Jeddah, also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda, is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia and the country's commercial center. With a population of about 4,697,000 people as of 2021, Jeddah is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest city in Hejaz, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia, and the tenth-largest in the Middle East. Jeddah Islamic Port, is 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.
Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, 65 kilometers to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 kilometers 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 independently ranked fourth in the Africa – Mid-East region in terms of innovation in 2009 in the Innovation Cities Index.
Jeddah is one of Saudi Arabia's primary resort cities and was named a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network.