Akkar Governorate was created by the enactment of Law 522 on 16 July 2003, in which Akkar District was separated from North Governorate.[5] Implementation of the new region only began in 2014 with the appointment of the first and current governor, Imad Labaki,[6] and remains incomplete as of 2017[update].[7] 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.[4] The recent influx of Syrian refugees has exacerbated these problems, with the unemployment rate in the governorate reaching almost 60% in 2015.[8]