The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic absolute monarchy in which Sunni Islam is the official state religion based on firm Sharia law. Non-Muslims must practice their religion in private and are vulnerable to discrimination and arrest. While no law requires all citizens to be Muslim, non-Muslim foreigners attempting to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality must convert to Islam. Children born to Muslim fathers are by law deemed Muslim.
The Eastern Province, 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 2017, the population was 4,900,325. Of these, 3,140,362 were Saudi citizens and 1,759,963 were foreign nationals The province accounts for 15.05% of the entire population of Saudi Arabia and is named for its geographical location relative to the rest of the kingdom.
Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. With a population of 1,532,300 as of 2022, Dammam is the kingdom's fourth-most populous city after Riyadh, Jeddah, and Mecca. Dammam constitutes the core of the Dammam metropolitan area, also known as the Greater Dammam area, which comprises the 'Triplet Cities' of Dammam, Dhahran, and Khobar. The region is closely linked to the city through social, economic, and cultural ties. As of 2022, the Dammam metropolitan area's population was 2,190,900.
Jubail is a city in the Eastern province on the Arabian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 474,679 as of 2022. It is home to the largest industrial city in the world. It is also home to the Middle East's largest and world's fourth largest petrochemical company SABIC. It has the world's largest IWPP producing 2743.6 MW of electricity and 800,000 m3 of water daily. Jubail comprises the Old Town of Al Jubail, which was a small fishing village until 1975, and the Industrial Area. Jubail Industrial City is the largest civil engineering project in the world today.
Khobar is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 409,549 as of 2022 in the city core and 658,550 in the governorate, Khobar is part of the 'Triplet Cities' area, or Dammam metropolitan area along with Dammam and Dhahran, forming the residential core of the region.
On 29 May 2004, a Saturday, four men armed with guns and bombs attacked two oil industry installations and a residential compound, in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia—the hub of the Saudi oil industry. Over approximately 25 hours, the gunmen, describing themselves as members of "The Jerusalem Squadron" or "Jerusalem Brigade", killed 22 and injured 25, mainly third country national personnel working in Khobar.
International Schools Group (ISG), formerly Saudi Arabian International Schools (SAIS), operates five individual schools in the Saudi Arabia: American School Dhahran (ASD), British School Dhahran (BSD), ISG Dammam, ISG Jubail and Sara Village School (SVS). Two schools offer the National Curriculum for England, while the others offer an American curriculum.
The Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association is the national Scouting organization of Saudi Arabia. Scouting was officially founded in Saudi Arabia in 1961, though Scouting was active many years prior to the founding date, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1963. It has 19,269 members.
Dhahran is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 143,936 as of 2022, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cities of Dammam and Khobar, Dhahran forms part of the Dammam Metropolitan Area, which is commonly known as greater Dammam and has an estimated population of 2.2 million as of 2022.
Bangladesh International School Dammam is an international school located in Dammam, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.
The 'International Indian School Jeddah or IISJED, formerly known as the Embassy of India School, is an elementary and secondary school for the children of Indian nationals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with boys and girls taught separately in English. It was founded in 1969. The school is part of global International Indian Schools, which also includes International Indian School, Riyadh.
International Indian School Riyadh, formerly the Embassy of India School, Riyadh is a K–12 English-medium community-based foreign school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, run by the Indian embassy. Established in 1982 with assistance from then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, it was the first community-based institute in which was established to primarily serve the Indian diaspora in the country. It offers curriculum prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education and is approved by the Ministry of Education, Government of Saudi Arabia.
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in Saudi Arabia are the largest community of expatriates in the country, with most of them coming from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and most recently, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
The Qatif and Dammam mosque bombings occurred on 22 and 29 May 2015. On Friday May 22, a suicide bomber attacked the Shia "Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque" situated in Qudeih village of Qatif city in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast, which killed at least 21 people. The event is the second deadly attack against Shia in six months.
Al-Safa Club is a sports club, based in Saudi Arabia, that competes in the Saudi Second Division. The club's headquarters are located in the Safwa City in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia near Dammam and King Fahd International Airport. The facilities of Al-Safa club have been built to the highest standards and include international standard football pitch with an international track and field, swimming pool, indoor volleyball, handball and basketball hall, outdoor tennis, volleyball, handball and basketball courts in addition to a full facility gym and indoor squash courts.
Al-Alia International Indian School (AAIIS) is a K–12 gender-isolated English-medium community-based private foreign school in the al-Malazz neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, primarily serving the Indian diaspora, mostly Malayalis. Established in 2003 by Indian politician and businessman Thomas Chandy, the school offers Indian curriculum prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education, and is a member of the CBSE Gulf Sahodaya besides being approved by the country's Ministry of Education.
Yara International School (YIS) (Arabic: مدرسة يارا العالمية), simply sometimes Yara (Arabic: يارا), is a K–12 gender-isolated English-medium community-based private foreign school in the ad-Dirah district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located next to Qasr al-Hokm Metro Station in the erstwhile precincts of the Female Student Study Center of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. Established in 2003 by a group of businessmen, it primarily serves the local Indian diaspora and offers curriculum prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education. The school previously offered British curriculum alongside the Indian one from 2019 to 2023.
International Indian School Jubail or IISJ is an English-medium K-12 Indian school in Al Jubail of Saudi Arabia. It was founded on 30 November 1987. The school is part of global International Indian Schools including International Indian School, Riyadh, International Indian School Jeddah.
Al-Yasmin International School (AYIS) is a K–12 gender-isolated English-medium community-based foreign school in the al-Malazz neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1999, the school offers Indian curriculum prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education and primarily serves the Indian diaspora.
