 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Governorates of Syria محافظات سوريا (Arabic) Parêzgehên Sûriyeyê (Kurmanji Kurdish) | |
|---|---|
| Category | Unitary state |
| Location |  Syria |
| Number | 14 governorates |
| Populations | 90,000 (Quneitra) – 4,868,000 (Aleppo)[when?] |
| Areas | 110 km2 (41 sq mi) (Damascus) – 42,220 km2 (16,302 sq mi) (Homs) |
| Government |
|
| Subdivisions | |
Syria is aunitary state, but for administrative purposes, it is divided into fourteengovernorates,[1] also calledprovinces orcounties in English (Arabic:مُحَافَظَة[muˈħaːfaðˤa];pl.مُحَافَظَاتmuḥāfaẓāt[muħafaˈðˤaːt]). Thegovernorates are divided into sixty-fivedistricts (Arabic:مناطق,romanized: manāṭiq, singularminṭaqah), which are further divided into subdistricts (Arabic:نَاحِيَة[ˈnaːħijah], pluralنَوَاحِي,nawāḥī[naˈwaːħiː]). Thenawāḥī contain villages, which are the smallest administrative units.
Each governorate is headed by a governor, appointed by thepresident, subject to cabinet approval. The governor is responsible for administration, health, social services, education, tourism, public works, transportation, domestic trade, agriculture, industry, civil defense, and maintenance of law and order in the governorate. The minister of each local administration works closely with each governor to coordinate and supervise local development projects. The governor is assisted by a provincial council, all of whose members are popularly elected for four-year terms. In addition, each council elects from among its members an executive bureau which administers the day to day issues between provincial council sessions. Each executive officer is charged with specific functions.
Districts and subdistricts are administered by officials appointed by the governor. These officials work on local matters with elected district councils and serve as intermediaries between the central government and traditional local leaders, such as village chiefs, clan leaders, and councils of elders.
Upon achieving independence from the French Mandate on April 17, 1946, Syria retained much of the administrative framework inherited from the mandate period and organized its territory into nine top-level districts (later governorates): Aleppo, Damascus, Euphrates (Al-Furat), Hama, Hauran, Homs, Jabal al-Druze, Al Jazira, and Latakia.
During the 1950s, several governorates names were standardized:Hauran becameDaraa, Jabal al-Druze was renamedSweida, andAl-Jazira becameAl-Hasakah.
In the early 1960s, further territorial adjustments were introduced: the Euphrates Governorate was divided into Al-Rashid andDeir ez-Zor, whileIdlib Governorate was separated fromAleppo. In 1962, Damascus was reorganized into two administrative units, Damascus Governorate and the City of Damascus (Madīnat Dimashq).
In 1970, Al-Rashid Governorate was renamedRaqqa.[2]
On August 27, 1964,Quneitra Governorate was created from parts of Damascus Governorate. Additional changes occurred in the 1970s, whenTartus Governorate was separated from theLatakia Governorate. In 1987, the City of Damascus was formally designated as an independent governorate, and Damascus Governorate was reorganized asRif Dimashq Governorate, the rural governorate surrounding the capital, completing the basic structure of Syria's contemporary administrative system.[3]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2023) |
| Governorate name | Area (km2) | Population (2018) | Population density (km2) | Districts | Photo | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleppo Governorate (محافظة حلب) | 18,482 | 4,600,166 | 248.90 | 8 |  |  |
| Raqqa Governorate (محافظة الرقة) | 19,616 | 919,000 | 46.85 | 3 |  |  |
| Sweida Governorate (محافظة السويداء) | 5,550 | 500,000 | 90.09 | 3 |  |  |
| Damascus Governorate (محافظة دمشق) | 106 | 2,211,042 | 20858.89 | 1 |  |  |
| Daraa Governorate (محافظة درعا) | 3,730 | 998,000 | 267.56 | 3 |  |  |
| Deir ez-Zor Governorate (محافظة دير الزور) | 33,060 | 1,200,500 | 36.31 | 3 |  |  |
| Hama Governorate (محافظة حماة) | 8,883 | 1,593,000 | 179.32 | 5 |  |  |
| Al-Hasakah Governorate (محافظة الحسكة) | 23,334 | 1,272,702 | 54.53 | 4 |  |  |
| Homs Governorate (محافظة حمص) | 42,223 | 1,762,500 | 41.74 | 6 |  |  |
| Idlib Governorate (محافظة إدلب) | 6,097 | 1,464,000 | 240.13 | 5 |  |  |
| Latakia Governorate (محافظة اللاذقية) | 2,297 | 1,278,486 | 556.58 | 4 |  |  |
| Quneitra Governorate (محافظة القنيطرة) | 1,861 | 87,000 | 46.74 | 2 |  |  |
| Rif Dimashq Governorate (محافظة ريف دمشق) | 18,032 | 2,831,738 | 157.04 | 9 |  |  |
| Tartus Governorate (محافظة طرطوس) | 1,892 | 785,000 | 414.89 | 5 |  |  |
.svg) |
|---|
|
Syria topics | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
