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Rif Dimashq Governorate (Arabic: محافظة ريف دمشق, romanized:Muḥāfaẓat Rīf Dimašq, lit.'Damascus Countryside') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the country. It borders the governorates of Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda in the southwest, Homs in the north, Lebanon in the west and Jordan in the south. The capital is the city of Douma.
The Governorate completely surrounds the city and governorate of Damascus and it has an area of 18,032 km² and a population of 2,273,074 (2004 census).
The governorate is divided into ten districts (manatiq). The districts are further divided into 37 sub-districts (nawahi). There were nine districts until February 2009, when Qudsaya District was created from parts of Markaz Rif Dimashq and Al-Zabadani districts. There is a small village belonging to the Damascus countryside (Ghouta) called Aqraba, which is characterized by its fields and agricultural orchards. (nawahi). The governorate's total population (as of the 2004 census) is 2,273,074.
At the end of 2011, the population of Rif Dimashq reached 2,836,000, accounting for 13% of Syria’s population. Sunni Muslims made up 87% of the governorate, while Christians made up 5%, Alawites made up 4%, Druze made up 4%, Twelver Shia Muslims made up 0.9%, and Ismaili Muslims made up 0.1%.
