Adrar (, ) is a province (wilaya) in southwestern Algeria, named after its capital Adrar. It is the second-largest province, with an area of 254 000 km2, roughly the size of the US state of Wyoming. It had 401,297 inhabitants at the 2008 population census.
The provincial capital, named Adrar, serves as the administrative and economic center of the region. Historically, the province's oases have served as waypoints for Saharan caravan routes. These settlements are well known for their red mud-brick architecture and longstanding traditions in Islamic scholarship and desert agriculture.
The economy of Adrar Province relies primarily on agriculture, particularly date palm cultivation and cereal farming. Between 2021 and 2022, the area under cultivation increased by over 22%, with more than 20,300 hectares now dedicated to crops including durum wheat, barley, oats, and vegetables. The government has also promoted sustainable irrigation to support desert farming. Beyond agriculture, Adrar possesses mineral wealth such as phosphates and has been involved in limited oil and gas exploration projects. The University of Adrar, established in 2001, has been instrumental in expanding access to higher education and conducting research on Saharan ecology and indigenous cultures.
It is bordered by six other wilayas: to the west by Tindouf, to the northwest by Béni Abbès, to the north by Timimoun, to the east by In Salah, to the southeast by Tamanrasset, To the south by Bordj Badji Mokhtar, and to the southwest by Mauritania.
Adrar is composed of three natural and cultural regions: Touat (Adrar, Zaouiet Kounta), Gourara (Aougrout, Timimoune) and Tidikelt (Aoulef), and 299 ksour.
History The province was created from parts of the and in 1974.
On 26 November 2019, Adrar was split into 3 provinces: Timimoun, Adrar, and Bordj Badji Mokhtar.
Geography
Location The province of Adrar is located in south-west Algeria. It is entirely located in the Sahara Desert.
Administrative divisions The province comprises 6 districts (daïras) and 16 communes or municipalities (baladiyahs). The following table shows the list of districts in the province of Adrar and all the communes in each district. DistrictNumber ofcommunesCommunesArea(km2)Population Adrar 3 AdrarBoudaOuled Ahmed Timmi 9,423 64,547 Aoulef 4 AkabliAoulefTimoktenTit 23,936 40,036 Fenoughil 3 FenoughilTamentitTamest 20,970 24,532 Reggane 2 RegganeSali 140,981 25,483 T'Sabit 2 SbaaTsabit 19,446 13,821 Zaouiet Kounta 2 Zaouiet KountaIn Zghmir 15,100 28,593
Districts
Adrar Aoulef Fenoughil Reggane T'Sabit Zaouiet Kounta
Communes
No. Commune Arabic Population 01 Adrar 02 Tamest 03 Reggane 04 In Zghmir 05 Tit 06 Tsabit 07 Zaouiet Kounta 08 Aoulef 09 Timokten (Timoktene, Timekten, Tamekten) 10 Tamentit (Tamantit) 11 Fenoughil 12 Sali 13 Akabli 14 Ouled Ahmed Timmi (Ouled Ahmed Temmi) 15 Bouda 16 Sbaa (Sbaa)
See also
In Belbel Krettamia
References
External links