Suwayda Governorate is one of Syria's 14 governorates (provinces). It has an area of 5,550 km2. Its capital and major town is Suwayda.
The governorate has a population of about 346,000 inhabitants (est. 2007).[1] The inhabitants are predominantly Druze with Greek Orthodox minority, there is also a small Muslim community.
Most of the inhabitants live in the western parts of the governorate, in Jabal al-Druze and Leja regions. Only nomadic Bedouin tribes live in the eastern parts, which constitute a barren rocky desert.
The governorate is divided into 3 districts (manatiq): Suwayda District, Salkhad District and Shahba District. These are further divided into 9 sub-districts (nawahi).
There are 3 cities, 124 villages and 36 hamlets in the governorate.[1]
| English name | Arabic name | District | Population | Elevation | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ajailat | العجيلات | Suwayda District | 1,500 | 32°45′48″N 36°46′50″E / 32.76333°N 36.78056°E | |
| Al-Kafr | الكفر | Suwayda District | 1360 m | 32°38′0″N 36°38′30″E / 32.63333°N 36.64167°E | |
| Al-Ariqah | عريقة | Shahba District | 3,000 | 800 m | 32°53′10″N 36°28′50″E / 32.88611°N 36.48056°E |
| Suwayda | السويداء | Suwayda District | 73,641 | 1095 m | 32°42′0″N 36°34′0″E / 32.70000°N 36.56667°E |
| Dama | داما | Shahba District | 725 m | 32°57′10″N 36°25′50″E / 32.95278°N 36.43056°E | |
| Imtan | امتان | Salkhad District | 2,600 | 1189 m | 32°25′0″N 36°49′0″E / 32.41667°N 36.81667°E |
| Qanawat | قنوات | Suwayda District | 1200 m | 32°45′20″N 36°37′0″E / 32.75556°N 36.61667°E | |
| Salkhad | صلخد | Salkhad District | 15,000 | 1350 m | 32°29′30″N 36°42′40″E / 32.49167°N 36.71111°E |
| Shahba | شهبا | Shahba District | 32°51′15″N 36°37′45″E / 32.85417°N 36.62917°E | ||
| Shaqqa | شقا | Shahba District | 8,000 | 1070 m | 32°53′50″N 36°41′50″E / 32.89722°N 36.69722°E |
Footnotes
edit- 1 2 Statistics from "المكتب المركزي للاحصاء". Archived from the original on 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2007-04-05.