Jump to content

Akkar Governorate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Akkar
Arabic: محافظة عكار
Governorate
Berkayel, Akkar Governorate
Berkayel, Akkar Governorate
Location of Akkar Governorate in Lebanon
Location of Akkar Governorate in Lebanon
Coordinates: 34°30′N 36°12′E / 34.5°N 36.2°E / 34.5; 36.2
Country Lebanon
DistrictAkkar District
Gazetted16 July 2003
CapitalHalba
Government
 • GovernorImad Labaki (Independent)
Area
[1]
 • Total
788.4 km2 (304.4 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2017)
 • Total
423,596
 • Density537.3/km2 (1,392/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Akkar Governorate (Arabic: محافظة عكار, romanized: Muḥāfaẓat ʿAkkār) is the northernmost governorate of Lebanon. It comprises the single district of Akkar,[2] which in turn is subdivided into 121 municipalities.[1] The capital is at Halba.[2] It covers an area of 788 km2 (304 sq mi)[1] and is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, North Governorate to the south, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate to the southeast, and the Syrian governorates of Tartus and Homs to the north and northeast. The governorate's western coastal plain constitutes Lebanon's second largest agricultural region after the Beqaa Valley, while the east features forested mountains that have been considered for protection as a national park.[3]

The UNHCR estimated the population of the governorate at 389,899 in 2015, including 106,935 registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War and 19,404 Palestinian refugees.[1] The population is predominantly Sunni Muslim around 70-75% with a minority of Christian and Alawite communities and very few Shiites.[1] Akkar is Lebanon's least urbanized governorate, with 80% of the population living in rural areas.[4]

Akkar Governorate was created by the enactment of Law 522 on 16 July 2003, in which Akkar District was separated from North Governorate.[5] Implementation of the new region only began in 2014 with the appointment of the first and current governor, Imad Labaki,[6] and remains incomplete as of 2017.[7]

Akkar Governorate

Historically marginalized and neglected by the central government, Akkar is Lebanon's poorest region and has the country's highest illiteracy rate, and suffers from lack of basic infrastructure and services.[4] The recent influx of Syrian refugees has exacerbated these problems, with the unemployment rate in the governorate reaching almost 60% in 2015.[8]

Ottoman and pre-independence period

[edit]

Akkar was long under the political and military influence of the Al Merehb family, a lineage of sharifian decent that controlled the territory, and at its height, extended influence toward Tripoli and Hama, from their arrival in the region in the early 18th century until the end of the Ottoman rule.[9][10]

During the 1970s, Akkar's peasantry organized against a highly unequal land ownership system in which roughly % of the population held about 73% of the land, in a movement led by Khalid Saghiya, a Syrian Baathist lawyer. The unrest escalated after Black September in Jordan made firearms more widely available in the region and was shaped further by Syrian involvement and the area's sectarian diversity.[10][11][12]

Governorate's creation

[edit]

Akkar Governorate was established when Law 522, enacted on 16 July 2003 under Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, separated Akkar District from the former North Governate.[13] Implementation of the new governate did not being until over a decade later, with the appointment of its first governor, Imad Labaki.[14][15]

Demographics

[edit]

According to registered voters in 2014:

Religion in the Akkar Governorate
  1. Sunni Islam (66.2%)
  2. Shia Islam (1.17%)
  3. Alawite (4.86%)
  4. Christianity (27.6%)
  5. Other (0.19%)
Year Christians Muslims Druze
Total Greek Orthodox Maronites Greek Catholics Other Christians Total Sunnis Alawites Shias Druze
2014[16]
27.55%
14.24%
11.47%
1.28%
0.56%
72.26%
66.23%
4.86%
1.17%
0.01%

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Akkar Governorate Profile". UNHCR. June 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Mohafazah de Aakkar". Localiban. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Towards a National Park in Upper Akkar" (PDF). Mada. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 Mouchref, Aicha (January 2008). "Forgotten Akkar: Socio-Economic Reality of the Akkar Region" (PDF). Civil Society Knowledge Center. Mada. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  5. ↑ "Territorial administration of Lebanon". Localiban. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Cabinet Appoints 5 New Governors, Accepts Qaloush's Resignation". Naharnet. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Obeid, Ghinwa (9 February 2017). "Akkar governorate in dire need of security and development". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "North and Akkar Governorates Profile". UNHCR. 2016. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "The Imperial School For Tribes - Educating The Provincial -". 2023.
  10. 1 2 "AŞİRET MEKTEBİ: THE IMPERIAL SCHOOL FOR TRIBES, 1892-1907". 2021.
  11. ↑ "'Akkar Before the Civil War - MERIP". Middle East Research and Information Project. 1990-01-10. Retrieved 2026-09-14.
  12. ↑ "LAND TENURE IN LEBANON" (PDF). 2026.
  13. ↑ "مرسوم إشتراعي رقم 116 - التنظيم الاداري - صادر في 12/06/1959 | Libandata.org". www.libandata.org (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2026-09-14.
  14. ↑ "Lebanon: Economic and Social Impact Assessment of the Syrian Conflict" (PDF). 2013.
  15. ↑ "UNDP — State and Trends of the Lebanese Environment" (PDF). 2012.
  16. ↑ "التوزيع حسب المذاهب للناخبين/ناخبات في قضاء عكار، محافظة الشمال في لبنان". إعْرَفْ لبنان. Retrieved 2025-11-22.



Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Akkar_Governorate&oldid=1378922367"