Gabès Governorate

Gabès
قابس
Qabis
—  Governorate  —

Coat of arms
Map of Tunisia with Gabès highlighted
Coordinates:
Country Tunisia
Created June 21, 1981
Capital Gabès
Government
 • Governor Abdelkarim Mesbah (DCR)
Area
 • Total 7,175 km2 (2,770.3 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 7th of 24
Population (2007)
 • Total 351,500
 • Rank Ranked 16th of 24
 • Density 49/km2 (126.9/sq mi)
Demonym Gabesian
(Arabic: قابسي, Gabsi‎)
Time zone CET (UTC+01)
Postal prefix 60xx
Calling code 75-2/75-3
ISO 3166 code TN-81

Gabès Governorate (Arabic: ولاية قابسWilāyat Qābis) is one of the 24 governorates of Tunisia. It is located in south-eastern Tunisia. It covers an area of 7,175 square kilometres (2,770 sq mi) and has a population of 343,000 (2004 census). The capital is Gabès.

Geography

The governorate of Gabès is located in southeast Tunisia on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès, 376 km south of the capital, Tunis.

It has some small cities, such as:

Gabès has a hot Mediterranean climate. Gabès offers five contrasting landscapes: the beach, the mountains, the desert, small forest, oasis.

Tourism

The most famous tourist site in Gabès governorate is Matmata. Matmata is one of the rare cities in the world that is still in its original state. Gabès is famous for its mountains and natural places.