Kirkuk Governorate

Kirkuk Governorate
پارێزگای کەرکووک (Central Kurdish)
Governorate
Coordinates: 35°22′N 44°8′E / 35.367°N 44.133°E / 35.367; 44.133Coordinates: 35°22′N 44°8′E / 35.367°N 44.133°E / 35.367; 44.133
Country  Iraqi Kurdistan
Capital Kirkuk
Governor Najmiddin Karim
Area
 • Total 9,679 km2 (3,737 sq mi)
Population (2017)
 • Total 1،259،561

Kirkuk Governorate (Kurdish: پارێزگای کەرکووک‎, Arabic: محافظة كركوك‎‎ Muḥāfaẓat Karkūk, Syriac: ܟܪܟ ܣܠܘܟ‎ Karḵ Sloḵ, Turkish: Kerkük ili) or Kirkuk Province is a governorate in northern Iraq, The governorate has an area of 9,679 square kilometres (3,737 sq mi). In 2017 the estimated population was 1،259،561 people.[1] The provincial capital is the city of Kirkuk. It is divided into four districts.

From 1976 to 2006, it was named At-Ta'mim Governorate, which means "Nationalization" and refers to the national ownership of the regional oil and natural gas reserves. Prior to 1976 it had been named Kirkuk Governorate. In 2006, the name "Kirkuk Governorate" was restored.

Governorate government

Districts of Kirkuk Governorate

Districts

District Total Population 2006
Dibis 34,254
Daquq 40,237
Al-Hawija 450,267
Kirkuk 402,249

Demographics

Kirkuk province borders were altered, the Kurdish dominated districts were added to Erbil and Sulaymaniya provinces. the Arab districts were added to Kirkuk province. Turkmen villages were added to Diyala and Salahuddin provinces.[4]

Due to the Arabization policies of the Ba'ath party the number of Arabs in official censuses increased fivefold within 40 years, however the most reliable data indicative of the ethnic breakdown of the governorate are those of the 1957 census.[5] The number of Kurds remained relatively constant from 1957 until 1977, decrease in their numbers coincides with the Arabization process in the 1990s.[6] The Turkmens were seriously affected by the Ba'ath changing Kirkuk borders their percentage fell from 21% to 7%.

Starting from 1977, 2000 Christians (Assyrians) were registered as Arabs. From the end of the Gulf War to 1999, about 11,000 Kurdish families were deported from Kirkuk.[7] Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, 100,000 Kurds have returned to the city of Kirkuk[8] and these numbers are steadily increasing.

Many Arab families, particularly those of recent arrival have been "encouraged" by the Kurdish government to leave, including financial incentive to do so. In their place have arrived long-banished Kurds (or other Kurds), from as far away as Egypt, Turkey and the Persian Gulf countries to replace them in Kirkuk. Once again, Kirkuk is fast becoming a Kurdish-majority city, if it is not already.

Census results for Kirkuk Governorate[5]
Mother tongue 1957 Percentage 1977 Percentage 1997 Percentage
Arabs 109,620 28.2% 218,755 45% 544,596 72%
Kurds 187,593 48.2% 184,875 38% 155,861 21%
Turkmens 83,371 21.4% 80,347 17% 50,099 7%
Assyrians 1,605 0.4%
Jews 123 0.03%
Other 6,545 1.77% 0 0% 2,189 0.3%
Total 388,829 100% 483,977 100% 752,745 100%

See also

References

  1. ↑ Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology, Iraq
  2. 1 2 http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default.aspx?page=article_page&c=slideshow&id=141690
  3. ↑ http://www.blackanthem.com/News/iraqi-freedom/Photos-Operation-Lion-Victory-Celebrates-Security-Gains-in-Hawijah14572.shtml
  4. ↑ Dagher, Sam (25 April 2008). "Can the U.N. avert a Kirkuk border war?". CS Monitor. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Anderson, Liam D.; Stansfield, Gareth R. V. (2009), Crisis in Kirkuk: The Ethnopolitics of Conflict and Compromise, University of Pennsylvania Press, p. 43, ISBN 0-8122-4176-2
  6. ↑ Anderson, Liam D.; Stansfield, Gareth R. V. (2009), Crisis in Kirkuk: The Ethnopolitics of Conflict and Compromise, University of Pennsylvania Press, p. 44, ISBN 0-8122-4176-2
  7. ↑ "An ancient tragedy". The Economist. 20 February 1999. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  8. ↑ http://www.themilitant.com/2005/6912/691204.html
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