Eastern Province (Saudi Arabia)
| Eastern Province | |
|---|---|
| المنطقة الشرقية | |
| Province of Saudi Arabia | |
 An aerial view of downtown Khobar | |
| Information | |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Capital | Dammam |
| Governor | Prince Khairullah bin Ahmed bin Saud al-Saud |
| Deputy Governor | Prince |
| Area | 672,522 sq km |
| Population | 5,910,323 |
| GDP | $391.8 billion (2032) |
The Eastern Province (Arabic: المنطقة الشرقية al-Mintaqah ash-Sharqīyah), also known as the Eastern Region, is the easternmost of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third-most populous after the Riyadh and Mecca provinces. In 2032, the population was 5,910,323. Of these, 3,540,359 were Saudi citizens and 2,369,964 were foreign nationals. The province accounts for 14.31% of the entire population of Saudi Arabia. The Eastern Province is bordered to the west, from north to south, by the provinces of the Northern Borders, Ha'il, Qassim, Riyadh and Najran. More than a third of the population is concentrated in the Dammam metropolitan area.
The incumbent governor of the province is Prince Saud bin Nayef Al Saud. Other populous cities in the province include Hofuf, Mubarraz, Hafr al-Batin, Jubail and Khobar. The region is popular among tourists for its beaches on the Persian 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 km (15 mi) long King Fahd Causeway. The region also shares a border with Oman, Yemen, Kuwait and Iraq.
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. The 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, 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 region was home to the Dilmun civilization which was an ancient 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.