Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Governorates of Iraq
Second-level administrative divisions of Iraq From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Iraq consists of 19 governorates (Arabic: محافظة, romanized: muḥāfażah; Kurdish: پارێزگا, romanized: parêzgeh), also known as "provinces". Per the Iraqi constitution, governorates can form a federal region.[1] Four governorates, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Halabja and Duhok, constitute the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. Baghdad (which is the most populous) and Basra 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.
Remove ads
There have been numerous calls to recognize Halabja Governorate since 1999.[2] It was recognized as an official governorate of the Kurdistan Region in 2014,[3][2] and the Council of Ministers approved a bill twice in 2013,[4][5] and 2023.[6] The Council of Representatives of Iraq officially approved Halabja as Iraq's 19th governorate on 14 April 2025.[7][8] On 27 April 2025, Baghdad Today reported of an ongoing government initiative to convert Tel Afar District in Nineveh Governorate into the 20th governorate of Iraq. The proposed name of the new governorate is Jazira.[9]
Remove ads
History
Summarize
Perspective
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2024) |
Throughout early 2014, the Council of Ministers of Iraq approved proposals to add the three newly proposed governorates:[10]
- Tal Afar, from part of Ninawa Governorate
- Tuz Khurmatu, from part of Saladin Governorate[11]
- Nineveh Plains from the Ninawa Governorate.[12]
- Halabja from Sulaymaniah Governorate[13]
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.[14]
Shortly after the approval of the proposals, the Islamic State attacked the cities, towns and villages of the Nineveh Plains. Upon the eventual withdrawal of ISIS, the initial decision by the Council of Ministers 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.[15] 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.[16]
Another proposal exists to add a 19th governorate: Fallujah, from part of the Al Anbar.[10] 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.
Remove ads
Governorates
 |
Remove ads
Former governorates
.jpg)
Flags
.png)
Remove ads
See also
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads