Central Governorate

The Central Governorate was abolished in September 2014 when Bahrain consolidated from five to four governorates. Created in 2002 as part of the National Action Charter reforms endorsed by 98.4% of voters, the governorate existed for twelve years before being dissolved, with its territory redistributed between the Northern and Southern governorates. This administrative extinction reflects a broader pattern in small states: as populations shift and urban areas merge, maintaining fine-grained administrative divisions becomes inefficient. The Central Governorate's demise parallels ecological succession—the intermediate zone between Bahrain's commercial north and industrial south lost its distinct identity as metropolitan sprawl connected previously separate communities. Its former territory now forms part of the residential-industrial continuum stretching from Hamad Town to Isa Town.