Dhi Qar Governorate

Dhi Qar Governorate (Arabic: محافظة ذي قار, romanized: Muḥāfaẓat Ḏī Qār, Arabic: [muħaːfaðˤat ðiː qaːr]) is a governorate in southern Iraq, in the Arabian Peninsula. The provincial capital is Nasiriyah. Prior to 1976 the governorate was known as Muntafiq Governorate. Thi Qar was the heartland of the ancient Iraqi civilization of Sumer, and includes the ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash, Larsa, Girsu, Umma, and Bad-tibira. The southern area of the governorate is covered by Mesopotamian Marshes.

The governorate includes the towns of al-Rifai, Qalat Sukkar, Al Shatrah, al-Gharraf, Suq el-Shuyukh, Khamisiyah, al-Chibayish and al-Dawaya.

In the mid-1990s the governor was Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, who later became police chief of the country, and in 1999, director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

The population is approximately 2,000,000, predominantly Shia Arab. The southern marshes have traditionally been home to many Marsh Arabs.

As of 2007, the area is very poor, with an unemployment rate of 17% and a poverty rate of 37%.