Iraq consists of 19 governorates (; ), also known as "provinces". Per the Iraqi constitution, governorates can form a federal region. 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.
There had been numerous calls to recognize Halabja Governorate since 1999. It was recognized as an official governorate of the Kurdistan Region in 2014, and 2023. The Council of Representatives of Iraq officially approved Halabja as Iraq's 19th governorate on 14 April 2025. 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.
History
Throughout early 2014, the Council of Ministers of Iraq approved proposals to add the three newly proposed governorates:
- Tal Afar, from part of Nineveh Governorate
- Tuz Khurmatu, from part of Saladin Governorate
- Nineveh Plains from the Nineveh Governorate.
- Halabja from Sulaymaniah Governorate
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.<!-- Explanation needed. At the beginning of the article it is provided that the word "province" in Iraq is an alternative to the word "governorate", so what does this mean. -->
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. 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.
Another proposal exists to add a 19th governorate: Fallujah, from part of Al Anbar Governorate. 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.
!Population <br />Density <br />in square miles
!Population <br />Density <br />in km<sup>2</sup>
!Capital
|-
|Al-Anbar
|align=center|31||AN
|align=right|53,476
|align=right|138,501
|align=right|1,771,656
|29.1
|11.2
|Ramadi
|-
|Babil
|align=center|51||BB
|align=right|1,976
|align=right|5,603
|align=right|2,065,042
|921.4
|324.9
|Hillah
|-
|Baghdad
|align=center|10||BG
|align=right|78.8
|align=right|204.2
|align=right|8,126,755
|103,131.4
|39,798
|Baghdad
|-
|Basra
|align=center|61||BA
|align=right|7,360
|align=right|19,070
|align=right|2,908,491
|344.0
|132.7
|Basra
|-
|Dhi Qar
|align=center|64||DQ
|align=right|5,000
|align=right|12,900
|align=right|2,095,172
|367.2
|142.3
|Nasiriyah
|-
|Al-Qadisiyyah
|align=center|58||QA
|align=right|3,148
|align=right|8,153
|align=right|1,291,048
|360.3
|139.1
|Al Diwaniyah
|-
|Diyala
|align=center|32||DI
|align=right|6,828
|align=right|17,685
|align=right|1,637,226
|211.3
|81.6
|Baqubah
|-
|Duhok
|align=center|42||DA
|align=right|2,530
|align=right|6,553
|align=right|1,292,535
|445.5
|172.2
|Duhok
|-
|Erbil
|align=center|44||AR
|align=right|5,820
|align=right|15,074
|align=right|1,854,778
|277.0
|106.9
|Erbil
|-
|Karbala
|align=center|56||KA
|align=right|1,944
|align=right|5,034
|align=right|1,218,732
|548.6
|211.8
|Karbala
|-
|Kirkuk
|align=center|36||KI
|align=right|3,737
|align=right|9,679
|align=right|1,597,876
|373.4
|144.1
|Kirkuk
|-
|Maysan
|align=center|62||MA
|align=right|6,205
|align=right|16,072
|align=right|1,112,673
|156.5
|60.4
|Amarah
|-
|Muthanna
|align=center|66||MU
|align=right|19,980
|align=right|51,740
|align=right|814,371
|35.9
|13.8
|Samawah
|-
|Najaf
|align=center|54||NA
|align=right|11,129
|align=right|28,824
|align=right|1,471,592
|115.5
|44.5
|Najaf
|-
|Nineveh
|align=center|41||NI
|align=right|14,410
|align=right|37,323
|align=right|3,729,998
|226.9
|87.6
|Mosul
|-
|Salah Al-Din
|align=center|34||SD
|align=right|9,556
|align=right|24,751
|align=right|1,595,235
|147.3
|56.8
|Tikrit
|-
|Sulaymaniyah
|align=center|46||SU
|align=right|6,573
|align=right|17,023
|align=right|2,053,305
|285.8
|110.3
|Sulaymaniyah
|-
|Wasit
|align=center|52||WA
|align=right|6,623
|align=right|17,153
|align=right|1,378,723
|182.7
|70.5
|Kut
|-
|Halabja
|align=center| ||
|align=right|343
|align=right|889
|align=right|140,000
|408.2
|157.5
|Halabja
|}
Former governorates
thumb|Iraqi governorates in 1990
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Governorate
!Today part of
|-
|Mosul
|Ninawa Governorate<br />Duhok Governorate
|-
|Diwaniya
|Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate<br />Muthanna Governorate<br />Najaf Governorate
|-
|Dulaim (−1962)<br />Ramadi (1962–1976)
|Al Anbar Governorate
|-
|Muntafiq (−1976)
|Dhi Qar Governorate
|-
|Amara (−1976)
|Maysan Governorate
|-
|Kut (−1976)
|Wasit Governorate
|-
|Baghdad
|Baghdad Governorate<br />Saladin Governorate
|-
|Kirkuk (−1976)<br />At-Ta'mim (1976–2006)
|Kirkuk Governorate
|-
|Kuwait Governorate
(Military occupation between 1990 and 1991)
|State of Kuwait
|}
Flags
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:110px;"|Flag!! style="width:250px;" |Use!!style="width:250px;"|Description
|-
| || Flag of Al Anbar Governorate || Ratio: 2:3
|-
| || Flag of Babil Governorate || Ratio: 2:3
|-
||| Flag of Baghdad Governorate || Ratio: 2:3
|-
| || Flag of Basra Governorate || Ratio: 2:3
|-
| || Flag of Diyala Governorate || Ratio: 2:3
|-
|
|Flag of Dhi Qar Governorate
|Ratio: 2:3
|-
| || Flag of Duhok Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
||| Seal of Erbil Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
|
|Emblem of Karbala Governorate
|Ratio: 2:3
|-
||| Seal of Maysan Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
||| Flag of Muthanna Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
| ||| Seal of Najaf Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
| || Flag of Nineveh Governorate|| White flag charged with the emblem of the governorate. The emblem depicts the leaning minaret of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul surrounded by olive branches.<br>Ratio: 2:3
|-
| || Flag of Saladin Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
| || Flag of Kirkuk Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
||| Flag of Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate|| Ratio: 2:3
|-
||| Flag of Sulaymaniyah Governorate || Ratio: 1:2
|-
||| Flag of Wasit Governorate || Ratio: 2:3
|}
See also
- Federal regions of Iraq
- Districts of Iraq
- ISO 3166-2:IQ
- List of Governorates of Iraq by Human Development Index
- List of places in Iraq
References
bg:Административно деление на Ирак
ps:د عراق ولایتونه
pl:Podział administracyjny Iraku
ru:Тамбовская область