Rif Dimashq Governorate (, lit. "Damascus Countryside Governorate" or "Damascus Suburb") is one of the fourteen

governorates 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 o ...

(provinces) of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It is situated in the southwestern part of the country. It borders the governorates of Quneitra, Daraa and

al-Suwayda Suwayda (), also spelled Sweida, is a mainly Druze city located in southern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Suwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14 governorates, bordering Jordan in the South, Daraa Governorate ...

in the southwest,

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

in the north,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in the west and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

in the south. The capital is the city of Douma. The Governorate completely surrounds the city and

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 ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and it has an area of 18,032 km² and a population of 2,273,074 (2004 census). The Governorate was a major site of fighting in the Syrian Civil War in the Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign.

Districts

The governorate is divided into ten

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

( manatiq). The districts are further divided into 37 sub-districts ( nawahi). There were nine districts until February 2009, when Qudsaya District was created from parts of Markaz Rif Dimashq and Al-Zabadani districts. There is a small village belonging to the Damascus countryside (Ghouta) called Aqraba, which is characterized by its fields and agricultural orchards. ( nawahi). The governorate's total population (as of the 2004 census) is 2,273,074. * Markaz Rif Dimashq District (6 sub-districts; population: 837,804) ** Al-Kiswah Subdistrict ** Babbila Subdistrict ** Jaramana Subdistrict ** Al-Malihah Subdistrict ** Kafr Batna Subdistrict ** Arbin Subdistrict * Darayya District (3 sub-districts; population: 260,961) ** Darayya Subdistrict ** Sahnaya Subdistrict ** al-Hajar al-Aswad Subdistrict *

Douma District Douma District () is a Districts of Syria, district of the Rif Dimashq Governorate in southern Syria. The second largest Districts of Syria, district of Syria following Tadmur District, Tadmur, it stretches from the northeastern outskirts of Metr ...

Demographics

At the end of 2011, the population of Rif Dimashq reached 2,836,000, accounting for 13% of Syria’s population.

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

s made up 87% of the governorate, while

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

made up 5%, Alawite Muslims made up 4%,

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

made up 4%, Twelver Shia Muslims made up 0.9%, and

Ismaili Muslim Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept M ...

s made up 0.1%.

References

Governorates of Syria {{RifDimashqSY-geo-stub