Iraq consists of 19

governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...

s ( 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 Se ...

, governorates can form an autonomous region. Four governorates, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Halabja, constitute the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Baghdad (which is the most populous) and Basra are the oldest standing provinces of Iraq. The second most-populous province,

Ninawa Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ...

(also called Nineveh) is in the upland and quite cool climate of the north-west. Through early 2014, the Council of Ministers of the government of Iraq approved proposals to add the three newest governorates: * Tal Afar, from part of Ninawa Governorate * Tuz Khurmatu, from part of Saladin Governorate * Halabja from part of the

Sulaymaniyah Governorate Sulaymaniyah Governorate ( ku, پارێزگای سلێمانی, Parêzgeha Silêmaniyê, ar, محافظة السليمانية) or Sulaymaniyah Province is a mountainous Governorates of Iraq, governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its large ...

. Another proposal exists to add a 20th:

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jew ...

, 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 (1990–1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governorates Of Iraq Governorates, Iraq Iraq geography-related lists Iraq, Provinces Iraq 1 bg:Административно деление на Ирак pl:Podział administracyjny Iraku ru:Административное деление Ирака

Governorates

Former governorates

See also

References