Iraq consists of 19
governorates ( ar, محافظة,
muḥāfażah; ckb, پارێزگا , parêzgeh), also known as "provinces". Per the
Iraqi constitution
The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq ( ar, دستور جمهورية العراق Kurdish: دەستووری عێراق) is the fundamental law of Iraq. The first constitution came into force in 1925. The current constitution was adopted on S ...
, governorates can form an autonomous region. Four governorates, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Halabja, constitute the autonomous
Kurdistan Region.
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
(which is the most populous) and
Basra are the oldest standing provinces of Iraq. The second most-populous province,
Ninawa (also called Nineveh) is in the upland and quite cool climate of the north-west.
Through early 2014, the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...
of the government of Iraq approved proposals to add the three newest governorates:
*
Tal Afar
Tal Afar ( ar, تَلْعَفَر, Talʿafar, ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located 63 km (39 mi) west of Mosul, 52 km (32 mi) east of Sinjar[Ninawa Governorate
Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an ...]
*
Tuz Khurmatu
Tuz Khurmatu ( ar, طوزخورماتو, tr, Tuzhurmatu, ku, دووزخورماتوو, translit=Duz Xurmatû, also spelled as Tuz Khurma and Tuz Khormato) is the central city of Tooz District in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, located 55 miles (88 ...
, from part of
Saladin Governorate
*
Halabja from part of the
Sulaymaniyah Governorate
ar, محافظة السليمانية
, other_name =
, settlement_type = Governorate
, image_skyline =
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Clockwise, from ...
.
Another proposal exists to add a 20th:
Fallujah, from the relevant part of the
Al Anbar.
This largely did not occur due to the
ISIS insurgency. Following the defeat of
ISIS in the
Battle of Fallujah (2016), the proposal may resurface or Al-Anbar may remain undivided.
Governorates
Former governorates
Kuwait was annexed by Iraq in 1990 and then became
Kuwait Governorate
The Kuwait Governorate ( ar, محافظة الكويت) was the 19th governorate of Iraq established in the aftermath of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990. It was preceded by the brief puppet state of the Republic of Kuwait. The Kuwait ...
(1990–1991)
See also
*
Districts of Iraq
*
ISO 3166-2:IQ
*
List of Governorates of Iraq by Human Development Index
This is a list of Governorates of Iraq by Human Development Index as of 2021 with data for the year 2019.
See also
*List of countries by Human Development Index References
{{Subnational entities by Human Development Index
Economy of Iraq
Ir ...
*
List of places in Iraq
This is a list of places in Iraq. Governorates of Iraq lists the governorates, and Districts of Iraq lists the subdivisions of those governorates.
Modern cities and towns
* Afak (عفك)
* Al `Awja (العوجا)
*Baghdad (ܒܓܕܐܕ) (ب� ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Governorates Of Iraq
Governorates, Iraq
Iraq geography-related lists
Iraq, Provinces
Iraq 1
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