Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, since December 18, 2019, is divided into 58 wilayas (

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

). Prior to December 18, 2019, there were 48 provinces. The 58 provinces are divided into 1,541

baladiyah Baladiyah () is a type of Arabic administrative division that can be translated as "district", "sub-district" or "municipality". The plural is baladiyat (). Grammatically, it is the feminine of "rural, country-, folk-". The Arabic term amanah ( ...

s (

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

). The name of a province is always that of its capital city. According to the Algerian constitution, a wilaya is a territorial collectivity enjoying economic and diplomatic freedom, the APW, or ''"Popular Provincial Parliament/Provincial Popular Parliament"'' (the ''Assemblée Populaire Wilayale'', in French) is the political entity governing a province, directed by the "

Wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

" (

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

), who is chosen by the

Algerian President The president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces. History of the office The Tripoli Program, whic ...

to handle the APW's decisions, the APW has also a president, who is elected by the members of the APW, which Algerians elect.

List

By 1984 the number of Algerian provinces were fixed at 48 and established the list of municipalities or "communes" attached to each province. In 2019, 10 new provinces were added. The province numbers are the first 31 provinces (see the second section) in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

alphabetical order Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is t ...

, after the adding of 17 more provinces in 1983 and 10 more in 2019, the old numbering was kept and the 27 provinces created since 1984 have been assigned codes from 32 to 58, in Arabic alphabetical order. The following table presents the list of provinces, showing for each its numerical code, its name (which is at all times the same as the name of the capital city of the province), the number of districts ("dairas"), the number of municipalities, its area, and its population.

Since 2019

On 26 November 2019, the

Cabinet of Algeria The Council of Ministers is an Algerian government body established by the Algerian Constitution to discuss and adopt some of the main acts of executive power, such as the tabling of government bills or the appointment of senior officials. It is ...

passed a bill to add 10 more provinces, by splitting some of the larger provinces in the south of Algeria into smaller ones. Thus, the following provinces have been added on December 18, 2019: * Bordj Badji Mokhtar Province *

In Salah Province The Wilaya of Ain Salah ( ar, ولاية عين صالح) is an Algerian wilaya created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of in Salah is in the Algerian Sahara, its a ...

Djanet Province The wilaya of Djanet () is an Algerian province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is located in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of Djanet is in the Algerian Sahara; its area is 131,220 km² ...

* In Guezzam Province * El M'Ghair Province *

Touggourt Province The Wilaya of Touggourt ( ar, ولاية تقرت) is an Algerian province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of Touggourt is in the Algerian Sahara; its area i ...

* Béni Abbès Province *

Timimoun Province The Wilaya of Timimoun () is an Algerian province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of Timimoun is in the Algerian Sahara; its area is 131,220 km² . ...

Ouled Djellal Province The wilaya of Ouled Djellal is an Algerian province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of Ouled Djellal is located in the Algerian Sahara, its area 131,220&nb ...

* El Menia Province

1984-2019

In 1984 17 new provinces were added. These provinces included: #

El Bayadh El Bayadh () is a municipality of Algeria. It is the capital of El Bayadh Province. This town was known as ''Géryville'' during the French colonization of Algeria. Geography The Ksour Range is a mountainous A mountain is an elevated po ...

Illizi Illizi ( ar, إيليزي) is a town and commune, coextensive with Illizi District, situated in the south-eastern part of Algeria, and capital of Illizi Province. According to the 2008 census it is the largest commune by population in the province ...

Bordj Bou Arréridj Bordj Bou Arréridj ( ar, برج بوعريريج) is the capital city of Bordj Bou Arréridj Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 estimation, its population was 168,346. It is situated 148 miles by road east of Algiers, near the Hodna Mass ...

Boumerdès Boumerdès ( ar, بومرداس; Kabyle: Bumerdas; formerly ''Rocher Noir'') is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 28,500 in 1998 and 15,000 in 1987. Boumerdès is a s ...

# El Taref #

Tindouf Tindouf ( Berber: Tinduf, ar, تندوف) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has population of around 160,000 but the census and population ...

Tissemsilt Tissemsilt ( ar, تسمسيلت, Tissamsīlt) is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Tissemsilt Province Tissemsilt ( ar, ولاية تسمسيلت) is the 38th province of Algeria with the capital being Tissemsilt. Théniet El Ha ...

El Oued El Oued ( ar, اﻟﻮادي, ber, Suf meaning ''the River''), Souf or Oued Souf is a city, and the capital of El Oued Province, in Algeria. The oasis town is watered by an underground river, hence its name is El Oued which enables date palm cult ...

Khenchela Khenchela ancient Mascula ( ar, خنشلة) is the capital city of the administrative Khenchela Province (''Wilaya''), number 40, in the north east of Algeria. Situated in the Aures Mountains, 1200 m above sea level. The city is mainly popu ...

Souk Ahras Souk Ahras (Berber: ''Tagast''; ancient name: ''Thagast''; ar, سوق أهراس) is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Souk Ahras Province. The Numidian city of Thagaste (or Tagaste), on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was the bi ...

Tipaza Tipaza (formerly ''Tefessedt'', Chenoua-Berber: Bazar, ⴱⴰⵣⴰⵔ, ar, تيپازة) is the capital of the Tipaza Province, Algeria. When it was part of the Roman Empire, it was called ''Tipasa''. The modern town was founded in 1857, and is ...

# Mila #

Aïn Defla Aïn Defla ( ar, عين الدفلى, lit. ''oleander spring'') is the capital city of Aïn Defla Province, Algeria. It is also a commune. History In Roman times the city was called Oppidum Novum. The vestiges of the Oppidum Novum are still visi ...

Naâma Naâma (Arabic: النعامة or نعامة) is a municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria, of which it is the province seat. It is coextensive with the district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is ...

Aïn Témouchent Aïn Témouchent ( ar, عين تموشنت) is a city in north western Algeria, it is the capital of Aïn Témouchent Province. Ain Temouchent is located 72 km south-west of Oran, a city with which it is closely associated, and 63 km w ...

Ghardaïa Ghardaïa ( ar, غرداية, Mzab-Berber: ''Taɣerdayt'') is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 93,423 according to the 2008 census, up from 87,599 in 1998, with an annual growth rate ...

Relizane Relizane or Ghilizan (Arabic: غلیزان; Berber: Ɣilizan) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital city of Relizane Province. Toponymy The name of Relizane comes from the Berber ⵉⵖⵉⵍ ⵉⵣⵣⴰⵏ (Iɣil Izzan) which means “burn ...

1974-1983

The 15 departments were reorganized to form 31 provinces:

1957-1974

Immediately after independence, Algeria retained its 15 former French départements, which were renamed

wilaya A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...

s (provinces) in 1968, for the most part, with some name changes: *8A-El Wahat (Currently Ouargla, formerly Oasis) *8B-Saoura (Currently Béchar) *9A-Alger (Algiers) *9B-Batna *9C-Annaba (Formerly Bône,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Bona) *9D-Constantine *9E-Médéa *9F-Mostaganem *9G-Oran *9H-Orléansville (Then El Asnam, now Chlef) *9J-Sétif *9K-Tiaret *9L-Tizi-Ouzou *9M-Tlemcen *9R-Saïda

1954-1962

During the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, the FLN adopted an organizational system divided by 6 numbered ''wilayas'': #Aurès #Constantine #Kabylie #Algiers #Oran #Sahara

References

External links

National Statistics Office
{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of African countries Subdivisions of Algeria Algeria, Provinces Algeria 1 Provinces, Algeria

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...