Makkah al-Mukarramah Province

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province is one of the thirteen administrative provinces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and comes fourth among the Kingdom’s provinces in terms of area. It is bordered to the east by Riyadh Province, to the north by al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province, to the south by Aseer and al-Bahah Provinces, and to the west by the Red Sea, and Makkah al-Mukarramah City is its administrative capital and the seat of its emirate.

After the foundation of the Kingdom, the province was subject to royal administration for thirty-four years. It was under the management of King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. At that time, he was the deputy to the founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, then Crown Prince during the reign of his brother King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Prince Khalid al-Faisal has been the governor of Makkah al-Mukarramah Province since 2015.

On December 12, 2023, a royal order was issued appointing Prince Saudi Bin Mishaal Bin Abdulaziz as the deputy governor of Makkah al-Mukarramah Province with excellent rank.

Makkah Al-Mukarramah City witnessed urban expansion, yet it has preserved its oldest demarcation of boundaries to this day. This is known as al-Haram boundaries, which are defined by 1,104 landmarks surrounding the four directions of Makkah.

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province consists of sixteen governorates. They are: Jeddah, Taif, al-Qunfudhah, al-Lith, Rabigh, al-Jumum, Khulays, al-Kamil, al-Khurmah, Ranyah, Turubah, Maysan, al-Muwayh, Adam, al-Ardiyat, and Bahrah. They have 128 centers affiliated with them. Four of the province's governorates are located on the Red Sea coast. Taif Governorate is the largest governorate in the province and the seventh among the Kingdom's governorates in terms of area.

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province, represented by its administrative capital, is a global center and an essential destination in the lives of more than a billion Muslims around the world. The Grand Mosque is located within its borders, and it contains al-Kaaba al-Musharrafa, the direction of Muslims worldwide in their prayers.

Aerial photo of the Grand Mosque. (Saudipedia)

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province encompasses holy sites designated for performing religious rituals during Hajj and Umrah seasons. Makkah al-Mukarramah City represents the religious capital of Muslims. The headquarters of both the Muslim World League, representing the union of Muslims from all over the world, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the second-largest international organization in terms of the number of members after the United Nations, are located within its borders.

Makkah al-Mukarramah City received about 13.5 million pilgrims in 2023, while the number of pilgrims reached about 1,845,045 pilgrims in 2023.

Among the thirteen provinces of the Kingdom, Makkah al-Mukarramah Province comes in second place in terms of population with 8,021,463 people behind Riyadh Province, according to official statistics of the 2022 Saudi Census, with a rate of 24.9 percent of the Kingdom’s population, and in second place in terms of population density, at an average of about fifty-eight people per km of its land Its area is about 137,000 km, which is 7 percent of the total area of the Kingdom. It is the fourth largest province in the Kingdom in area, following the Eastern Province with 540,000 km, Riyadh with 380,000 km, and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah with 150,000 km.

The population of Makkah al-Mukarramah City constitutes 42.7 percent of the total population in the province, amounting to 2,427,924 people, while 3,751,722 people live in Jeddah Governorate, representing 46.7 percent of the province's population. This makes Jeddah Governorate the second most populous city in the Kingdom after Riyadh City.

King Abdullah Economic City was established in 2005 in Rabigh Governorate in Makkah al-Mukarramah Province. (Saudipedia)

In addition to its religious significance, Makkah al-Mukarramah Province combines both tourism and economic importance. King Abdullah Economic City, one of the largest economic cities in the Kingdom, is located on its coast, with an area of 181 km2. It also encompasses King Abdullah Port, which ranks second in the world and first in the province in terms of container handling growth rate. It was considered among the world’s fastest-growing ports in 2018, according to the Alphaliner ranking.

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province accounts for 13 percent of the Kingdom's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and comes second behind Riyadh Province in terms of the number of economically active people, with a rate of 22 percent. The province also comes second behind Riyadh Province in accommodating family businesses with 28 percent of family businesses. It is noteworthy that family establishments employ about 7.2 million employees, which constitutes 52 percent of the total workforce in the Kingdom.

One of the ancient buildings in Historic Jeddah. (Saudipedia)

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province encompasses Historic Jeddah in Jeddah Governorate, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, due to its modern infrastructure and preservation of the shape and design of its historical neighborhoods and streets. Jeddah Governorate is also distinguished for its waterfronts.

Taif Governorate is located in the center of Makkah al-Mukarramah Province. It is the most popular summer destination in the Kingdom and home to Souk Okaz (Okaz Market), one of the largest and most important cultural gatherings in the Arabian Peninsula, dating back to the beginning of the year 500.

Although Makkah al-Mukarramah Province lies within the scope of the Arabian-Nubian Shield formation, known to lack deep groundwater, the surface water of the province is renewable. The province has about fifty-seven dams, with a capacity of eighty-six million mof water. The number of agricultural holdings reached about 61,000 agricultural holdings until 2019.

Most of the province's residents and visitors use King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah Governorate. It is one of the most important airports in the Kingdom, as it represents the air gateway to Makkah al-Mukarramah Province, through which most Hajj pilgrims and Umrah performers reach the Grand Mosque. Residents of Taif Governorate and its surroundings use Taif International Airport.

On September 25, 2018, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, inaugurated the Haramain High-Speed Railway project (HHR), which connects: Makkah al-Mukarramah, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Abdullah Economic City, and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah with railways. This project is the sixth-largest transportation project in the world.

The climate of Makkah al-Mukarramah Province alternates between the effects of the Mediterranean and the monsoon climates. During summer, the province is exposed to tropical fronts, and the average annual temperature reaches about thirty-one degrees. In general, Makkah al-Mukarramah City records high temperatures throughout the year compared to Jeddah and Taif Governorates. For humidity, it reaches about 46 percent on average. Rainfall varies throughout the province, starting from the lowest rates of rainfall recorded in Jeddah Governorate to the highest rates recorded in Taif Governorate.