Dammam

Dammam (Arabic: الدمّام ad-Dammām) is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and the kingdom's fourth-most populous city (after Riyadh, Jeddah, and Mecca), with a total population of 1,532,300 as of 2022. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province, in addition to the administrative offices of other minor governmental departments functioning within the province, are located in the city.[1] The word itself is generally used to refer to the city, but may also refer to its eponymous governorate. Dammam is known for being a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. 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 area has a population of 2,190,900 as of 2022[1] and is closely linked to the city through social, economic, and cultural ties. The city is growing at an exceptionally fast rate of 12% a year[2] – the fastest in Saudi Arabia, the GCC, and the Arab world.[2] As of 2016, Greater Dammam is the fourth largest metropolitan area by both area and population in the Gulf Cooperation Council.