The Free Syrian Army attacked Al-Haffah in 2012, and unsuccessfully attempted to wrest control of the province in 2014,[4] 2015[5] and 2016.

[8] The western areas of the governorate catch moisture-laden winds from the Mediterranean Sea and are thus more fertile and more heavily populated than the eastern slopes.

[10] Latakia is the regional capital; other major settlements include Al-Haffah, Ibn Hani, Jableh, Kessab, Manjila, Qaranjah, Qardaha and Salma.

[15] Its imported cargo includes clothing, construction materials, vehicles, furniture, minerals, tobacco, cotton, and food supplies such as lintels, onions, wheat, barley, dates, grains and figs; in 2008, the port handled about 8 million tons of cargo.

Arabic is spoken in all district centres of the governorate and most, if not all towns and villages surrounding them, with the North Levantine dialect mostly used.

An exception is Kessab, a historically Armenian-populated town where Armenian is the primary language in it and the surrounding villages such as Sev Aghpyur, Esguran and Duzaghaj,[19] and the Turkmen Mountain where Turcoman is spoken primarily, though many Turkmen have fled the area since the start of the civil war.