The governorate's western coastal plain constitutes Lebanon's second largest agricultural region after the Beqaa Valley, while the east features forested mountains that have been considered for protection as a national park.

[1] The population is predominantly Sunni Muslim around 70-75% with a minority of Christian and Alawite communities and very few Shiites.

[6] Implementation of the new region only began in 2014 with the appointment of the first and current governor, Imad Labaki,[7] and remains incomplete as of 2017[update].

[8] Historically marginalized and neglected by the central government, Akkar is Lebanon's poorest region and has the country's highest illiteracy rate, and suffers from lack of basic infrastructure and services.

[5] The recent influx of Syrian refugees has exacerbated these problems, with the unemployment rate in the governorate reaching almost 60% in 2015.