Governorates of Iraq

Governorates of Iraq
المحافظات العراقية (Arabic)
پارێزگاکانی عێراق (Kurdish)
Governorates of Iraq; المحافظات العراقية (Arabic); پارێزگاکانی عێراق (Kurdish)
Also known as:; Muḥāfażah; محافظة (Arabic); پارێزگا;
Category	Federated state
Location	Republic of Iraq
Number	18 governorates
Populations	108,974 (Halabja) – 8,126,755 (Baghdad)
Areas	529 km2 (204.2 sq mi) (Baghdad) – 138,500 km2 (53,476 sq mi) (Al Anbar)
Government	Governorate;
Subdivisions	Districts;

Iraq consists of 18 governorates (Arabic: محافظة, romanized: muḥāfażah; Sorani Kurdish: پارێزگا, romanized: parêzgeh), also known as "provinces". Per the Iraqi constitution, governorates can form an autonomous region.^[1] Four governorates, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Halabja, constitute the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Baghdad and Basra are the oldest standing administrative regions of Iraq. In 2014, the decision was made to create the Halabja Governorate out of the Halabja District of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate.^[2]^[3]

On 21 January 2014, the Council of Ministers of the government of Iraq approved in principle proposals to create more governorates.^[4] The Council announced that two new governorates, Tal Afar and Tuz Khurmatu, would be formed from the current Ninawa Governorate and Saladin Governorate, respectively.^[5] It was also announced that the city of Fallujah of the Al Anbar Governorate would become a separate governorate.^[4]

Governorates

Governorates of Iraq
Governorate	Postal code	ISO code	Total area in miles²	Total area in km²	Population 1 July 2018^[6]	Population Density in miles	Population Density in km	Capital
Al-Anbar	31	AN	53,476	138,501	1,771,656	29.1	11.2	Ramadi
Babil	51	BB	1,976	5,603	2,065,042	921.4	324.9	Hillah
Baghdad	10	BG	1,759	4,555	8,126,755	4,620.09	1,548.8	Baghdad
Basra	61	BA	7,360	19,070	2,908,491	344.0	132.7	Basra
Dhi Qar	64	DQ	5,000	12,900	2,095,172	367.2	142.3	Nasiriyah
Al-Qādisiyyah	58	QA	3,148	8,153	1,291,048	360.3	139.1	Al Diwaniyah
Diyala	32	DI	6,828	17,685	1,637,226	211.3	81.6	Baqubah
Duhok	42	DA	2,530	6,553	1,292,535	445.5	172.2	Duhok
Erbil	44	AR	5,820	15,074	1,854,778	277.0	106.9	Erbîl
Halabja	46	—	1,180	3,060	108,974	285.5	110.1	Helebce
Karbala	56	KA	1,944	5,034	1,218,732	548.6	211.8	Karbala
Kirkuk	36	KI	3,737	9,679	1,597,876	373.4	144.1	Kirkuk
Maysan	62	MA	6,205	16,072	1,112,673	156.5	60.4	Amarah
Muthanna	66	MU	19,980	51,740	814,371	35.9	13.8	Samawah
Najaf	54	NA	11,129	28,824	1,471,592	115.5	44.5	Najaf
Ninawa	41	NI	14,410	37,323	3,729,998	226.9	87.6	Mosul
Saladin	34	SD	9,556	24,751	1,595,235	147.3	56.8	Tikrit
Sulaymaniyah	46	SU	6,573	17,023	2,053,305	285.8	110.3	Slêmanî
Wasit	52	WA	6,623	17,153	1,378,723	182.7	70.5	Kut

Governorate	Now part of
Mosul	Ninawa Governorate Duhok Governorate
Diwaniya	Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate Muthanna Governorate Najaf Governorate
Dulaim (–1962) Ramadi (1962–1976)	Al Anbar Governorate
Muntafiq (–1976)	Dhi Qar Governorate
Amara (–1976)	Maysan Governorate
Kut (–1976)	Wasit Governorate
Baghdad	Baghdad Governorate Saladin Governorate
Kirkuk (–1976) At-Ta'mim (1976–2006)	Kirkuk Governorate

Kuwait was annexed by Iraq in 1990 and then became Kuwait Governorate (1990–1991)

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