Tataouine Governorate (Tunisian Arabic: ولاية تطاوين Wilāyat Taṭāwīn; French: Gouvernorat de Tataouine) is the southernmost of the twenty-four governorates of Tunisia, the only one to border both Algeria and Libya. It is also the largest, covering an area of 38,889 km². It had a population of 149,453 (at the 2014 census),^[1][2] nearly tied for second least-populated with Kebili (156,961) after Tozeur (107,912). The capital is Tataouine.

Quick Facts ولاية تطاوين, Country ...

Tataouine ولاية تطاوين
Governorate
Moonlit landscape of Tataouine
Map of Tunisia with Tataouine highlighted
Subdivisions of Tataouine Governorate
Coordinates: 32°55′32″N 10°26′39″E
Country	Tunisia
Created	2 March 1981
Capital	Tataouine
Government
• Governor	Hafedh Fitouri (since 2022)
Area
• Total	38,889 km2 (15,015 sq mi)
• Rank	Ranked 1st of 24
Population  (2014)
• Total	149,453
• Rank	Ranked 23rd of 24
• Density	3.8/km2 (10.0/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01 (CET)
Postal prefix	xx
ISO 3166 code	TN-83

Close

Wells from aquifers dot the eastern slopes of the pronounced long escarpment climbing gradually from 100 m to 500 m in elevation two provinces north in the south extreme of Gabes Governorate, passing through a thin strip of Medenine and then at the heart of the province ending around a capital city Tripoli, Libya. The ridge attracts variable winter and early spring relief precipitation and little other rain and shares with the rest of the area a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with long, extremely hot summers throughout (see North-south graduation of Tunisian climatic zones), the patchy and infrequent rainfall in winter is greater than the average for the Sahara Desert of which the area forms part. Approximately half of the escarpment exceeds 500 m in the province, the peak within Tunisia being 631 m near the town of Remada on the main road south of Tatouine leading into mid-eastern Libya. The tripoint of the three countries is close to the Libyan town of Ghadames which has surrounding it three airstrips, one of which constitutes an airport and one of which lies in Algeria. Close to the west or south-west border is El Borma Airport and the province has a second, which is for defence and rescue, Remada Air Base.

The Tataouine Governorate is divided into seven delegations (mutamadiyat) and further divided into 64 sectors (imada).^[3] The delegations with their populations at the 2004 and 2014 censuses are listed below:^[4]

Five municipalities are in Tataouine Governorate:

Fortified settlements (ksars), manifestations of Berber architecture, such as Ksar Ouled Soltane, Chenini, Douiret, and Ksar Hadada, are popular tourist sites.

This is where George Lucas filmed part of Star Wars, and a homophone of the Tatooine city was chosen to be the home planet of the protagonist's family (Tatooine).^[6]