Jeddah

About Jeddah

Jeddah is the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and the country’s main commercial center. Located in the Hejaz region along the Red Sea coast, it is the largest city in Mecca Province. The city’s metropolitan area is coterminous with Jeddah Governorate. With a population of 3,751,722, Jeddah is among the largest cities in the Middle East. The city extends for about 70 kilometers (43 mi) and is home to Jeddah Islamic Port, one of the busiest ports in the region. Its prominence grew in 647 CE when the Caliph Uthman designated it as the main port serving travelers to Mecca.

With a population of about 3,812,058 people as of 2026, Jeddah is the largest city in Hejaz and the ninth-largest in the Middle East. It also serves as the administrative center of the OIC. Jeddah Islamic Port, on the Red Sea, is the thirty-sixth largest seaport in the world and the second-largest and second-busiest seaport in the Middle East (after Dubai's Port of Jebel Ali).

Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca Sharif, the holiest city in Islam, 65 kilometers (40 mi) to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 kilometers (220 mi) to the north. Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East. Jeddah was ranked fourth in the Africa, MiddIe East, and -stan countries region in the Innovation Cities Index in 2009.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.