Muhafazah

A muḥāfaẓah (مُحَافَظَة ; pl. مُحَافَظَات muḥāfaẓāt ) is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated as "governorate", and occasionally as "province". It comes from the Arabic root ح-ا-ف-ظ ḥ-a-f-ẓ (verb: حافظ ḥafaẓa), which means to "keep" and "guard". The head of a muḥāfaẓah is the (مُحَافِظ) muḥāfiẓ.

Muhafazat in Arab countries

 * Governorates of Bahrain
 * Governorates of Egypt
 * Governorates of Iraq
 * Governorates of Jordan
 * Governorates of Kuwait
 * Governorates of Libya (historic)
 * Governorates of Lebanon
 * Governorates of Oman
 * Governorates of Palestine
 * Governorates of Saudi Arabia (2nd level)
 * Governorates of Syria
 * Governorates of Yemen

The governorates of Tunisia are wilāyah in Arabic.