A muḥāfaẓah (Arabic: مُحَافَظَة [muˈħaːfaðˤa]; pl. مُحَافَظَات muḥāfaẓāt [muħafaˈðˤaːt]) is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated as "governorate", and occasionally as "province". It comes from the Arabic root ح-ا-ف-ظ ḥ-a-f-ẓ (verb: حافظ ḥafaẓa), which means to "keep" and "guard". The head of a muḥāfaẓah is the (مُحَافِظ) muḥāfiẓ .
Muhafazat in Arab countries
- Governorates of Bahrain
- Governorates of Egypt
- Governorates of Iraq
- Governorates of Jordan
- Governorates of Kuwait
- Governorates of Libya (historic)
- Governorates of Lebanon
- Governorates of Oman
- Governorates of Palestine
- Governorates of Saudi Arabia (2nd level)
- Governorates of Syria
- Governorates of Yemen
The governorates of Tunisia are wilāyah in Arabic.
| Arabic terms for administrative divisions | |
|---|---|
| First-level | |
| Second / third-level | |
| City / township-level |
|
| English translations given are those most commonly used. | |
 | This government-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |