A map of Yemen's Governates and Districts

The administrative division of Yemen consists of two main divisions (governorates and districts). There are 22 governorates, including the capital Sana'a (Amanat Al Asima) and Socotra Archipelago. The 22 governorates are then divided into 333 districts, subdivided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages (as of 2001).

Throughout history, Yemen has been divided into several administrative divisions. In the Ottoman era, the Yemen Vilayet (from Arabic ولاية wilayah) was divided into sanjaks (also called livas). Sanjaks were further subdivided into kazas. During the reign of the Mutawakkillite Kingdom of Yemen, some of the elements were integrated into a new division. These divisions were also used by the later Yemen Arab Republic with minor adjustments.

According to the outputs of the Yemeni National Dialogue Conference, Yemen was expected to be divided in late 2014 into six provinces: 'Azal, Al-Janad, Tihama, Hadhramaut, Saba, and Aden.

Administrative divisions

There are two main administrative divisions in Yemen: governorates and districts.

  1. Governorates (Arabic: محافظة muhafazah) are the highest administrative division in Yemen. Yemen is divided into twenty-one governorates and one municipality.
  2. Districts (Arabic: مديرية madiria) are the second administrative division in Yemen. Each governorate in Yemen is split into a number of districts for a total of 333 districts in Yemen.

The remaining administrative divisions are separate for urban and rural areas.

Administrative divisions in urban areas are as follows.

  1. Cities (Arabic: مدن mudun) are an administrative division in Yemen, defined as being the seats of governorates and/or districts. They tend to have a substantial population and a variety of services.
  2. Neighborhoods (Arabic: حي hayy) are the fourth-level administrative division in Yemen's urban areas. It consists of multiple adjacent blocks, the amount varying from neighborhood to neighborhood.
  3. Blocks (Arabic: حارة hara) are the lowest-level administrative division in urban areas. They are defined as groups of adjacent buildings surrounded by a group of streets to separate them from other blocks.

Administrative divisions in rural areas are as follows.

  1. 'Uzal (Arabic: عزلة 'uzlah) are the next-level administrative division following districts in Yemen's rural areas. They are filled with villages. There are about 2,210 'uzal in Yemen.
  2. Villages (Arabic: قرية qariyya) are a fourth-level administrative division in Yemen. They are clustered settlements, similar to towns. They may range in size from only a couple houses to sizable communities. They also typically include shops and fields for agriculture. There are roughly 40,000 villages in Yemen.

List of the divisions of Yemen

Governorates of Yemen
KeyDivisionCapital cityPopulation
2004 census[1]		Population
2006 est.[2]
1Aden Aden589,419634,710
2'Amran 'Amran877,786909,992
3Abyan Zinjibar433,819454,535
4Ad Dali Ad Dali'470,564504,533
5Al Bayda' Al Bayda'577,369605,303
6Al Hudaydah Al Hudaydah2,157,5522,300,179
7Al Jawf Al Jawf443,797465,737
8Al Mahrah Al Ghaydah88,59496,768
9Al Mahwit Al Mahwit494,557523,236
10Amanat Al Asimah Sana'a1,747,8341,947,139
11Dhamar Dhamar1,330,1081,412,142
12Hadramaut Mukalla1,028,5561,092,967
13Hajjah Hajjah1,479,5681,570,872
14Ibb Ibb2,131,8612,238,537
15Lahij Lahij722,694761,160
16Ma'rib Ma'rib238,522251,668
17Raymah Raymah394,448418,659
18Sa'dah Sa'dah695,033746,957
19Sana'a Sana'a919,215957,798
20Shabwah Ataq470,440494,638
21Ta'izz Ta`izz2,393,4252,513,003
22Socotra[3] Hadibu1)1)

1) Soqatra Governorate created in December 2013 from parts of Hadramaut, data included there

Historical subdivisions

Yemen became a unified country in May 1990 after the merger of the northern "Yemen Arab Republic" (North Yemen) and the southern "People's Democratic Republic of Yemen" (South Yemen).

Governorates of South Yemen

Map of the governorates
Map of the governorates

Following independence, South Yemen was divided into six governorates (Arabic: muhafazat), with roughly natural boundaries, each given a Roman numeral.

Numeral Name Approximate area (km.²) Capital
I 'Adan 6,980 Aden
II Lahij 12,766 Lahij
III Abyan 21,489 Zinjibar
IV Shabwah 73,908 Ataq
V Hadhramawt 155,376 Mukalla
VI al-Mahra 66,350 Al Ghaydah

Provinces of North Yemen

Until 1980, North Yemen was split into governorates. In 1980, the country was reorganized into eight provinces (Arabic: liwa).

Name Approximate area (km.²)
Al-Bayda' 15,000
Al-Hudaydah 35,000
Hajjah 17,000
Ibb 13,000
Rida' 10,000
Sa`dah 18,000
San`a' 80,000
Ta`izz 12,000

References

  1. ↑ Central Statistical Organisation of Yemen. General Population Housing and Establishment Census 2004 Final Results Archived 21 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Statistic Yearbook 2005 of Yemen Archived 20 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Statistic Yearbook 2006 of Yemen". Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  3. ↑ "Law establishing province of Socotra Archipelago issued | President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi | الرئيس عبدربه منصور هادي". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
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