Districts of Israel

Districts of Israel מְחוֹזוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ (Hebrew) مناطق اسرائيل (Arabic)
Districts of Israel Central Haifa Jerusalem Northern Southern Tel Aviv Judea and Samaria Area v t e
Category	Unitary state
Location	State of Israel
Number	6
Populations	1,032,800 (Haifa) – 2,196,900 (Central District)
Areas	190 km2 (72 sq mi) (Tel Aviv) – 14,190 km2 (5,477 sq mi) (Southern District)
Government	District government
Subdivisions	City council, Local council, Regional council

There are six main administrative districts of Israel, known in Hebrew as mekhozot (מְחוֹזוֹת; sing. מָחוֹז, makhoz) and in Arabic as mintaqah. There are also 15 subdistricts of Israel, known in Hebrew nafot (נָפוֹת; sing. נָפָה, nafa) and in Arabic as qadaa. Each subdistrict is further divided into natural regions,^[1][2] which in turn are further divided into council-level divisions: whether they might be cities, municipalities, or regional councils.

The present division into districts was established in 1953, to replace the divisions inherited from the British Mandate. It has remained substantially the same ever since; a second proclamation of district boundaries issued in 1957—which remains in force as of 2023—only affirmed the existing boundaries in place.

The figures in this article are based on numbers from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics and so include all places under Israeli civilian rule including those Israeli-occupied territories where this is the case. Therefore, Golan Subdistrict and its four natural regions are included in the number of subdistricts and natural regions even though it is not recognized by the United Nations or the international community as Israeli territory. Similarly, the population figure below for the Jerusalem District was calculated including East Jerusalem whose annexation by Israel is similarly not recognized by the United Nations and the international community. The Judea and Samaria Area, however, is not included in the number of districts and subdistricts as Israel has not applied its civilian jurisdiction in that part of the West Bank.