An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

. In some states, the interior ministry is entrusted with the functions of ensuring

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

issues and protecting places of detention. Structurally, an interior ministry is part of the highest bodies of executive power and reports directly to the

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

. In states with a federal structure, the ministry often has branches at the level of states or federal subjects.

Lists of current interior ministries

Named "ministry"

Ministry of Internal Affairs (Moldova) The Ministry of Internal Affairs () is one of the fourteen ministries of the cabinet of Moldova, Government of Moldova. It is the main executive body responsible for the Trupele de Carabinieri. History During the Moldavian Democratic Republic, ...

* Ministry of Internal Affairs (Montenegro) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Mordovia) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Myanmar) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Nepal) * Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (Netherlands) * Ministry of Justice and Security (Netherlands) * Ministry of Interior, Public Safety and Decentralization (Niger) * Federal Ministry of Interior (Nigeria) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (North Macedonia) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (North Ossetia–Alania) *

Ministry of Interior (Oman) The Ministry of Interior is the governmental body in the Sultanate of Oman responsible for supervising administrative issues in the various Wilayat of the country, dealing with tribal issues, and overseeing the election process of the Shura Cou ...

Named "department"

* Department of Home Affairs (Australia) * Department of Justice (Ireland) * Department of Home Affairs (Isle of Man) * Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand) * Department of the Interior and Local Government (

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

) * Department of Home Affairs (South Africa) * Department of Police (South Africa) * Department of Homeland Security (Spain) * Federal Department of Home Affairs (

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) * Department of Home, Prohibition and Excise (Tamil Nadu) * Department of Homeland Security (United States) * Department of Justice (United States) * Department of Home and Confidential (

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

) * Department of Home (West Bengal) * Department of Home (Kerala)

Other names

* Federal Public Service Interior (Belgium) * Public Safety Canada * Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (European Union) * Security Bureau (Hong Kong) * Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (Hong Kong) * Secretariat of the Interior (Mexico) * Secretariat of State for Security (Spain) * Home Office (United Kingdom)

Historical

Named "ministry"

* Ministry of the Interior and Justice (Colombia) * Ministry of the Interior (Czechoslovakia) * Ministry of Interior and Health (Denmark) * Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia * Ministry of the Interior (Hawaii) * Ministry of Home Affairs (Japan) * Ministry of Internal Security (Malaysia) * Ministry of the Interior (Ottoman Empire) * Ministry of Interior (Poland) * Ministry of Public Security (Poland) * Ministry of Police of the Russian Empire *

Ministry of Interior and Defence The Ministry of Interior and Defence (MID) was a ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Singapore. It was established in 1965, with Goh Keng Swee as the inaugural minister. The ministry was responsible for both internal an ...

(Singapore) * Ministry of Public Safety and Security (South Korea) * Ministry of Security and Public Administration (South Korea) * Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union) * Ministry of the Interior (Yugoslavia)

Named "department"

* Department of Home Affairs (1901–1916) (Australia) * Department of Home Affairs (1928–1932) (Australia) * Department of Home Affairs (1977–1980) (Australia) * Department of Home Affairs and Environment (Australia) * Department of Home and Territories (Australia) * Department of Home Security (Australia) * Department of the Interior (1932–1939) (Australia) * Department of the Interior (1939–1972) (Australia)

Lists of current interior ministries

Named "ministry"

Named "department"

Other names

Historical

Named "ministry"

Named "department"

See also