Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

consists of 19

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

s (; ), also known as "provinces". Per the

Iraqi constitution The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq ( Kurdish: دەستووری عێراق) is the fundamental law of Iraq. The first constitution came into force in 1925. The current constitution was adopted on September 18, 2005 by the Transitional Nati ...

, governorates can form a federal region. Four governorates, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Halabja and Duhok, constitute the semi-autonomous

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

(which is the most populous) and

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

are the oldest governorates. The second most-populous one, Ninawa (or Nineveh) is in the upland region and has a cooler climate of the north-west. There have been numerous calls to recognize

Halabja Governorate Halabja Governorate (, ) is a governorate in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan Region in Iraq. The governorate was established in 2014, splitting off from Sulaymaniyah Governorate and becoming the fourth governorate in the Kurdistan Region ...

since 1999. It was recognized as an official governorate of the Kurdistan Region in 2014, and the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

approved a bill twice in 2013, and 2023. The

Council of Representatives of Iraq The Council of Representatives is the ''de facto'' unicameral legislature of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, it is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the country. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghdad ...

officially approved Halabja as Iraq's 19th governorate on 14 April 2025. On 27 April 2025, Baghdad Today reported of an ongoing government initiative to convert

Tel Afar District Tel Afar District (; ) is a district in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. Its administrative center is the city of Tal Afar. Other towns include Rabia, Zummar, and al-Ayadia. It is predominantly populated by Iraqi Turkmens, followed by minorities of Ar ...

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

into the 20th governorate of Iraq. The proposed name of the new governorate is Jazira.

History

Throughout early 2014, the

of Iraq approved proposals to add the three newly proposed governorates: *

Tal Afar Tal Afar (, ; ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located west of Mosul, east of Sinjar Ninawa Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

Tuz Khurmatu Tuz Khurmatu (, , , also spelled as Tuz Khurma and Tuz Khormato) is the central city of Tooz District in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, located south of Kirkuk. Its inhabitants are predominantly Shia Turkmen, with a minority of Arabs and Sunni ...

, from part of

Saladin Governorate The Saladin, Salah ad Din, or Salah Al-Din Governorate (, ) is one of Iraq's 19 governorates, north of Baghdad. It has an area of , with an estimated population of 1,042,200 people in 2003. It is made up of 8 districts, with the capital being T ...

Nineveh Plains Nineveh Plains (, Modern ; ; ) is a region in Nineveh Governorate in Iraq. Located to the north and east of the city Mosul, it is the only Christian-majority region in Iraq and have been a gathering point for Iraqi Christians since 2003. Control o ...

from the

Ninawa Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

. *

Halabja Halabja (, ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the capital of Halabja Governorate, located about northeast of Baghdad and from the Iranian border. The city lies at the base of what is often referred to as the greater Hewraman re ...

from Sulaymaniah Governorate In 2013, activists and political parties called for the conversion of Hawija from a District into a governorate, but the Kirkuk government blocked the proposal. Shortly after the approval of the proposals, the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

attacked the cities, towns and villages of the Nineveh Plains. Upon the eventual withdrawal of ISIS, the initial decision by the

was dishonored by Kurdistan, Baghdad and Iranian-connected political entities, as they began pushing security forces into different parts of the Nineveh Plains to try and lay claim to different parts of the territory, asserting that the demographics had changed due to ISIS and that the original inhabitants could no longer be representatives of their indigenous land. Part of the reason for the demographic shift was that squatters were encouraged to occupy Christian homes. Without enough paperwork to prove ownership, some of those homes became extremely challenging to reclaim. Initiatives are underway to help reclaim families' homes. Another proposal exists to add a 19th governorate:

Fallujah Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...

, from part of the

Al Anbar Al Anbar Governorate (; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population ...

. This largely did not occur due to the ISIS insurgency. Following the defeat of ISIS in the

Battle of Fallujah (2016) The Third Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Breaking Terrorism () by the Iraqi government, was a military operation against ISIL launched to capture the city of Fallujah and its suburbs, located about west of Baghdad, the capital of Ira ...

, the proposal may resurface or Al-Anbar may remain undivided.

Governorates

Former governorates

Flags

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governorates Of Iraq Governorates, Iraq Iraq geography-related lists Iraq, Provinces Iraq 1 bg:Административно деление на Ирак ps:د عراق ولایتونه pl:Podział administracyjny Iraku ru:Тамбовская область

History

Governorates

Former governorates

Flags

See also

References