=J. Benjamins Pub. Co |location=Amsterdam |isbn=9781556197253 |pages=4–5}}</ref>

There are also many dialects spoken by Saudis who have immigrated from elsewhere, such as other Najdi dialects, South Arabian dialects, and [[Hejazi Arabic|Hejazi dialects]]. The [[Mehri language]] is also spoken by [[Mehri people|Mehri]] Saudis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=الحيدري |first1=فيصل |title=20 ألف سعودي يتحدثون "المهرية" |url=https://www.alwatan.com.sa/article/142226 |access-date=19 September 2022 |work=Watanksa |date=20 June 2012 |language=Arabic}}</ref> [[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 [[Languages of India|Indian languages]], [[Filipino language|Filipino]]/[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Urdu]],<ref name="HRW">{{citation|chapter=Migrant Communities in Saudi Arabia|title=Bad Dreams: Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia|year=2004|publisher=Human Rights Watch|chapter-url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2004/07/13/bad-dreams/exploitation-and-abuse-migrant-workers-saudi-arabia}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=SA Saudi Arabia]. Ethnologue</ref> as well as Arabic dialects such as [[Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian]], [[Levantine Arabic|Levantine]], and [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemeni]].

=== Education ===
As of 2016, of the 1,264,687 male residents aged over 10, 88.78%—representing 1,122,738 individuals—had received some form of [[formal education]]. Among females, 80.77% of the 1,161,677 residents over the age of 10—equivalent to 938,233 individuals—were formally educated.<ref name=":5" />

=== Housing ===
As of 2016, 44.42% of residential units in the Eastern Province were apartments, and 96.29% were built with [[concrete]].<ref name=":5" /> No cases of [[homelessness]] were officially recorded.<ref name=":5" />

=== Health ===
As of 2016, 3.51% of the province's Saudi residents aged 15 and over reported some form of [[disability]], with [[visual impairment]] being the most commonly reported type, affecting 42,052 individuals.<ref name=":5" /> 58,000 persons reported severe or extreme disability.<ref name=":5" /> 285,754 Saudi residents above the age of 15 reported that they were regularly [[smoking]], with 254,233 reporting daily smoking and 31,521 reporting [[wikt:intermittent|intermittent]] smoking.

==Economy==
[[File:Dammam No. 7 on March 4, 1938.jpg|thumb|270x270px|''[[Dammam No. 7]]'', the first well to produce commercial quantities of oil in [[Saudi Arabia]]]]
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]], the [[State-owned enterprise|state-owned]] oil company of Saudi Arabia and an organization of major significance in the [[petroleum industry]], is based in [[Dhahran]] in the [[Dammam metropolitan area]]. It became the fifth company in the world to reach a [[market capitalization]] 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]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/12/investing/saudi-aramco-2-trillion/index.html|title=The world has its first $2 trillion company. But for how long?|author=Charles Riley|website=CNN|date=12 December 2019 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> 
[[File:Sag‘ai dates from Saudi Arabia.jpg|thumb|226x226px|[[Saudi Arabia]]n Saga'i dates]]
The kingdom's main oil and gas fields are located in the Eastern Province with sites such as the [[Ghawar Field]], the largest onshore [[Petroleum reservoir|oil field]] in the world and the [[Safaniya Oil Field|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]]. 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]].

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==
{{See also|Transport in Saudi Arabia|List of airports in Saudi Arabia}}

===Air===
[[File:Dammam0136.jpg|thumb|224x224px|Inside [[King Fahd International Airport]]]]
[[File:Aramco Plane 1.jpg|thumb|225x225px|A [[Saudi Aramco]] aircraft at Shaybah Airport in [[Shaybah]]]]
Dammam's [[King Fahd International Airport]], operating since October 1999,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://kfia.gov.sa/about-kfia/|title=About King Fahd International Airport {{!}} King Fahd International Airport|website=kfia.gov.sa|access-date=2020-04-04}}</ref> the largest airport in the world in terms of land area, serves as the primary hub for the entirety of the Eastern Province.<ref name=":2" /> Located 30&nbsp;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 [[Qaisumah–Hafar Al-Batin 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 Port]], located on the coast of the [[Persian Gulf]], is the second largest and second busiest port in [[Saudi Arabia]], 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.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://mawani.gov.sa:443/en-us/SAPorts/dammam/Pages/default.aspx|title=King Abdulaziz Port Dammam King Abdulaziz Port Dammam|last=Mawani|website=mawani.gov.sa|language=en|access-date=2020-04-04}}</ref> The port receives more than 15,000 ships carrying more than 13 million containers or 532 million tons of cargo annually.<ref name=":3" />

===Roads===
Highway 95 (Route 5M) connects [[Khafji]] on the [[Kuwait]]i border in the north to the Ramlah border station on the [[Oman]]i border in the south via [[Jubail]], [[Ras Tanura]], the [[Dammam metropolitan area]], the Salwa border station on the [[Qatar]]i border and the Batha' border station with the [[United Arab Emirates]]. Highway 40 (Route 80M) connects [[Bahrain]] and [[Dammam]] via the 25&nbsp;km (15&nbsp;mi) [[King Fahd Causeway]] over the [[Persian Gulf]] and onward to [[Jeddah]] on the [[Red Sea]] via [[Riyadh]], [[Taif]] and [[Mecca]]. 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]].
[[File:King Fahd Causeway bridge num4.jpg|thumb|224x224px|The 25 km (15 mi) [[King Fahd Causeway]] connects [[Bahrain]] to [[Saudi Arabia]]]]
Intercity bus services are operated in the province by the [[Saudi Public Transport Company]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.saptco.com.sa/Buses/Transportation-between-Cities.aspx|title=SAPTCO - InterCity Transport|date=1 April 2020|website=SAPTCO - InterCity Transport|access-date=1 April 2020|archive-date=17 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317004156/https://saptco.com.sa/Buses/Transportation-between-Cities.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Umrah]] and [[Hajj]] 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]] 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.saudirailways.org/sites/sro/Pages/en-us/AboutUs/OrganizationalInformation/ExistingNetwork.aspx|title=SRO|website=www.saudirailways.org|access-date=2020-04-04|archive-date=2016-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428150325/https://www.saudirailways.org/sites/sro/Pages/en-us/AboutUs/OrganizationalInformation/ExistingNetwork.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Metro===
{{Main|Dammam Metro}}
A plan to build a [[Rapid transit|Metro]] in Dammam was also in the works, but its current status is unknown.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.railwaygazette.com/dammam-metro-plans-announced/39539.article |title=Dammam metro plans announced |date=2014-05-23 |website=Railway Gazette International |language=en |access-date=2020-04-04 }}</ref>

==Governorates==
{{see also|Provinces of Saudi Arabia|List of governorates of Saudi Arabia}}
The '''Eastern Province''' consists of 12 governorates classified into two categories: 5 governorates in Category '''A''' and 7 in Category '''B'''. These categories are based primarily on the level of services and infrastructure available in each governorate. With [[Dammam]] serving as the seat city of the province, Dammam had a population of 1,386,671 as of 2022.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! No. !! Governorate !! Capital !! Population (2022) !! Category
|-
| 1 || [[Al-Ahsa Governorate]] || [[Hofuf]] || 1,104,267 || A
|-
| 2 || [[Khobar|Khobar Governorate]] || Khobar || 658,550 || A
|-
| 3 || [[Qatif|Qatif Governorate]] || [[Qatif City|Qatif]] || 552,442 || A
|-
| 4 || [[Jubail|Jubail Governorate]] || Jubail || 505,162 || A
|-
| 5 || [[Hafar al-Batin|Hafar al-Batin Governorate]] || Hafar al-Batin || 467,007 || A
|-
| 6 || [[Khafji|Khafji Governorate]] || Khafji || 84,316 || B
|-
| 7 || [[Ras Tanura|Ras Tanura Governorate]] || Ras Tanura || 62,314 || B
|-
| 8 || [[Nariyah|Nariyah Governorate]] || Nariyah || 52,340 || B
|-
| 9 || [[Abqaiq|Abqaiq Governorate]] || Abqaiq || 45,032 || B
|-
| 10 || [[Qaryat al-Ulya|Qaryat al-Ulya Governorate]] || Qaryat al-Ulya || 24,634 || B
|-
| 11 || [[Al-Udeid, Saudi Arabia|Al-Udeid Governorate]] || Al-Udeid || 8,635 || B
|-
| 12 || [[Al-Bayda, Saudi Arabia|Al-Bayda Governorate]] || Al-Bayda || N/A || B
|}

==List of governors==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Term of Office !! Monarch(s)
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Office established
|-
| [[Abdullah bin Jalawi Al Saud|Abdullah bin Jalawi]] || 1913 – 1938 || [[Ibn Saud|Abdulaziz]]
|-
| [[Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi|Saud bin Abdullah]] || 1938 – 1967 || Abdulaziz, [[Saud of Saudi Arabia|Saud]], [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|Faisal]]
|-
| [[Abdul Mohsen bin Abdullah Al Jalawi|Abdul Mohsen bin Abdullah]] || 1967 – 1985 || Faisal, [[Khalid of Saudi Arabia|Khalid]], [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|Fahd]]
|-
| [[Muhammad bin Fahd Al Saud|Muhammad bin Fahd]] || 1985 – 2013 || Fahd, [[Abdullah of Saudi Arabia|Abdullah]]
|-
| [[Saud bin Nayef Al Saud|Saud bin Nayef]] || 2013 – present || Abdullah, [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|Salman]]
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Saudi Arabia}}
* [[Provinces of Saudi Arabia]]
* [[List of governorates of Saudi Arabia]]
* [[List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia]]
* [[Eastern Arabia]]
* [[Shia Islam in Saudi Arabia]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}<br />{{Geographic location
| Centre    = Eastern Province
| North     = {{flagicon|Kuwait}}[[Al Jahra Governorate|Al Jahra]] and [[Al Ahmadi Governorate|Al Ahmadi]] governorates, [[Kuwait]]
| Northeast = {{flagicon|Bahrain}} [[Bahrain]]
| East      = {{flagicon|Qatar}}[[Jariyan al Batnah]], [[Qatar]]<br>{{flagicon|UAE}}[[Abu Dhabi (emirate)|Abu Dhabi]], [[UAE]]
| Southeast = {{flagicon|Oman}}[[Ad Dhahirah Governorate|Ad Dhahirah]], [[Al Wusta Governorate (Oman)|Al Wusta]], and [[Dhofar Governorate|Dhofar]] Governorates , [[Oman]]
| South     = {{flagicon|Yemen}}[[Hadhramaut Governorate]], [[Yemen]]
| Southwest = [[Najran Region]]
| West      = [[Riyadh Region]]
| Northwest = {{flagicon|Iraq}}[[Al Muthanna Governorate]], [[Iraq]]<br>[[Northern Borders Region]]
}}

{{Regions of Saudi Arabia}}
{{Saudi Arabia topics}}
{{Saudi cities}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia| ]]
[[Category:Provinces of Saudi Arabia]]