Baghdad Governorate

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Baghdad Governorate (Arabic: محافظة بغداد‎)
Governorate of Baghdad in relation to the other governorates of Iraq
Coordinates: 33.34° N 44.39° E
Country	Iraq
Capital	Baghdad
Area
- Governorate	734 km²  (283.4 sq mi)
Population (2003)
- Governorate	6,400,400
Time zone	Iraqi Standard Time (UTC+3)
Main languages	Arabic and Assyrian

Baghdad Governorate (Arabic: محافظة بغداد‎ Muḥāfaẓät Baġdād) in the nation of Iraq includes the city of Baghdad and the surrounding metropolitan area, including Al Mahmudiyah and the infamous Abu Ghraib. It has an area of 734 square kilometers (283.4 sq mi), the smallest of the 18 governorates of Iraq but the most populous. In 2003, the estimated population of the province was 6,400,400 people.

Baghdad governorate is considered one of the more developed parts of Iraq, with a better infrastructure than much of Iraq, though heavily damaged from the invasion in 2003 and continuing violence today. Baghdad, even though considered the most heavily guarded area in Iraq, is still the scene of countless daily ambushes and attacks from Iraqi rebels directed towards Coalition troops. It also has one of the highest rates for terrorism in the world with bombs, suicide attackers, and hit squads operating in the city.

Baghdad has at least 12 bridges to join the east and west of the city separated by the river Tigris. The Sadr City district of the capital is the most densely populated area in Iraq home to around two million impoverished Shi'ite Muslims. Around 70% of Baghdad's population is Shi'ite Muslim with most of the rest Sunni. A sizeable Christian community also has a presence in Baghdad.

The capital is now in the middle of a power struggle with insurgents forcing out Sunni residents in some areas of western Baghdad where they form a majority. After the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad, Shi'ite militias retaliated and forced out some Sunnis from predominantly Shi'ite areas.