Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest country in Asia and the largest in middle east. Saudi Arabia is considered as ‘energy superpower’ as it has world’s 2nd largest oil reserves. As per 2018, Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the middle east and the largest exporter of petroleum. All this made Saudi Arabia one of the rich country and has rich cities.
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Richest Cities in Saudi Arabia
In this article, we made a list of top 10 richest cities in Saudi Arabia and their resources of economy.
1. Dhahran
Dhahran is the richest city in Saudi Arabia and is located near the main site of oil discovery in Saudi Arabia. The GDP per capita of Dhahran is 55,940 USD. Dhahran is also the highest GDP per capita city in Saudi Arabia.
Dhahran has the head quarters of Saudi Aramco. This is the largest oil company and the largest oil reserves in the world. It produces 10 million barrels oil per day. As the local Saudi needs require 12% of the production so, most of the oil is exported.
Dhahran’s economic development is however reaching at a high level because it is the centre of the company’s finance, exploration, engineering, medical services, materials supply and the other company organisations.
2. Riyadh
Riyadh is the largest and the richest city in Saudia Arabia and the capital city as well. The capital Riyadh is the financial and business hub of Saudi Arabia and home to multinational corporations and wealthy individuals.
Riyadh is also the industrial and commercial centre of the country and has some biggest companies in the region. This has led to a large number of wealthy individuals and strong economy.
Over all, Riyadh is one of the richest city in Saudi Arabia and its wealth is largely due to its strong economy. It is also home to some of the most opulent citizens in the country and centre of the banking and finance industry.
3. Al-Khobar
Al-Khobar is one of the three main cities in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. It is part of the ‘triplet cities’ area along with Dammam and Dhahran forming the residential core of the region.
It has become the most important region of the Kingdome and contributing 60% of GDP to the national economy. It contains majority of the KSA’s oil and gas reserves, therefore the industries that consists of petrochemicals, chemicals, aluminium, steel and cement decided to set up there.
Another important factor of Al- Khobar city’s economy is its port which was started as a small port on the Arabian Gulf and now has emerged as the industrial, commercial and tourism hub over the years. It is also the centre of area’s import export activity and is a transit point of goods that are distributed through out the Kingdome.
4. Jeddah
Jeddah is a port city in Makkah province, located along the red sea in Hijaz region. Jeddah is the commercial centre and one of the richest cities of the country. The economy of Jeddah is mainly depends on the industries as Jeddah’s industrial district is the 4th largest industrial city in Saudi Arabia after Jubail, Riyadh and Yanbu.
The main industries in Jeddah are producing iron, steel, marble, cement, glass , paper and cloth. On the other hand, the import and export have improved commerce in Jeddah. More over, the hajj pilgrims and tourisms is also an important factor of Jeddah’s strong economy and wealth.
5. Dammam
Dammam is the most important and capital city in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The city is growing at an exceptionally fast rate of 12% a year, fastest in Saudi Arabia. Dammam is also famous as a port city and for being a major administrative centre for the Saudi oil industry.
Dammam has been the major industrial city of the middle east and contributes greatly to the national economy. Other than all the industries, the sea port and cargo terminals contributes to the city’s development. Dammam city is also the member city in the World Energy Cities Partnership(WECP).
6. Makkah
Makkah city has a great importance and significance as it is the holiest city in Islam. It is 70 km inland from Jeddah on the red sea in a narrow valley 277 m above the sea level. Makkah is included in the wealthiest cities of Saudi Arabia.
There is no such business environment in Makkah and the maximum of its revenue being dependant on hajj pilgrimage and its tourists. The income that is generated from hajj is not only strengthen the economy of Makkah but also reaching out to the economy of Arabian Peninsula.
Another significance way in which the city makes money is the fare and services offered to the pilgrims like accommodation for housing them. As per for the forecast, the contribution of Makkah to Saudi Arabia’s GDP is approximately 6.6 billion USD for the year 2026.
7. Jubail
Jubail is the world’s largest industrial city established in 1975. Jubail city is located in the Eastern province on the Arabian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. It has middle east’s largest and world’s 4th largest petrochemical company SABIC. It also has the world’s largest IWPP (Independent Water and Power Project).
The large industrial city consists of Industrial complexes, major harbour and port facilities. Jubail contributes to about 7% of Saudi Arabia’s GDP. Jubail is the most rapidly growing industrial area and included in the list of richest cities in Saudi Arabia.
8. Khamis Mushayt
Khamis Mushayt is another well known and rich city in Saudi Arabia. It is situated in south west of Saudi Arabia and the capital of Shahran tribe. It is being known as 4th largest trading centre in Saudi Arabia. It is also famous for its military airbase.
Khamis Mushayt is traditionally a commercial centre but agriculture also represents a major aspect of economy and its main crops are wheat, rice, coffee and henna which makes the city’s economy more strong and wealthier.
9. Jazan
Jazan is a port city and capital of Jazan region in Saudi Arabia. Jazan city is located along the red sea and it is mainly known for its agriculture. It is highly famous for its fruits like mango, figs, papaya, plum and coffee. Jazan city is also being turned into agricultural hub due to its underground water resources as well as rich and diverse soil.
Mean while, another Jazan refinery mega project is under construction and owned by Saudi Aramco that will purify heavy and medium crude oil to create liquefied petroleum gas. It is expected that this project will make Jazan city more strong and popular.
10. Buraidah
Buraidah is called the city of dates and known for its dates festival which is the biggest in the world with a number of variety of dates. In Buraidah, agriculture is still the main pillar of its economy and export of dates, oranges and lemons across the world made it more rich.
However, Buraidah introduces the modern way of wheat production and has become so successful that Buraidah is included in the largest producers and exporters of cereal in Saudi Arabia.