Zaghouan Governorate

Zaghouan Governorate (Arabic: ولاية زغوان‎ Wilāyat Zaghwān pronounced [zɑʁˈwæːn]) is one of the twenty-four governorates (provinces) of Tunisia and is in north-eastern Tunisia. It covers an area of 2,768 km² and its population was 176,945 at the 2014 census.[1] The capital is the town of Zaghouan.

Zaghouan ولاية زغوان
Governorate
Map of Tunisia with Zaghouan highlighted
Coordinates: 36°24′N 10°09′E
Country	Tunisia
Created	November 1, 1976
Capital	Zaghouan
Area
• Total	2,768 km^2 (1,069 sq mi)
Area rank	Ranked 18th of 24
Population  (2014)
• Total	176,945
• Rank	Ranked 21st of 24
• Density	64/km^2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01 (CET)
Postal prefix	xx
ISO 3166 code	TN-22

Geography

The area is roughly circular and lies above the low coastal plains; it has a summit of 1,295 m close to its centrally-located capital on the west side of the founding city. The summit sits on one of two north-east to south-west escarpments forming part of the dorsal Atlas Mountains commencing here close to the east coast and Tunisia's capital city, Tunis. The Oued Mellane drains the west and north of the province, having risen in the province to the south-west Siliana and then discharging into the Gulf of Tunis in the southern contiguous districts to the capital city, in particular flowing through Ben Arous the governorate of which takes in land immediately due south of the city centre. As such Zaghouan has no coastline however its climate remains warm Mediterranean, with significant winter and early spring rainfall. The main road from Tunis to the city city of Kairouan, inland from Sousse, passes through the town of El Fahs in the west of the province. A railway passes through the same city leading to the mid-west of the country, which is in turn is connected back to the east coast.

Administrative divisions

The governorate is divided into six delegations (mutamadiyat), listed below with their populations at the 2004 and 2014 Censuses:[2]

Delegation	Area in km^2	Population 2004 Census	Population 2014 Census
Bir Mcherga	536	21,508	24,387
El Fahs	936	43,678	46,449
Nadhour	357	28,550	30,366
Saouaf	253	12,095	12,681
Zaghouan	409	34,367	38,445
Ez-Zeriba	348	20,765	24,617

Six municipalities are in Zaghouan Governorate:

Code	Municipality	Population (2014)[3]
1611	Zaghouan	20,798
1612	Zriba	11,819
1613	Bir Mcherga	8,329
1614	Djebel Oust	5,325
1615	El Fahs	23,556
1616	Nadhour	7,567

References

1. (in French) Census 2014 (National Institute of Statistics)
2. Institut National de la Statistique Tunisie (web).
3. Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat 2014 – Population, logements et ménages par commune et arrondissement [Census 2014 results – population, accommodation and households per municipality and delegation] (Report) (in French). National Institute of Statistics. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2016.