Al Anbar Governorate

Al Anbar Province محافظة الأنبار Anbar Province
Governorate
Anbar Governorate
Coordinates: 32°54′N 41°36′E / 32.900°N 41.600°E / 32.900; 41.600
Country	Iraq
Seat	Ramadi
Government
• Type	Provincial Government
• Body	Council of Anbar Province
• Governor	Mohammed Nouri al-Karbouli
Area
• Total	138,501 km2 (53,476 sq mi)
• Water	2,350 km2 (910 sq mi)
• Rank	1st
Dimensions
• Length	113 km (70 mi)
• Width	125 km (78 mi)
Elevation	45 m (148 ft)
Highest elevation	450 m (1,480 ft)
Lowest elevation	35 m (115 ft)
Population  (July 2018 estimate)
• Total	1,771,656
• Rank	7th
• Density	13/km2 (33/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3
ISO 3166 code	IQ-AN
HDI (2021)	0.680[1] medium
Website	anbar.iq

Al Anbar Governorate (Arabic: محافظة الأنبار; muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population is mostly Sunni Arabs.^[2] The provincial capital is Ramadi; other important cities include Fallujah, Al-Qa'im and Haditha.

The governorate was known as Ramadi up to 1976 when it was renamed Al Anbar Province, and it was known as Dulaim before 1962. A large majority of the inhabitants of the province are Arab Sunni Muslims and most belong to the Dulaim tribe.

In early 2014, the Islamic State, with the assistance of some local Sunni militias, launched a successful campaign to seize control of the province from the Iraqi government. Numerous offensive actions were undertaken by the Iraqi government, with the assistance of local Sunni tribes to remove IS's occupation of the province, especially in the Anbar campaign (2015–16), the Western Anbar offensive (September 2017) and the 2017 Western Iraq campaign. The area was effectively recaptured by the end of 2017 and has been at peace since then.