View source for Governorates of Kuwait

{{Short description|Top-level administrative divisions}}
{{for|the former [[Iraq]]i military occupation|Kuwait Governorate}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox subdivision type
| name = Governorates of Kuwait
| map = Kuwait governorates english.png
| category = [[Governorate]]
| territory = [[State of Kuwait]] {{flagicon|KUW}}
| start_date = 
| current_number = 6 Governorates
| number_date = 27 November 1999
| population_range = [[Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate]] - 254,999 (lowest); [[Farwaniya Governorate]] - 1,169,312 (highest)
| area_range = [[Hawalli Governorate]] - {{Convert|85|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} (smallest); [[Jahra Governorate]] - {{Convert|11230|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} km² (largest)
| government = [[Government of Kuwait]]
| subdivision = [[Areas of Kuwait]]
}}
{{Politics of Kuwait}}

'''[[Kuwait]]''' is divided into 6 '''[[governorate]]s''' (''[[muhafazah]]'').<ref>{{cite web |title=Governorates of Kuwait |url=https://e.gov.kw/sites/kgoenglish/Pages/Visitors/AboutKuwait/KuwaitGovernorates.aspx |website=Kuwait Government Online |access-date=6 October 2025}}</ref> The governorates are further subdivided into [[Areas of Kuwait|area]]s. 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 the [[Prime Minister of Kuwait|Prime Minister]].

==History==
The beginning of the formation of governorates in the [[State of Kuwait]] started in 1962 with the Emiri decree No. 6 which divided the Kuwait into three governorates i.e. [[Al Asimah Governorate (Kuwait)|Asimah Governorate]], [[Hawalli Governorate]] and [[Ahmadi Governorate]]. Later, [[Jahra Governorate]], [[Farwaniya Governorate]] and [[Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate]] were formed in three periods of time: 1979, 1988 and 1999 respectively.

==Governorates==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0;"
|+
! Governorate
! [[ISO 3166-2:KW]]
! data-sort-type="date" |Formation
! Population
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Notes
|-
! scope="row" | [[Ahmadi Governorate]]
|KW-AH
|1962
| align="right" |959,009
| align="right" |5,120
| It was named after Sheikh [[Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]], 10th ruler of Kuwait.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Capital Governorate (Kuwait)|Asimah Governorate]]
|KW-KU
|1962
| align="right" |568,567
| align="right" |175
| It houses most of Kuwait's financial and business centres such as the [[Kuwait Stock Exchange]].
|-
! scope="row" | [[Farwaniya Governorate]]
|KW-FA
|1988
| align="right" |1,169,312
| align="right" |204
| It is the most populated governorate.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Hawalli Governorate]]
|KW-HA
|1962
| align="right" |939,792
| align="right" |85
| It is the smallest and most densely populated governorate.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Jahra Governorate]]
|KW-JA
|1979
| align="right" |540,910
| align="right" |11,230
| It is the largest governorate and contains the agricultural area.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate]]
|KW-MU
|1999
| align="right" |254,999
| align="right" |104
| The newest governorate of Kuwait, founded in 1999 and the least populated governorate in Kuwait.
|}

==See also==
*[[Demographics of Kuwait]]
*[[Areas of Kuwait]]
*[[ISO 3166-2:KW]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Governorates of Kuwait}}
{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of Asian countries}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governorates of Kuwait}}
[[Category: Governorates of Kuwait| ]]
[[Category: Subdivisions of Kuwait]]
[[Category:Lists of administrative divisions|Kuwait, Governorates]]
[[Category:Administrative divisions in Asia|Kuwait 1]]
[[Category:First-level administrative divisions by country|Governorates, Kuwait]]
[[Category: Kuwait geography-related lists]]
[[Category: Governorates|Kuwait]]

{{Kuwait-geo-stub}}