As-Suwayda Governorate

As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة السويداء / ALA-LC: Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is the southernmost governorate, covering an area of 5,550 km², and is part of the historic Hawran region. The capital and largest city of the governorate is al-Suwayda.

Al-Suwayda Governorate مُحافظة السويداء
Governorate
Map of Syria with al-Suwayda Governorate highlighted
Coordinates (Al-Suwayda): 32.8°N 36.8°E / 32.8; 36.8
Country	Syria
Capital	Al-Suwayda
Manatiq (Districts)	3
Government
• Governor	Akram Ali Muhammad[1][2]
Area
• Total	5,550 km2 (2,140 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	375,000[3]
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 code	SY-SU
Main language(s)	Arabic

Geographically the governorate comprises almost all of Jabal al-Druze, the eastern part of Lejah, and a part of the arid eastern steppe of Harrat al-Shamah.

Most inhabitants of As-Suwayda are employed in agriculture, cultivating crops such as grapes, apples, olives, and wheat. Additionally, As-Suwayda is home to numerous archaeological sites.

This governorate is unique in Syria as it has a Druze majority. Additionally, it has integrated Christian communities that have long coexisted harmoniously with the Druze in these mountain.^[4]

Demographics and population

Religious composition of Suweida Governorate (2010)[3]
Druze			90%
Christians			7%
Sunni Muslims			3%

The governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants (est. 2011).^[5] It is the only governorate in Syria that has a Druze majority.^[6] There is also a sizable Eastern Orthodox minority, and a small Muslim refugee community from mainly Daraa Governorate as well as other parts of Syria.^[7]

In the 1980s Druze made up 87.6% of the population, Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox) 11% and Sunni Muslims 2%.^[8] In 2010, the As-Suwayda governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants, Druze made up 90%, Christians 7% and Sunni Muslims 3%.^[3] Due to low birth and high emigration rates, Christians proportion in As-Suwayda had declined.^[3]

Most of the inhabitants live in the western parts of the governorate, especially on the western slopes of Jabal ad-Duruz. Only nomadic Bedouin tribes live in the barren region of Harrat al-Shamah.

Districts

Shahba

Salkhad

Al-Suwayda

The governorate is divided into three districts (manatiq). 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

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

Cities, towns and villages

Suwayda's City aerial view October 2011

Main article: List of populated places in al-Suwayda Governorate

The governorate contains 3 cities, 124 towns/villages, and 36 hamlets.^[5]

Cities

• Shahba
• Al-Suwayda
• Salkhad

Villages

• Shaqqa
• Al-Ajailat
• Al-Ghariyah
• Al-Kefr
• Al-Qurayya
• Ariqah
• Ar-Raha
• Braiki
• Dair Allaban
• Dama
• Hobran
• Kafr Alluhuf
• Lahetha
• Msad
• Murduk
• Qanawat
• Rimet Alluhuf
• Rimet Hazem
• Samma Al-baradan
• Samma Al-hanidat
• Shaniri
• Shbeki
• Walgha

See also

• Druze in Syria

References

1. "الرئيس الأسد يصدر مرسومين بتعيين أربعة محافظين جدد" [President Assad issues two decrees appointing four new governors]. SANA. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
2. "President al-Assad issues decrees on appointing new governors for eight Syrian provinces". Syrian Arab News Agency. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
3. The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows
4. Balanche, Fabrice (2017). Atlas of the Near East: State Formation and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1918–2010. Brill. p. 27. ISBN 9789004345188. ...comprised 50,328 inhabitants, of whom 85 per cent were Druze, and it integrated Christian communities (7,000 people) who had long lived in these mountains in harmony with the Druze.
5. Statistics from "المكتب المركزي للاحصاء". Archived from the original on 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
6. Country Data Page on Syria
7. Shahba provides refuge for displaced Syrians Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. 28 September 2012.
8. Pipes, Daniel (1990). Greater Syria: The History of an Ambition. Oxford University Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-19-506021-8.