As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة السويداء / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. It is the southernmost governorate and has an area of 5,550 km² and forms part of the historic Hawran region. Its capital and major city is al-Suwayda. Geographically the governorate comprises almost all of

Jabal al-Druze Jabal al-Druze ( ar, جبل الدروز, ''jabal ad-durūz'', ''Mountain of the Druze''), officially Jabal al-Arab ( ar, جبل العرب, links=no, ''jabal al-ʿarab'', ''Mountain of the Arabs''), is an elevated volcanic region in the As-Suwa ...

, the eastern part of Lejah, and a part of the arid eastern steppe of

Harrat al-Shamah The ''Ḥarrat al-Shām'' ( ar, حَرَّة ٱلشَّام), also known as the Black Desert, is a region of rocky, basaltic desert straddling southern Syria and the northern Arabian Peninsula. It covers an area of some in the modern-day Syria ...

. Most of As-Suwayda inhabitants work in agriculture, planting grapes, apple, olive, and wheat in general. In addition, there are four clearly demarcated seasons (winter, spring, summer, and fall) which gives As-Suwayda nice weather and beautiful natural sites. As-Suwayda contains many archaeological sites.

Demographics and population

The governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants (est. 2011).Statistics from It is the only governorate in Syria that has a Druze majority. There is also a sizable Eastern Orthodox minority, and a small

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

refugee community from mainly Daraa Governorate as well as other parts of Syria. In the 1980s Druze made up 87.6% of the population, Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox) 11% and Sunni Muslims 2%. In 2010, the As-Suwayda governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants,

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

made up 90%,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

s 7% and Sunni Muslims 3%.The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows
/ref> Due to low birth and high emigration rates, Christians proportion in As-Suwayda had declined.The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows
/ref> Most of the inhabitants live in the western parts of the governorate, especially on the western slopes of Jabal ad-Duruz. Only nomadic

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

tribes live in the barren region of Harrat al-Shamah.

Districts

The governorate is divided into three

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(

manatiq Minṭaqah ( ; plural ''manāṭiq'' ) is a first-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia and Chad and for a second-level administrative division in several other Arab countries. It is often translated as ''region'' or ''district'', but the ...

). The districts are further divided into 12 sub-districts ( nawahi): * As-Suwayda District (3 sub-districts) ** As-Suwayda Subdistrict ** Al-Mazraa Subdistrict ** Al-Mushannaf Subdistrict * Salkhad District (5 sub-districts) ** Salkhad Subdistrict ** Al-Qrayya Subdistrict ** Al-Ghariyah Subdistrict ** Thaybin Subdistrict **

Malah Subdistrict Malah may refer to: Places *El Malah, formerly Rio Salado, municipality in northwestern Algeria * El Malah District, a district in Algeria * Ouled Malah, town and commune in Algeria * Malah (Al-Suwayda Governorate) - town in the Salkhad District o ...

Shahba District Shahba District ( ar-at, منطقة شهبا, manṭiqat Šahbā) is a district of the as-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Shahba Shahba ( ar, شَهْبَا / ALA-LC: ''Shahbā'') is a city locat ...

(4 sub-districts) ** Shahba Subdistrict ** Shaqqa Subdistrict ** Al-Ariqah Subdistrict ** Al-Surah al-Saghirah Subdistrict

Cities, towns and villages

The governorate contains 3 cities, 124 villages, and 36 hamlets.

Cities

Shahba Shahba ( ar, شَهْبَا / ALA-LC: ''Shahbā'') is a city located south of Damascus in the Jabal el Druze in As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria, but formerly in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea. Known in Late Antiquity as Philippopolis (in ...

* Al-Suwayda *

Salkhad Salkhad ( ar, صَلْخَد, Ṣalḫad) is a Syrian city in the As-Suwayda Governorate, southern Syria. It is the capital of Salkhad District, one of the governorate's three districts. It has a population of 15,000 inhabitants. It is located a ...

Villages

shaqqa Shaqqa or Shakka ( ar, شَقَّا, Šaqqā) is a Syrian town in As Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria, whose some 8,000 inhabitants are mainly Druze, descendants of those who migrated here from Lebanon in the 18th and 19th centuries. In anc ...

* Al-Ajailat *

Al-Ghariyah Al-Ghariyeh ( ar, الغارية) is a town in Suwayda Governorate, in southern Syria. The town is the administrative center of the Gharieh Nahiya. The town has a population of 3,808 as per the 2004 census. It is located north of the Jordan bord ...

Al-Kefr Al-Kafr ( ar, الكفر, also spelled ''al-Kefr'') is a village in as-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. It is located 8 km to the southeast of as-Suwayda. It is known for its forest and good wine, and it was the site of a number of ba ...

* Al-Qurayya *

Ariqah Ariqah ( ar, عريقة, ʿArīqa), formerly known as Ahira, is a village in southern Syria with a population of about 3,000. It is located in the heart of the rocky volcanic plateau of Lejah (also called Lajat). Administratively Ariqah is situate ...

* Ar-Raha * Braiki *

Dair Allaban Dair is the Irish name of the seventh letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚇ, meaning "oak". The sga, dair (Early sga, daur) is related to Welsh and to Breton . Its Proto-Indo-European root was ''*dóru'' ("tree"), possibly a deadjectival noun ...

Dama Dama or DAMA may refer to: Animals *Dama gazelle (''Nanger dama'') * ''Dama'' (genus) (fallow deer) **Fallow deer (''Dama dama'') **Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamica'') *Tammar wallaby or Dama wallaby (''Macropus eugenii'') Business, scie ...

* Hobran *

Kafr Alluhuf Kafr may refer to: * A Levantine Arabic term for village * Kafir, an Arabic term for an infidel * Kafr, Iran, a village See also * * Kafir (disambiguation) * Al-Kafr Al-Kafr ( ar, الكفر, also spelled ''al-Kefr'') is a village in as-Suw ...

* Lahetha * Msad * Murduk * Qanawat *

Rimet Alluhuf Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the presid ...

Rimet Hazem Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the presid ...

Samma Al-baradan Samma may refer to: * Samma (tribe), a Sindhi clan in Pakistan and India * Samma, Estonia, a village in Viru-Nigula Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia * Samma, Jordan, a village in Irbid Governorate, northern Jordan * Samma dynasty, a 14th centu ...

* Samma Al-hanidat * Shaniri * Shbeki * Walgha

References

{{Authority control Governorates of Syria