Largest Cities by Population in Saudi Arabia

113 cities in Saudi Arabia with 20,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by population at the census of May 22, 2022 (by General Authority for Statistics, Saudi Arabia).

Rank	City	Also Known As	Native Name	Population
1	Riyadh	Ar-Riyāḍ	الرياض	6,924,566
2	Jeddah	Jiddah	جدة	3,712,917
3	Mecca	Makkah	مكة	2,385,509
4	Medina	Al-Madīnah	المدينة	1,411,599
5	Dammam	Ad-Dammām	الدمام	1,386,166
6	Hofufincl. Al-Mubarraz	Al-Hufūf	الهفوف و المبرز	729,606
7	Tabuk	Tabouk	تبوك	594,350
8	Buraydah	Buraidah	بريدة	571,169
9	Ta'if	Aṭ-Ṭa'if	الطائف	563,282
10	Khamis Mushait	-	خميس مشيط	535,065
11	Jubail	Al-Jubaīl	الجبيل	474,679
12	Ha'il	-	حائل	448,623
13	Khobar	Al-Khubar	الخبر	409,549
14	Hafar al-Batin	-	حفر الباطن	387,096
15	Najran	-	نجران	381,431
16	Abha	-	أبها	334,290
17	Yanbu	Yanbu' al-Baḥr	ينبع البحر	331,916
18	Al-KharjAs-Saīḥ	-	الخرج	295,462
19	Ath-Thuqbah	-	الثقبة	248,888
20	Sakaka	-	سكاكا	204,174
21	'Ar'ar	-	عرعر	199,247
22	Unaizah	'Unaīzah	عنيزة	183,319
23	Jizan	-	جيزان	173,919
24	Al-Hawiyah	-	الحويه	171,610
25	Al-Qurayyat	-	القريات	167,080
26	Dhahran	Aẓ-Ẓahrān	الظهران	143,936
27	Tarout	Tārūt	تاروت	117,646
28	Bisha	Bīshah	بيشة	115,537
29	Ar-Rass	-	الرس	107,902
30	Muha'yil	-	محائل	97,967
31	Al-Bahah	-	الباحة	90,515
32	Sharurah	-	شرورة	89,456
33	Al-Qatif	-	القطيف	87,332
34	Ad-Dawadmi	-	الدوادمي	86,861
35	Saihat	-	سيهات	84,818
36	Ahad Rafidah	-	أحد رفيدة	79,202
37	Al-Khafji	-	الخفجي	78,691
38	Tubarjal	-	طبرجل	78,354
39	Wadi ad-Dawasir	-	وادي الدواسر	77,433
40	Rabigh	-	رابغ	72,928
41	Sabya	-	صبيا	72,086
42	Al-Majma'ah	-	المجمعة	70,243
43	Bahrah	-	بحرة	70,118
44	Abu 'Arish	-	أبو عريش	69,632
45	Az-Zulfi	-	الزلفي	68,317
46	Rafha'	-	رفحاء	63,929
47	Ad-Dir'iyah	-	الدرعية	61,609
48	Turaif	-	طريف	61,395
49	RahimahR'ās Tanūrah	-	رحيمة	57,030
50	Al-Muzahimiyah	-	المزاحمية	55,604
51	Al-Bada'i'a	-	البدائع	48,474
52	'Afif	-	عفيف	47,340
53	'Umluj	-	أملج	46,229
54	Safwa	Ṣafwah	صفوى	45,676
55	Abqaiq	Buqayq	بقيق	45,032
56	Samtah	Ṣāmiṭah	صامطة	43,301
57	Al-Bukayriyah	-	البكيرية	43,229
58	Al-Qunfudhah	-	القنفذة	42,447
59	Dumat al-JandalAl-Jawf	-	دومة الجندل	42,362
60	'Irqah	-	عرقة	42,179
61	Al-Jumum	-	الجموم	41,089
62	Al-'Ula	-	العلا	40,760
63	Nariyah	An-Nu'ayriyah	النعيرية	40,023
64	Duba'	-	ضباء	39,543
65	Ad-Dilam	-	الدلم	39,267
66	Tayma'	-	تيماء	37,579
67	Baljurashi	-	بلجرشي	35,985
68	Al-'Uyun	-	العيون	35,226
69	Al-Wajh	-	الوجه	33,868
70	Al-Midhnab	-	المذنب	33,341
71	Bish	-	بيش	32,679
72	Shaqraa	Shaqrā'	شقراء	32,215
73	Hotat Bani Tamim	Ḥawṭah Banī Tamīm	حوطة بني تميم	30,720
74	Badr	-	بدر	30,494
75	Layla	-	ليلى	29,698
76	At-Taraf	-	الطرف	29,588
77	Ranyah	-	رنية	28,681
78	Al-Quway'iyah	-	القويعية	28,589
79	Al-Khurmah	-	الخرمة	28,491
80	Turubah	-	تربة	28,279
81	Al-Qaisumah	-	القيصومة	27,307
82	Thuwal	-	ثول	26,957
83	Al-'Awamiyah	-	العوامية	26,276
84	Al-Makhwah	-	المخواة	26,248
85	Damad	-	ضمد	26,079
86	Ahad al-Masarihah	-	أحد المسارحة	25,670
87	Haql	-	حقل	25,652
88	Riyad al-Khabra'	-	رياض الخبراء	25,588
89	King Khalid Military City	Madīnat al-Malik Khālid al-'Askariyah	مدينة الملك خالد العسكرية	25,356
90	As-Sulayyil	-	السليل	25,136
91	Rimah	-	رماح	25,031
92	Al-Henakiyah	Al-Ḥinākīyah	الحناكية	24,880
93	Wadi al-Aqool Farms	Mazāri' Wādī al-'Uqūl	مزارع وادي العاقول	24,381
94	Zahran al-Janub	-	ظهران الجنوب	24,134
95	Al-Mish'aliah	-	المشعلية	23,252
96	Al-'Umran	-	العمران	22,781
97	Namas	An-Nimāṣ	النماص	22,541
98	Al-Qudaih	-	القديح	22,492
99	Al-Quz	-	القوز	22,374
100	Al-Jish	-	الجش	22,343
101	Al-Kulabiyah	-	الكلابية	21,992
102	Al-Majaridah	-	المجاردة	21,837
103	Al-Munaizilah	-	المنيزلة	21,346
104	Al-Jaroudiya	Al-Jārūdiyah	الجارودية	20,986
105	Al-Lith	Al-Leith	الليث	20,811
106	Al-Gorn	Al-Jurn	الجرن	20,329
107	Mahd adh-Dhahab	-	مهد الذهب	20,272
108	Al-'Ulayah	-	العلاية	20,250
109	Khulays	Khulaīṣ	خليص	20,139
110	'Ank	-	عنك	20,038
111	Sarat 'Abidah	-	سراة عبيدة	19,855
112	Baqaa	Baq'ā'	بقعاء	19,659
113	Al-'Aqiq	-	العقيق	19,269

Source: General Authority for Statistics, Saudi Arabia (2022 census), via City Population by Thomas Brinkhoff.

Why don't these match official city populations?Official figures typically count only the population within administrative boundaries. UN urban area figures cover the entire built-up area, which can include multiple cities and towns.Show moreShow less

Tokyo

33,338,852

Urban area

9,953,160

23 wards

Essen

2,709,375

Urban area

573,618

City of Essen

Ankara

3,630,865

Urban area

5,186,002

Metropolitan municipality

What counts as an urban area? The UN uses satellite imagery to map built-up land, and treats each continuous stretch of built-up land as an urban area. This means that urban areas can extend beyond official city boundaries, and may include multiple cities and towns within a single urban area.

Can an urban area be smaller than its city? Yes. While most cities have urban areas larger than their administrative boundaries, some cities have extensive administrative limits that include sparsely populated areas.

44 urban areas in Saudi Arabia with 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by the UN's population estimates for 2026.

Rank	Urban Area	Population Estimate (2026)	Yearly Change	Land Area (km²)	Density (P/km²)	World Rank	Projections (2030)	Projections (2050)
1	Ar-Riyāḑ (Riyadh)	7,024,249	+1.54%	1,104	6,363	52	7,455,576	9,152,552
2	Jeddah	4,351,700	+1.55%	703	6,187	100	4,622,180	5,784,917
3	Dammam	2,371,023	+1.49%	520	4,563	211	2,512,528	3,189,731
4	Mecca	1,720,261	+1.63%	236	7,283	286	1,832,698	2,374,142
5	Medina	1,459,414	+1.86%	269	5,433	351	1,567,920	2,100,837
6	Al Ahsa	737,688	+1.62%	178	4,144	734	785,398	1,178,810
7	Tabuk	571,667	+3.20%	98	5,821	970	644,777	926,478
8	Khamis Mushayt	500,102	+0.57%	93	5,389	1,117	511,527	528,114
9	At Ta'if	490,567	+1.78%	111	4,436	1,144	525,562	697,670
10	Hafar Al-Batin	306,356	+1.25%	84	3,647	1,902	321,646	392,830
11	Zahrat Laban	261,625	+1.59%	44	5,919	2,257	278,258	359,855
12	Ash Sharai	252,396	+3.30%	47	5,325	2,345	285,724	389,790
13	Ha'il	243,552	+2.80%	90	2,700	2,437	270,784	394,998
14	Najran	217,419	+0.41%	50	4,331	2,758	220,977	229,609
15	`Ar`ar	212,459	+1.95%	43	4,941	2,828	229,014	307,499
16	Unaizah	201,748	+2.02%	59	3,408	2,995	218,082	348,307
17	Buraydah	201,102	+2.96%	75	2,689	3,005	224,901	364,540
18	Hayy as Salihiyah	177,271	+2.26%	43	4,085	3,454	193,325	281,384
19	As Sayh	173,673	+1.88%	59	2,924	3,525	186,739	274,777
20	Al Hawiyah	155,729	+3.31%	61	2,570	3,946	176,351	252,953
21	Yanbu`	123,622	+4.02%	39	3,170	5,021	143,496	195,094
22	Abha	117,862	+0.30%	29	4,064	5,285	119,268	126,075
23	الفاروق	112,423	+2.59%	49	2,313	5,557	124,059	184,406
24	Sakaka	111,782	+3.67%	40	2,767	5,587	128,168	186,219
25	Al Qurayyat	106,607	+1.52%	29	3,676	5,863	113,098	152,251
26	Al Jubayl	100,840	+2.67%	33	3,019	6,205	111,589	181,510
27	الياقوت	95,437	+2.84%	27	3,588	6,538	106,271	186,611
28	Sharurah	94,171	+0.23%	16	5,886	6,649	95,050	97,420
29	Dammam 2nd Industrial City	90,057	+2.20%	24	3,721	6,975	97,970	150,803
30	Abu `Arish	86,562	+0.24%	11	7,869	7,277	87,384	94,374
31	Wadi Ad Dawasir	83,688	+0.33%	25	3,348	7,539	84,805	87,507
32	Al Khafji	72,109	+2.00%	31	2,311	8,723	77,863	118,669
33	Al Ared	71,962	+4.28%	24	2,998	8,741	84,284	149,458
34	Ad Dawadimi	70,681	+3.32%	22	3,272	8,887	80,061	127,394
35	Al `Aziziyah	68,875	+1.66%	26	2,649	9,105	73,457	107,487
36	Samitah	60,494	+0.48%	11	5,499	10,357	61,646	64,194
37	Sabya	60,410	+0.34%	11	5,492	10,372	61,227	64,614
38	Jizan	60,130	+0.24%	18	3,341	10,409	60,719	65,541
39	Ra's Tannurah	58,175	+2.03%	21	2,744	10,724	62,909	88,450
40	Az Zulfi	56,668	+2.00%	19	2,951	11,005	61,210	93,124
41	Al Reheli	55,373	+1.61%	11	5,034	11,263	58,932	87,019
42	Safwa	52,474	+1.91%	10	5,144	11,813	56,477	78,708
43	Bishah	52,370	+0.10%	15	3,491	11,835	52,586	53,215
44	Bahrah	51,278	+2.44%	14	3,611	12,006	56,292	150,916

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision, Online Edition.

Data topics

Reference

Tools

Largest Cities by Population in Saudi Arabia

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