Sakaka City

Sakaka City is the administrative capital of al-Jawf Province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the seat of the emirate, its largest city, and the most populous.

Sakaka is located in the northern and eastern parts of al-Jawf Province and links the Northern Borders and Hail provinces. The rest of al-Jawf governorates, i.e. al-Qurayyat, Tabarjal, and Dawmat al-Jandal, border Sakaka to the west.

Sakaka is a population center in al-Jawf Province. With an eight-fold increase in the population between the 1970s and the early 2000s, it turned from a rural settlement into a growing city where its population doubled eight times. Its population growth rate is at 3.4 percent.

Around 39.7 percent of the region's population, estimated at 236,669, live in Sakaka, according to the 2022 Saudi census. The city covers an area of 100 km, thus recording a high population density at a rate of 2,366 people per 1 km of its land.

The main northern gate to the Arabian Peninsula is Sakaka, one of the oldest human settlement sites in the Kingdom since it includes al-Shuwayhitiyah, which dates back to the Oldowan era in the Stone Age.

Zaabal Castle, north of Sakaka, which is surrounded by ancient farms; the historic Sisera Well; the Cave of Hadra, which has archaeological drawings engraved on its rocks; and Tuwair district, an ancient historical city buried in sand dunes; as well as al-Rajajil monuments, a set of stone pillars built on a rocky hill and inscribed with Thamudic drawings and texts dating back to the fourth millennium BC; are some of the monument sites that are currently among the region's most important tourist attractions.

Al Jawf International Airport, which is the province's main airport; the head offices of ministries and government Institutions; and Jouf University's main campus are all located within Sakaka.