Native Name: | مقاطعة البقاع |
Native Name Lang: | ar |
Coordinates: | 33.8333°N 89°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Lebanon |
Seat Type: | Capital |
Seat: | Zahlé |
Leader Title: | Governor |
Leader Name: | Kamal Abou Jaoudeh |
Unit Pref: | Metric |
Area Total Km2: | 1433 |
Pop Est Footnotes: | [1] |
Population Est: | 534342 |
Pop Est As Of: | 31 December 2017 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Settlement Type: | Governorate of Lebanon |
Timezone1: | EET |
Utc Offset1: | +2 |
Timezone1 Dst: | EEST |
Utc Offset1 Dst: | +3 |
Beqaa () is a governorate in Lebanon. It is one of the eight districts of Lebanon. It is located in the eastern part of Lebanon and borders with Syria. The capital of the district is the city of Zahlé.[2]
The district is the agricultural center of Lebanon, and the ancient road between Lebanon and Syria and the rest of the Arab world crosses it. The district is known for its wine industry, its unique cuisine, and the festivals that take place there every summer.[3]
Since 2014, Beqaa Governorate contains three districts:
A law was passed in 2003 to separate Baalbek District and Hermel District from Beqaa Governorate to form a new governorate, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate.[4] Implementation of Baalbek-Hermel began in 2014 with the appointment of its first governor.[5]
According to voter registration data, the governorate is approximately 41% Christian to 52% Muslim to 7% Druze (313505 voters).
In the district (qadaa) of Zahlé (meaning an area much greater than that of the city proper), Christians form a majority of 55% of voters (172555 in total).In the district of West Beqaa-Rashaya (the two are combined as an electoral district), Christians account for 22.22% of voters (140950 in total).