Council area

In the Arab Union, 20 of its 21 union republics are divided into multiple local government areas, officially called councils (Arabic: مجالس majālis; sg. مجلس majlis). Since "council" refers specifically to the local government itself, the municipal area it governs is usually informally known as a "council area" or "council municipality" (بلدية المجلس baladiyat al-majlis). Council areas are the only tier of local government, and form the third tier of government in the union, immediately below republican governments (the second tier) and the federal government (the first tier).

Council areas are distinct from cities, towns, villages, etc., as these terms describe physical settlements in their whole; council areas, on the other hand, may cover multiple individual settlements, one settlement, or only part of a settlement, depending on settlement size. For example, the largest city in the Arab Union, Cairo, is actually composed of 13 council areas, while a single council area covers nearly all the Sinai Peninsula except for coastal areas.

The only actual city in the Arab Union which is coterminous with a single council area proper is the federal capital of Ibrahimia, which is also one of the republics of the Arab Union and thus has a merged republican-municipal council government, with the Mayor of Ibrahimia ex officio the Premier (head of government of the Metropolitan Arab Republic.