 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Subdivisions of Libya" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Subdivisions of Libya have varied significantly over the last two centuries. InitiallyLibya underOttoman andItalian control was organized into three to four provinces, then into three governorates (muhafazah) and afterWorld War II into twenty-five districts (baladiyah). Successively into thirty-two districts (shabiyat) with three administrative regions, and then into twenty-two districts (shabiyat). In 2012 the rulingGeneral National Congress divided the country into governorates (muhafazat) and districts (baladiyat).[1][2] While the districts have been created,[3] the governorates have not.[4][5]
Prior to theItalian invasion of 1911, the area of Libya was administered as three separate provinces ("Vilayets") of theOttoman Empire:Tripolitania,Fezzan, andCyrenaica.
At first,Italy continued the tripartite administration, but soon consolidated the area into a single province/governorate administered as the "Libyan Colony". Indeed, until about 1931 -when the last of the native resistance to the Italians was subdued- the area was divided into three historical regions (Tripolitania,Cyrenaica and Fezzan/"Territorio Sahara").
Then, in 1937, Italian governorItalo Balbo created the political entity calledLibya. HisItalian Libya was re-divided into four provinces and one territory:Tripoli,Misurata,Benghazi,Derna, (in the coastal north) and the "Southern Military Territory" (Italian:Territorio Militare del Sud) (in the Saharan south).[6]
After the French and British occupied Libya in 1943, it was again split into three provinces:Tripolitania in the northwest,Cyrenaica in the east, andFezzan-Ghadames in the southwest.[7]
After independence, Libya was divided into threegovernorates (muhafazat), matching the three provinces of before, but in 1963 it was divided into ten governorates.
The Provinces of Libya existed during the last period of colonial Italian Libya through post-independence Libya. The country was divided into provinces from 1934 in the colonial era to 1963 when theGovernorates system was instituted.
The Governorates of Libya (muhafazah) were an administrative division of Libya from 1963 until 1983. Initially there were 46 governorates-districts, calledbaladiyah, that were reduced to 25 in 1987.
| بلدية | Baladiyah | Main city | Population (in 1984) | Number (on the map) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| طبرق | Butnan | Tobruk | 94,006 | 3 |
| درنة | Darnah | Derna | 105,031 | 14 |
| الجبل الاخضر | Jabal al Akhdar | Bayda | 120,662 | 5 |
| المرج | Marj | Marj | 102,763 | 4 |
| بنغازي | Benghazi | Benghazi | 485,386 | 13 |
| إجدابيا | Al Wahat | Ajdabiya | 100,547 | 1 |
| الكفرة | Kufra | Al Jawf | 25,139 | 8 |
| سرت | Sirte | Sirte | 110,996 | 21 |
| مصراتة | Misratah | Misrata | 178,295 | 17 |
| خمس | Khoms | Khoms | 149,642 | 7 |
| طرابلس | Tripoli (Tarabulus) | Tripoli | 990,697 | 22 |
| العزيزيه | Al 'Aziziyah | 'Aziziya | 85,068 | 2 |
| الزاوية | Az Zawiyah | Zawiya | 220,075 | 12 |
| النقاط الخمس | Nuqat al Khams | Zuwara | 181,584 | 9 |
| الجبل الغربي | Gharyan | Gharyan | 117,073 | 16 |
| زليطن | Zlitan | Zliten | 101,107 | 25 |
| الجفرة | Al Jufrah | Waddan | ? | 6 |
| الشاطئ | Ash Shati' | Brak | 46,749 | 10 |
| سبها | Sabha | Sabha | 76,171 | 19 |
| أوباري | Awbari | Ubari | 48,701 | 11 |
| غدامس | Ghadamès | Ghadames | 52,247 | 15 |
| Sawfajjin | Bani Walid | 45,195 | 20 | |
| مرزق | Mourzouq | Murzuk | 42,294 | 18 |
| ترهونة | Tarhounah | Tarhuna | 84,640 | 23 |
| يفرن | Yafran | Yafran | 73,420 | 24 |
| Total | 3,637,488 |
In 1983, a new system was introduced dividing the country into forty-six districts (baladiyat also sometimes translated as municipalities). In 1987 this number was reduced to twenty-five.
In Libya there are currently 106 districts, second level administrative subdivisions known asbaladiyat (singularbaladiyah).[8] The number has varied since 2013 between 99 and 108.[9]
On 2 August 1995, Libya reorganized into thirteen districts (sha`biyat - singularsha`biyah, also translated as municipalities or popularates). In 1998 this was increased to twenty-six districts (sha`biyat). In 2001 it was increased to thirty-two districts plus three administrative regions. Finally in 2007 the number was reduced to twenty-two districts.[10]
UnderGaddafi Libyan districts were further subdivided into Basic People's CongressesArabic:مؤتمر شعبي أساسي (Mu'tamar shaʿbi asāsi ). Geographically they corresponded approximately to the level of atownship orborough. In desert areas they often had an extensive land area with very low population, and were generally centered on, and named for, an oasis.
