An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a

government department Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level Executive (government), executive bodies in the Machinery of government, machinery of governments that manage a specific se ...

that is responsible for

domestic policy Domestic policy, also known as internal policy, is a type of public policy overseeing administrative decisions that are directly related to all issues and activity within a state's borders. It differs from foreign policy, which refers to the ways ...

, public security and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

. In some states, the interior ministry is entrusted with the functions of ensuring

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

issues and protecting places of detention. Structurally, an interior ministry is part of the highest bodies of executive power and reports directly to the

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

. In states with a federal structure, the ministry often has branches at the level of states or federal subjects.

Lists of current interior ministries

Named "ministry"

* Ministry of Internal Affairs (Adygea) * Ministry of Interior Affairs (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Albania) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Altai Republic) * Ministry of the Interior (Argentina) * Ministry of the Interior (Austria) *

Ministry of Internal Affairs (Azerbaijan) The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan () is an Azerbaijani government ministry for internal affairs, which is responsible for keeping the order, security and safety of population, officials, buildings and structures in the country. The ...

* Ministry of Interior (Bahrain) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh) * Ministry of Public Administration (Bangladesh) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Bashkortostan) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Belarus) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Bermuda) * Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs (Bhutan) * Federal Ministry of Interior (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (Brazil) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Brunei) *

Ministry of Interior (Bulgaria) The Ministry of Interior (, abbreviated ''МВР'', ''MVR'') of Bulgaria is the Ministry (government department), ministry charged with the national security and the upholding of law and order (politics), law and order in the country. The minist ...

Ministry of Public Security of Burundi Ministry of Public Security of Burundi is the ministry of the interior of Burundi. The minister since 2007 is Venant Kamana. The armed conflict is particularly severe in Bujumbura Rural Province. The clearing of land mines is among the tasks of ...

Ministry of Internal Affairs (Buryatia) The Ministry for Internal Affairs of Buryatia (Министерства внутренних дел по Республике Бурятия) is the main law enforcement body in Buryatia, Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation ...

* Ministry of Interior (Cambodia) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Chechnya) * Ministry of the Interior and Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Civil Affairs (China) *

Ministry of Public Security (China) The Ministry of Public Security (MPS, zh , c = , p = Gōng'ānbù ) is the primary law enforcement agency of the China, People's Republic of China. It oversees more than 1.9 million of the country's law enforcement officers and as such the va ...

Ministry of Home Affairs (India) The Ministry of Home Affairs (IAST: ''Gṛha Mantrālaya''), or simply the Home Ministry, is a ministry of the Government of India. It is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. It is headed by the ...

Ministry of Home Affairs (Indonesia) The Ministry of Home Affairs (; abbreviated as Kemendagri) is an interior ministry of the government of Indonesia responsible for matters of the Indonesia, state. The ministry was formerly known as the Department of Home Affairs (; Depdagri) un ...

* Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ingushetia) *

Ministry of Interior (Iran) The Ministry of Interior (, ''Vezârat-e Keshvar'') of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran is in charge of performing, supervising and reporting elections, police, policing, and other responsibilities related to an interior ministry. Duties * To ...

* Ministry of Interior (Iraq) *

Ministry of Interior (Israel) The Ministry of Interior (, ''Misrad HaPnim''; ) in the State of Israel is one of the Cabinet of Israel, government offices that is responsible for Local government#Israel, local government, Israeli nationality law, citizenship and Permanent res ...

* Ministry of Public Security (Israel) *

Ministry of the Interior (Italy) The Ministry of the Interior () is a government agency of Italy, headquartered in Rome. It is a Government of Italy, cabinet-level ministry of the Italy, Italian Republic. As of October 2022, Matteo Piantedosi, former Prefect of Rome, is the mini ...

* Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Japan) * Ministry of Interior (Jordan) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Kabardino-Balkaria) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Kalmykia) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Karachay-Cherkessia) * Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Khakassia) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Komi Republic) * Ministry of the Interior and Safety (South Korea) * Ministry of Interior (Kuwait) * Ministry of the Interior (Kyrgyzstan) * Ministry of Public Security (Laos) * Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (Lebanon) * Ministry of Interior (Libya) *

Ministry of the Interior (Lithuania) The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania () is charged with the oversight of public safety, border protection, migration control, emergency response, public administration and governance, the civil service, and local and regional ...

* Ministry of Home Affairs (Malaysia) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Maldives) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Mari El) *

Ministry of the Interior and Decentralization (Mauritania) The Ministry of the Interior and Decentralization is the national Ministry of home affairs, Ministry of the Interior of Mauritania. Its headquarters are located in Nouakchott, just south-east of the Presidential Palace, Nouakchott, Presidential ...

Ministry of Internal Affairs (Moldova) The Ministry of Internal Affairs () is one of the fourteen ministries of the cabinet of Moldova, Government of Moldova. It is the main executive body responsible for the Trupele de Carabinieri. History During the Moldavian Democratic Republic, ...

* Ministry of Internal Affairs (Montenegro) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Mordovia) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Myanmar) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Nepal) *

Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (; BZK) is the Ministries of the Netherlands, Netherlands' ministry responsible for domestic policy, civil service, public administration, elections, relations with local governments, intelligen ...

(Netherlands) * Ministry of Justice and Security (Netherlands) * Ministry of Interior, Public Safety and Decentralization (Niger) * Federal Ministry of Interior (Nigeria) *

Ministry of Internal Affairs (North Macedonia) Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

* Ministry of Internal Affairs (North Ossetia–Alania) *

Ministry of Interior (Oman) The Ministry of Interior is the governmental body in the Sultanate of Oman responsible for supervising administrative issues in the various Wilayat of the country, dealing with tribal issues, and overseeing the election process of the Shura Cou ...

Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

(Venezuela) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Vietnam) * Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Zambia) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Zimbabwe)

Named "department"

* Department of Home Affairs (Australia) * Department of Justice (Ireland) * Department of Home Affairs (Isle of Man) * Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand) *

Department of the Interior and Local Government The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety and strengthening local government capability aimed towards ...

(

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

) * Department of Home Affairs (South Africa) * Department of Police (South Africa) * Department of Homeland Security (Spain) * Federal Department of Home Affairs (

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) * Department of Home, Prohibition and Excise (Tamil Nadu) *

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

(United States) * Department of Justice (United States) * Department of Home and Confidential (

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

) * Department of Home (West Bengal) * Department of Home (Kerala)

Other names

* Federal Public Service Interior (Belgium) * Public Safety Canada *

Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs The Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission responsible for Internal security, Migration and Border management. Its role is to ensure the security of the Schengen area, buil ...

(European Union) * Security Bureau (Hong Kong) * Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (Hong Kong) * Secretariat of the Interior (Mexico) * Secretariat of State for Security (Spain) *

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

(United Kingdom)

Historical

Named "ministry"

* Ministry of the Interior and Justice (Colombia) * Ministry of the Interior (Czechoslovakia) * Ministry of Interior and Health (Denmark) * Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia * Ministry of the Interior (Hawaii) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Japan) * Ministry of Internal Security (Malaysia) * Ministry of the Interior (Ottoman Empire) * Ministry of Interior (Poland) *

Ministry of Public Security (Poland) The Ministry of Public Security (), was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it was known as the Security Office (, UB), and from 1956 to 1990 as the Security ...

* Ministry of Police of the Russian Empire *

Ministry of Interior and Defence The Ministry of Interior and Defence (MID) was a ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Singapore. It was established in 1965, with Goh Keng Swee as the inaugural minister. The ministry was responsible for both internal an ...

(Singapore) * Ministry of Public Safety and Security (South Korea) * Ministry of Security and Public Administration (South Korea) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union) * Ministry of the Interior (Yugoslavia)

Named "department"

* Department of Home Affairs (1901–1916) (Australia) * Department of Home Affairs (1928–1932) (Australia) * Department of Home Affairs (1977–1980) (Australia) * Department of Home Affairs and Environment (Australia) * Department of Home and Territories (Australia) * Department of Home Security (Australia) * Department of the Interior (1932–1939) (Australia) * Department of the Interior (1939–1972) (Australia)

Lists of current interior ministries

Named "ministry"

Named "department"

Other names

Historical

Named "ministry"

Named "department"

See also