Top-level administrative divisions
Kuwait is divided into 6governorates (muhafazah ).[ 1] The governorates are further subdivided intoareas . Each governorate is headed by a Governor appointed by a ministerial decree for a period of 4 years which can be renewed upon the proposal of thePrime Minister .
The beginning of the formation of governorates in theState of Kuwait started in 1962 with the Emiri decree No. 6 which divided the Kuwait into three governorates i.e.Asimah Governorate ,Hawalli Governorate andAhmadi Governorate . Later,Jahra Governorate ,Farwaniya Governorate andMubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate were formed in three periods of time: 1979, 1988 and 1999 respectively.
Governorate ISO 3166-2:KW Formation Population Area (km2 ) Notes Ahmadi Governorate KW-AH 1962 959,009 5,120 It was named after SheikhAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah , 10th ruler of Kuwait. Asimah Governorate KW-KU 1962 568,567 175 It houses most of Kuwait's financial and business centres such as the Kuwait Stock Exchange . Farwaniya Governorate KW-FA 1988 1,169,312 204 It is the most populated governorate. Hawalli Governorate KW-HA 1962 939,792 85 It is the smallest and most densely populated governorate. Jahra Governorate KW-JA 1979 540,910 11,230 It is the largest governorate and contains the agricultural area. Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate KW-MU 1999 254,999 104 The newest governorate of Kuwait, founded in 1999 and the least populated governorate in Kuwait.