iraqi-data

English | العربية

The governorates of Iraq, their districts and sub-districts in Arabic, English and Kurdish, ready for address forms, dropdowns and delivery apps. Lookup and search understand the different ways people spell the same place: البصرة, البصره, Basrah and بەسرە all find Basra. It also reads and checks Iraqi mobile numbers, however they're typed, and tells you the carrier, and it converts Arabic digits and formats prices in dinars.

Works in Node.js, the browser, React, React Native / Expo and Vue, with TypeScript types included. No dependencies.

Install

npm install iraqi-data
# or
yarn add iraqi-data

The main package, data included, is about 13 KB gzipped. Sub-districts add about 26 KB, only if you import them.

Usage

import { governorates, getGovernorate, searchGovernorates } from 'iraqi-data';
// CommonJS: const { governorates, getGovernorate } = require('iraqi-data');

getGovernorate('Basrah');
// {
//   id: 'basra',
//   iso: 'IQ-BA',
//   ar: 'البصرة',
//   en: 'Basra',
//   ku: 'بەسرە',
//   region: 'federal',
//   capital: { ar: 'البصرة', en: 'Basra', lat: 30.4952, lng: 47.8091 },
//   aliases: ['Basrah']
// }

getGovernorate('هولير')?.en;   // 'Erbil'
getGovernorate('IQ-NI')?.capital.en;  // 'Mosul'
getGovernorate('Erbil')?.capital;     // { ar: 'أربيل', en: 'Erbil', lat: 36.1912, lng: 44.0094 }

searchGovernorates('نجف').map((g) => g.en);  // ['Najaf']
searchGovernorates('ba').map((g) => g.en);   // ['Baghdad', 'Basra', 'Babil', 'Anbar', 'Karbala']

Districts

import { getDistrict, searchDistricts, getDistrictsByGovernorate } from 'iraqi-data';

getDistrict('ابو غريب');
// {
//   id: 'abughraib',
//   governorateId: 'baghdad',
//   pcode: null,
//   ar: 'أبو غريب',
//   en: 'Abu Ghraib',
//   ku: 'ئەبو غرێب',
//   center: { ar: 'أبو غريب', en: 'Abu Ghraib', lat: 33.3145, lng: 44.1682 },
//   aliases: []
// }

getDistrict('الدغارة')?.en;                   // 'Akkad' (Daghara is its seat)
getDistrictsByGovernorate('البصرة').length;    // 11
searchDistricts('كر', { governorate: 'baghdad' }).map((d) => d.en);  // ['Karkh']

Sub-districts

Sub-districts (نواحي) have their own import, so apps that don't use them don't carry their data.

import { getSubdistrict, searchSubdistricts, getSubdistrictsByDistrict } from 'iraqi-data/subdistricts';

getSubdistrict('بعشيقة');
// {
//   id: 'bashiqa',
//   districtId: 'mosul',
//   governorateId: 'nineveh',
//   pcode: 'IQG15Q05N03',
//   ar: 'بعشيقة',
//   en: 'Bashiqa',
//   ku: 'بەعشیقە',
//   isCenter: false,
//   center: { ar: 'بعشيقة', en: 'Bashiqa', lat: 36.4505, lng: 43.3498 },
//   aliases: ['Bashika', 'Bashiqah']
// }

getSubdistrictsByDistrict('الموصل').map((s) => s.en);
// ['Mosul Center', 'Bashiqa', 'Shoura', 'Hammam al-Alil', 'Qayyarah', 'Mahalabiya']

getSubdistrict('السلام', { district: 'الخالص' })?.districtId;  // 'khalis' (the name is used in two districts)
searchSubdistricts('سلام', { governorate: 'maysan' }).map((s) => s.en);  // ['Salam']

Mobile numbers

import { parseMobile, isValidMobile, carriers } from 'iraqi-data';

parseMobile('٠٧٧٠ ١٢٣ ٤٥٦٧');
// {
//   e164: '+9647701234567',
//   local: '0770 123 4567',
//   international: '+964 770 123 4567',
//   carrier: 'asiacell'
// }

parseMobile('+964 780 123 4567')?.carrier;  // 'zain'
isValidMobile('0750-123-4567');             // true
isValidMobile('0770 123 456');              // false (a digit short)

const number = parseMobile('0750 123 4567');
if (number?.carrier) carriers[number.carrier].ku;  // 'کورەک'

Store e164 in your database and show local to people, so the same number typed two ways is saved once.

Digits and prices

import { toLatinDigits, toArabicDigits, formatIQD } from 'iraqi-data';

toLatinDigits('١٢٫٥');           // '12.5' (for a number field typed on an Arabic keyboard)
toArabicDigits('شارع 14 رمضان');  // 'شارع ١٤ رمضان'

formatIQD(25000);                 // '25,000 IQD'
formatIQD(25000, { lang: 'ar' }); // '25,000 د.ع'

Address dropdowns (React)

A governorate dropdown, and a district dropdown that lists the chosen governorate's districts:

import { useState } from 'react';
import { governorates, getDistrictsByGovernorate } from 'iraqi-data';

export function AddressSelect() {
  const [governorate, setGovernorate] = useState('');
  const [district, setDistrict] = useState('');

  return (
    <>
      <select value={governorate} onChange={(e) => { setGovernorate(e.target.value); setDistrict(''); }}>
        <option value="">Governorate</option>
        {governorates.map((g) => (
          <option key={g.id} value={g.id}>{g.en}</option>
        ))}
      </select>

      <select value={district} onChange={(e) => setDistrict(e.target.value)} disabled={!governorate}>
        <option value="">District</option>
        {getDistrictsByGovernorate(governorate).map((d) => (
          <option key={d.id} value={d.id}>{d.en}</option>
        ))}
      </select>
    </>
  );
}

Use g.ar / d.ar or g.ku / d.ku for an Arabic or Kurdish form. Store the ids ('baghdad', 'abughraib', …) in your database, not the display names. Ids never change, while a name's spelling may be corrected in a later version.

Nearest place (GPS)

Fill in the address from the phone's location:

import { getNearestDistrict, getNearestGovernorate } from 'iraqi-data';

navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(({ coords }) => {
  const district = getNearestDistrict(coords.latitude, coords.longitude, { maxDistance: 50 });
  if (district) {
    setGovernorate(district.governorateId);
    setDistrict(district.id);
  }
});

getNearestDistrict(33.2625, 44.2346)?.en;     // 'Abu Ghraib' (Baghdad airport)
getNearestGovernorate(30.549, 47.662)?.en;    // 'Basra' (Basra airport)

It finds the closest district center, not the district a point is in, so near a border it can pick the neighbor. Let people change what it fills in.

API

governorates: readonly Governorate[]

All 19 governorates: the 15 of federal Iraq, then the 4 of the Kurdistan Region. The array and its objects are frozen.

interface Governorate {
  id: string;            // stable id to store: 'baghdad'
  iso: string | null;    // ISO 3166-2 code: 'IQ-BG' (null for Halabja, which has none yet)
  ar: string;            // Arabic name
  en: string;            // English name
  ku: string;            // Kurdish (Sorani) name
  region: 'federal' | 'kurdistan';
  capital: { ar: string; en: string; lat: number; lng: number };  // capital city and its center
  aliases: string[];     // other spellings: 'Basrah', 'Arbil', 'Hawler'
}

getGovernorate(query: string): Governorate | undefined

Finds one governorate by its id, ISO code, or full name in any language, including the aliases. Returns undefined if nothing matches. Partial names don't match; use searchGovernorates for those.

searchGovernorates(query: string): Governorate[]

Finds every governorate whose name contains the query, for autocomplete. Exact matches come first, then names that start with the query, then the rest. An empty query returns [].

getGovernoratesByRegion(region: 'federal' | 'kurdistan'): Governorate[]

The governorates of federal Iraq or of the Kurdistan Region.

districts: readonly District[]

All 182 districts (أقضية), grouped by governorate in the same order as governorates, then sorted by English name. The array and its objects are frozen.

interface District {
  id: string;             // stable id to store: 'abughraib'
  governorateId: string;  // the governorate's id: 'baghdad'
  pcode: string | null;   // OCHA P-code: 'IQG08Q01' (null if OCHA doesn't list it as a district)
  ar: string;             // Arabic name
  en: string;             // English name
  ku: string;             // Kurdish (Sorani) name
  center: { ar: string; en: string; lat: number; lng: number };  // the town the district is run from
  aliases: string[];      // other spellings and names: 'Daghara' for Akkad
}

getDistrict(query: string): District | undefined

Finds one district by its id, P-code, or full name in any language, including the aliases. Works like getGovernorate.

searchDistricts(query: string, options?: { governorate?: string }): District[]

Finds every district whose name contains the query, ranked like searchGovernorates. Pass governorate (anything getGovernorate accepts) to search only that governorate's districts.

getDistrictsByGovernorate(governorate: string): District[]

The districts of one governorate, found by anything getGovernorate accepts: 'basra', 'البصرة', 'IQ-BA'. Returns [] for an unknown governorate.

getNearestDistrict(lat: number, lng: number, options?: { maxDistance?: number }): District | undefined

The district whose center is closest to a point, such as the location a phone reports. Pass maxDistance in km to get undefined for a point farther than that from every district center, such as one outside Iraq: without it, Kuwait City returns Faw, 82 km away. Throws a RangeError for a latitude or longitude that isn't a number or is out of range.

It's the closest center, not the district the point is in, so it can be wrong near a border.

getNearestGovernorate(lat: number, lng: number, options?: { maxDistance?: number }): Governorate | undefined

The governorate of the nearest district. That's closer to the truth than the nearest capital, as governorates like Anbar are much bigger than others. Takes the same options as getNearestDistrict.

subdistricts: readonly Subdistrict[]

Imported from iraqi-data/subdistricts, like the functions below. All 434 sub-districts: 252 نواحي and one center for each of the 182 districts. They're in the same order as districts, each district's center first. The array and its objects are frozen.

interface Subdistrict {
  id: string;             // stable id to store: 'bashiqa'
  districtId: string;     // the district's id: 'mosul'
  governorateId: string;  // the governorate's id: 'nineveh'
  pcode: string | null;   // OCHA P-code (null if OCHA doesn't list it)
  ar: string;             // Arabic name
  en: string;             // English name
  ku: string;             // Kurdish (Sorani) name: a draft, see Data
  isCenter: boolean;      // true for the area around the district's own seat (مركز القضاء)
  center: { ar: string; en: string; lat: number; lng: number } | null;  // null if no reliable location is known
  aliases: string[];      // other spellings and names
}

getSubdistrict(query: string, options?: { district?: string }): Subdistrict | undefined

Finds one sub-district by its id, P-code, or full name in any language, including the aliases. A district's name finds its center. Some names are used in more than one district, so pass district (anything getDistrict accepts) to pick one.

searchSubdistricts(query: string, options?: { district?: string; governorate?: string }): Subdistrict[]

Finds every sub-district whose name contains the query, ranked like searchGovernorates. Pass district or governorate to search only inside it.

getSubdistrictsByDistrict(district: string): Subdistrict[]

The sub-districts of one district, found by anything getDistrict accepts. Returns [] for an unknown district.

getNearestSubdistrict(lat: number, lng: number, options?: { maxDistance?: number }): Subdistrict | undefined

The sub-district whose center is closest to a point, skipping those with no known location. It works like getNearestDistrict, with the same limits.

normalize(text: string): string

The function lookup and search use to compare names. It's exported so you can compare your own stored values the same way.

| Ignores | Example | | --- | --- | | Hamza forms | أ إ آ → ا | | Taa marbuta and alef maqsura | ة → ه, ى → ي | | Tashkeel and tatweel | البَصْرَة → بصره | | The article | البصرة, Al-Basrah, As Sulaymaniyah | | Kurdish letters typed on an Arabic keyboard | سلێمانی = سليماني, دهۆک = دهوك | | The two forms of heh used in Kurdish | ھەولێر = هەولێر | | Case, spaces, hyphens | Dhi Qar = dhiqar |

normalize('Al-Qadisiyyah');  // 'qadisiyyah'
normalize('البَصْرَة');       // 'بصره'

parseMobile(input: string): MobileNumber | undefined

Reads an Iraqi mobile number and returns it in standard formats, with its carrier. Returns undefined for anything else, landlines included.

interface MobileNumber {
  e164: string;           // to store: '+9647701234567'
  local: string;          // as written in Iraq: '0770 123 4567'
  international: string;  // for calling from abroad: '+964 770 123 4567'
  carrier: 'asiacell' | 'zain' | 'korek' | null;  // null for the smaller networks
}

It accepts the ways people type a number:

| Accepts | Example | | --- | --- | | With or without the 0 | 07701234567, 7701234567 | | The country code | +964 770…, 00964 770…, 964 770…, +964 0770… | | Spaces, dashes, dots and brackets | 0770-123-4567, (0770) 123 4567 | | Arabic and Kurdish digits | ٠٧٧٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧, ۰۷۵۰۱۲۳۴۵۶۷ | | Invisible direction marks, copied with Arabic text | ‎+964 770 123 4567‏ |

isValidMobile(input: string): boolean

Whether the input is an Iraqi mobile number that parseMobile can read. Use it to validate a form field.

carriers: Record<'asiacell' | 'zain' | 'korek', { ar: string; en: string; ku: string }>

The name of each carrier in Arabic, English and Kurdish, to show the carrier that parseMobile returns: carriers.zain.ar is 'زين'. The object is frozen.

toLatinDigits(text: string): string

Turns Arabic and Kurdish digits (٠-٩, and the ۰-۹ form some keyboards type) into 0-9, and the Arabic decimal point ٫ and thousands separator ٬ into . and ,. The rest of the text is kept. Use it before Number() or parseInt() on anything typed on an Arabic or Kurdish keyboard, which would otherwise give NaN.

toArabicDigits(text: string): string

Turns 0-9 into the digits used in Arabic and Kurdish text (٠-٩), and keeps the rest of the text.

formatIQD(amount: number, options?: { lang?: 'ar' | 'ku' | 'en' }): string

Formats an amount of Iraqi dinars the way prices are written in Iraq: rounded to whole dinars, thousands separated by commas, followed by IQD, or د.ع with lang: 'ar' or lang: 'ku' (Arabic and Kurdish write it the same way). Throws a RangeError for NaN or Infinity. For Arabic and Kurdish digits, pass the result to toArabicDigits.

Data

Governorates

| Arabic | English | Kurdish | Capital | Coordinates | ISO | Region | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | بغداد | Baghdad | بەغدا | Baghdad | 33.3062, 44.3872 | IQ-BG | federal | | البصرة | Basra | بەسرە | Basra | 30.4952, 47.8091 | IQ-BA | federal | | نينوى | Nineveh | نەینەوا | Mosul | 36.3416, 43.1291 | IQ-NI | federal | | الأنبار | Anbar | ئەنبار | Ramadi | 33.4260, 43.2999 | IQ-AN | federal | | صلاح الدين | Salah al-Din | سەلاحەدین | Tikrit | 34.6158, 43.6786 | IQ-SD | federal | | كركوك | Kirkuk | کەرکووک | Kirkuk | 35.4719, 44.3954 | IQ-KI | federal | | ديالى | Diyala | دیالە | Baqubah | 33.7447, 44.6328 | IQ-DI | federal | | واسط | Wasit | واسیت | Kut | 32.5147, 45.8189 | IQ-WA | federal | | بابل | Babil | بابل | Hillah | 32.4822, 44.4328 | IQ-BB | federal | | كربلاء | Karbala | کەربەلا | Karbala | 32.5984, 44.0158 | IQ-KA | federal | | النجف | Najaf | نەجەف | Najaf | 32.0010, 44.3300 | IQ-NA | federal | | القادسية | Al-Qadisiyyah | قادسیە | Diwaniyah | 31.9892, 44.9247 | IQ-QA | federal | | المثنى | Muthanna | موسەننا | Samawah | 31.3079, 45.2827 | IQ-MU | federal | | ذي قار | Dhi Qar | زیقار | Nasiriyah | 31.0440, 46.2399 | IQ-DQ | federal | | ميسان | Maysan | مەیسان | Amarah | 31.8498, 47.1496 | IQ-MA | federal | | أربيل | Erbil | هەولێر | Erbil | 36.1912, 44.0094 | IQ-AR | kurdistan | | السليمانية | Sulaymaniyah | سلێمانی | Sulaymaniyah | 35.5571, 45.4426 | IQ-SU | kurdistan | | دهوك | Duhok | دهۆک | Duhok | 36.8543, 42.9925 | IQ-DA | kurdistan | | حلبجة | Halabja | هەڵەبجە | Halabja | 35.1792, 45.9874 | — | kurdistan |

Halabja was approved as Iraq's 19th governorate by the Iraqi parliament in 2025. It doesn't have an ISO 3166-2 code yet, so its iso is null.

Coordinates are the center of each capital city, from OpenStreetMap (Kut and Diwaniyah from Wikidata), rounded to 4 decimal places (about 11 m). Sources place a city's center differently by up to about 3 km, so use them for map pins and distances, not as exact addresses.

Districts

| Governorate | Districts | | --- | --- | | Baghdad | Abu Ghraib, Adhamiya, Dhat al-Salasil, Kadhimiya, Karkh, Mada'in, Mahmudiya, Rashidiya, Rusafa, Sadr City 1, Sadr City 2, Taji, Tarmiya, Zawraa, Zuhur | | Basra | Abu al-Khasib, Basra, Dair, Faw, Hartha, Madina, Qurna, Sadiq, Safwan, Shatt al-Arab, Zubair | | Nineveh | Ba'aj, Hamdaniya, Hatra, Makhmur, Mosul, Shekhan, Sinjar, Tal Afar, Tel Kaif | | Anbar | Al-Qa'im, Amiriyah, Anah, Fallujah, Habbaniyah, Haditha, Hit, Karma, Obour, Ramadi, Rawa, Rutba | | Salah al-Din | Al-Alam, Amerli, Baiji, Balad, Dhuluiya, Dour, Dujail, Samarra, Shirqat, Tikrit, Tuz Khurmatu | | Kirkuk | Daquq, Dibis, Hawija, Kirkuk | | Diyala | Balad Ruz, Baqubah, Khalis, Khanaqin, Kifri, Mandali, Mansuriya, Muqdadiya | | Wasit | Ahrar, Aziziyah, Badra, Hai, Kut, Muwaffaqiya, Numaniyah, Suwaira, Zubaidiya | | Babil | Hashimiya, Hillah, Kifl, Kutha, Mahawil, Musayyib, Qasim | | Karbala | Ain al-Tamr, Hindiya, Hur, Husseiniya, Jadwal al-Gharbi, Karbala | | Najaf | Kufa, Manathera, Mishkhab, Najaf | | Al-Qadisiyyah | Afak, Akkad, Budair, Diwaniyah, Ghammas, Hamza, Mhanawiya, Saniya, Shafi'iya, Shamiya, Shinafiya, Sudair, Sumer | | Muthanna | Hilal, Khidhir, Majd, Najmi, Rumaitha, Salman, Samawah, Suwair, Warka | | Dhi Qar | Batha, Chibayish, Dawaya, Fajr, Fuhud, Gharraf, Islah, Karmat Bani Sa'id, Nasiriyah, Nasr, Qal'at Sukkar, Rifai, Sayyid Dakhil, Shatra, Suq al-Shuyukh | | Maysan | Ali al-Gharbi, Amarah, Kahla, Kumait, Maimouna, Majar al-Kabir, Qal'at Salih | | Erbil | Ainkawa, Choman, Dashti Hawler, Erbil, Harir, Khabat, Khalifan, Koya, Mergasor, Pirmam, Qushtapa, Rawanduz, Shaqlawa, Sidakan, Soran | | Sulaymaniyah | Bazyan, Chamchamal, Darbandikhan, Dukan, Haji Awa, Kalar, Mawat, Penjwen, Pshdar, Qaradagh, Ranya, Said Sadiq, Sharazoor, Sharbazher, Sulaymaniyah | | Duhok | Akre, Amedi, Bardarash, Batifa, Duhok, Simele, Zakho | | Halabja | Bamo, Byara, Halabja, Khurmal, Sirwan |

Arabic and Kurdish names, P-codes and coordinates for each are in src/districts.json.

The list is the one Iraq's 2024 census used:

• Federal Iraq follows the 2024 Annual Statistical Abstract of the Central Statistical Organization (COSIT), which lists every district with its sub-districts. Many districts are new since 2019, such as Sadr City 1 and 2 in Baghdad, and most of Dhi Qar's and Al-Qadisiyyah's.
• The Kurdistan Region follows the districts of the 2024 census, which match the Kurdistan Regional Government's own divisions (Soran, Pirmam, Sidakan, Haji Awa…). Halabja is its own governorate with five districts, not part of Sulaymaniyah.
• Kifri, Khanaqin and Shekhan are counted in both a federal and a Kurdistan governorate by the census. They're listed once here, in Diyala and Nineveh. Akre and Bardarash are in Duhok, as COSIT lists them.

pcode is the district's P-code in the OCHA administrative boundaries, which are from 2019. Districts created since then, or that OCHA counts as sub-districts (Abu Ghraib, Taji), have pcode: null.

Each center is the town the district is run from. It's often a town of the same name, but not always: Mada'in is run from Salman Pak, and Pshdar from Qaladiza. A few districts have no separate town, such as Baghdad's newest (Sadr City 1 and 2, Zawraa, Zuhur) and Bamo in Halabja, so their point is the middle of the area. Coordinates are from OpenStreetMap, rounded to 4 decimal places.

Sub-districts

There are 252 sub-districts (نواحي) and one center (مركز قضاء) for each of the 182 districts. COSIT's table has 432 rows because it counts the centers too.

• Federal Iraq matches COSIT's count for all 15 governorates. COSIT prints the rows of Kifri and Mandali swapped, which is corrected here using OCHA's locations.
• Kurdistan Region is less certain. COSIT's rows don't add up to its own totals for Duhok and Erbil, some rows have mismatched Arabic and English names, and Ainkawa, Harir, Khalifan, Pirmam and Sidakan have no rows, so they only have a center. Rows for places that are now districts, like Qushtapa and Byara, become those districts' centers.
• All Kurdish names are drafts that haven't been reviewed yet. Corrections are welcome.
• Locations are a town from OpenStreetMap, or the middle of the area from OCHA. center is null when neither is reliable.

Mobile networks

Iraqi mobile numbers are 07 followed by 9 digits. The next digit tells the network:

| Prefix | Network | Arabic | Kurdish | carrier | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 075x | Korek | كورك | کورەک | 'korek' | | 077x | Asiacell | آسياسيل | ئاسیاسێڵ | 'asiacell' | | 078x, 079x | Zain | زين | زین | 'zain' | | 073x, 074x, 076x | Smaller networks (Omnnea, Itisaluna, ITPC…) | | | null |

carrier is the network the prefix was given to, which is the one the number was issued on.

Sources

• Mobile prefixes: libphonenumber (Google)
• District and sub-district lists: COSIT Annual Statistical Abstract 2024 and the 2024 census results, as published by City Population
• P-codes: OCHA / Iraq Central Statistics Office, CC BY-IGO
• Coordinates: © OpenStreetMap contributors, and Wikidata

Roadmap

• A Kurdish review of district and sub-district names

Contributing

Corrections are very welcome, especially Kurdish spellings and other common spellings that should be added as aliases. Open an issue or a pull request that edits src/governorates.json or src/districts.json.

Development

npm install
npm test           # run the tests
npm run typecheck  # check the types
npm run build      # build dist/ (CommonJS and ES modules)

License

MIT © Karam Al-Dulaimi