different between countries vs mintaqah

English

countries

From Arabic ?????????? (min?aqa, “area”).

mintaqah (plural manatiq)

(Arabic term, politics administration) A first-level country subdivision used in Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries.

The term mintaqah is often translated as region or, in Saudi Arabia, as province; however, the literal meaning is simply area. Translating mintaqah as province can cause confusion, due to the fact that the term wilayah — another Arabian first-level country subdivision — is usually translated as province.

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