Jazan جازان
province
The Fifa Mountains
Map of Saudi Arabia with Jazan highlighted
Country	Saudi Arabia
Capital	Jazan
Boroughs	14
Government
• Governor	Prince Muhammad bin Nasser
• Deputy Governor	Muhammad bin Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud
Area
• Total	11,671 km2 (4,506 sq mi)
Population  (2022 Census)
• Total	1,404,997
• Density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
ISO 3166-2	09

Jazan Province, also spelled Jizan (Arabic: جيزان, romanized: Jīzān) is the second smallest (after Al-Bahah) province of Saudi Arabia. It stretches 300 km (190 mi) along the southern Red Sea coast, just north of Yemen. It covers an area of 11,671 km² and had a population of 1,404,997 at the 2022 census.^[1] The region has the highest population density in the Kingdom. The capital is the city of Jazan; Prince Muhammad bin Nasser has been the Governor since April 2001.^[2]

The region includes over 100 islands in the Red Sea. Jazan Economic City is a mega project that is planned to boost the economy of the region and make it part of the Saudi economic growth.^[3] The Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia's first conservation protected area, is home to migratory birds from Europe in winter.

Geography

The region divides into three parts.

• The Al-Sarawat mountains inland, which rise to about 3,000 metres.
• The Alhazoun forest district consists of forest broken by some areas of rich pasture.
• The plains are noted for the production of coffee beans, cereal grain crops (barley, millet and wheat) and fruit (apples, bananas, grapes, mangoes, papayas, plums and citrus varieties).

Though the climate on the highlands is similar to the relatively wetter climate of 'Asir, the coastal regions of Jizan province are part of Tihamah, probably the hottest place in the country, with mean maximum temperatures ranging from 40 °C (104 °F) in July to 31 °C (88 °F) in January. High humidity from coastal lagoons makes the climate even less bearable than it would be otherwise. Rainfall is extremely low at less than 75 millimetres (3 inches) per year. Sabya is located in the center between the mountain and the beach.

Population

Sub-divisions

The region is now sub-divided into 17 governorates (following the creation of the governorates of At-Tuwal from part of Samtah, Fayfa from part of Jizan, and Harub from part of Al-Aydabi) as follows:^[5][6]

Ethnography

The Arabic language is spoken by over 90% of the inhabitants. Parts of Jizan was claimed to be part of a "Greater Yemen" by many Yemenis despite never being ruled from Yemen since the fall of the Himyarite Kingdom at 525 CE. Since that period, the areas of Jazan province has been mostly independent and it has also been part of the First Saudi state during the 18th century. Jazan has been annexed by Saudi Arabia in 1932 and was defended from a Yemeni invasion that lead to the Saudi–Yemeni War (1934) and Imam Yahya suspended Yemen's claim to the region in the treaty of Taif. Though many Yemeni nationalists continued to claim Jizan until the issue was settled formally and finally in the Saudi-Yemeni border agreement of 2000.^[7]

Environmental projects

In 2019, the Saudi Government allocated $213 million to implement water and environmental projects in the region. Such projects include, installing a sewage treatment line, sewage network, sewage connections for households, and a station for pumping.^[8]

Border incidents involving Ethiopian migrants

Since 2014, in relation to the civil war in Yemen, there have been reports of alleged shooting of Ethiopian migrants illegally crossing the Saudi border by the Saudi Border Guard. Since 2023, at least several hundred Ethiopian migrants have been killed at the border between Yemen and the provinces Jazan, Asir and Najran. The border guards allegedly also used explosive weapons.^[9][10]