Governorates of Egypt

For administrative purposes, Egypt is divided into twenty-seven governorates (محافظة muḥāfaẓah; Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [moˈħɑfzˤɑ]; genitive case: muḥāfaẓat  [moˈħɑfzˤet]; plural: محافظات muḥāfaẓāt [moħɑfˈzˤɑːt]).[1] Egyptian governorates are the top tier of the country's jurisdiction hierarchy. A governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt and serves at the president's discretion. Most governorates have a population density of more than one thousand per km², while the three largest have a population density of less than two per km².

See also: Subdivisions of Egypt and Economic Regions of Egypt
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Overview

Governorates are either fully "urban" or a mixture of "urban" and "rural." The official distinction between "urban" and "rural" is reflected in the lower tiers: that is, fully urban governorates have no regions (markaz), as the markaz is, natively, a conglomeration of villages. Moreover, governorates may comprise just one city, as in the case of Cairo Governorate or Alexandria Governorate. Hence, these one-city governorates are only divided into districts (urban neighborhoods). Cairo Governorate consists of 41 districts; Alexandria Governorate consists of 7.

Two new governorates were created in April 2008: Helwan and 6th of October.[2] In April 2011, however, the 6th of October and Helwan governorates were again incorporated into the Cairo and Giza Governorates, respectively.[3] Luxor was created in December 2009, to be the 29th governorate of Egypt, but with the abolition of the 6th of October and Helwan governorates, the number of governorates has decreased to 27.[4]

History

Before the 1952 revolution, state penetration of the rural areas was limited by the power of local notables. Under Nasser, land reform reduced those notables' socioeconomic dominance, and the peasants were incorporated into cooperatives which transferred mass dependence from landlords to the government. The extension of officials into the countryside permitted the regime to bring development and services to the village. The local branches of the ruling party, the Arab Socialist Union (ASU), fostered a certain peasant political activism and coopted the local notables — in particular the village headmen — and checked their independence from the regime.[5]

State penetration did not retreat under Sadat and Mubarak. The earlier effort to mobilize peasants and deliver services disappeared as the local party and cooperative withered, but administrative controls over the peasants remained intact. The local power of the old families and the headmen revived but more at the expense of peasants than of the state. The district police station balanced the notables, and the system of local government (the mayor and council) integrated them into the regime.[5]

Until 1979, local government enjoyed limited power in Egypt's highly centralized state. Under the central government, there were twenty-six governorates, which were subdivided into regions (conglomeration of villages; named in Arabic: مركز‎ markaz  "center", plural: مراكز marākiz), each of which was further subdivided into towns or villages.[5] At each level, there was a governing structure that combined representative councils and government-appointed executive organs headed by governors, district officers, and mayors, respectively. Governors were appointed by the president, and they, in turn, appointed subordinate executive officers. The coercive backbone of the state apparatus ran downward from the Ministry of Interior through the governors' executive organs to the district police station and the village headman.[5]

Sadat took several measures to decentralize power to the provinces and towns. Governors acquired more authority under Law Number 43 of 1979, which reduced the administrative and budgetary controls of the central government over the provinces. The elected councils acquired, at least formally, the right to approve or disapprove the local budget. In an effort to reduce local demands on the central treasury, local government was given wider powers to raise local taxes. Local representative councils became vehicles of pressure for government spending, and the soaring deficits of local government bodies had to be covered by the central government. Local government was encouraged to enter into joint ventures with private investors, and these ventures stimulated an alliance between government officials and the local rich that paralleled the infitah alliance at the national level. Under Mubarak, decentralization and local autonomy became more of a reality, and local policies often reflected special local conditions. Thus, officials in Upper Egypt often bowed to the powerful Islamic movement there, while those in the port cities struck alliances with importers."[5]

List of Governorates of Egypt
Egyptian governorates[6] [7]
No. on
map		 Name Area (km2) Population (2015) Population (2019) Population density (2015) Capital
2 Alexandria 2,300 4,812,186 5,299,718 2,092 Alexandria
27 Aswan 62,726 1,431,488 1,532,400 23 Aswan
22 Asyut 25,926 4,245,215 4,587,577 164 Asyut
3 Beheira 9,826 5,804,262 6,404,210 591 Damanhur
19 Beni Suef 10,954 2,856,812 3,288,219 261 Beni Suef
16 Cairo 3,085 9,278,441 9,788,739 3,008 Cairo
5 Dakahlia 3,538 5,949,001 6,679,368 1,681 Mansoura
6 Damietta 910 1,330,843 1,539,075 1,462 Damietta
15 Faiyum 6,068 3,170,150 3,747,942 522 Faiyum
9 Gharbia 1,942 4,751,865 5,146,411 2,447 Tanta
14 Giza 13,184 7,585,115 8,915,164 575 Giza
13 Ismailia 5,067 1,178,641 1,352,548 233 Ismailia
4 Kafr El Sheikh 3,467 3,172,753 3,478,267 915 Kafr El Sheikh
26 Luxor 2,409.68 1,147,058 1,296,540 476 Luxor
1 Matruh 166,563 447,846 461,847 2.7 Marsa Matruh
20 Minya 32,279 5,156,702 5,745,212 160 Minya
10 Monufia 2,499 3,941,293 4,441,717 1,577 Shibin El Kom
21 New Valley 440,098 225,416 249,399 0.5 Kharga
8 North Sinai 28,992 434,781 463,975 15 Arish
7 Port Said 1,345 666,599 764,499 496 Port Said
11 Qalyubia 1,124 5,105,972 5,792,066 4,543 Banha
25 Qena 10,798 3,045,504 3,302,894 282 Qena
23 Red Sea 119,099 345,775 372,862 2.9 Hurghada
12 Sharqia 4,911 6,485,412 7,401,700 1,321 Zagazig
24 Sohag 11,022 4,603,861 5,193,052 418 Sohag
18 South Sinai 31,272 167,426 105,953 5.4 El Tor
17 Suez 9,002 622,859 749,657 69 Suez
Total 1,010,407 87,963,276 98,101,011

Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Egypt

Urban and rural populations

Data taken from CAPMAS:[6]

Governorate % Urban Population (2016) Rural Urban
Alexandria 98.8 4,812,186 56,698 4,755,488
Aswan 42.3 1,431,488 826,543 604,945
Asyut 26.5 4,245,215 3,119,112 1,126,103
Beheira 19.5 5,804,262 4,674,346 1,129,916
Beni Suef 23.2 2,856,812 2,193,871 662,941
Cairo 100.0 9,278,441 0 9,278,441
Dakahlia 28.2 5,949,001 4,271,428 1,677,573
Damietta 38.7 1,330,843 815,244 515,599
Faiyum 22.5 3,170,150 2,456,368 713,782
Gharbia 30.0 4,751,865 3,324,630 1,427,235
Giza 58.6 7,585,115 3,138,310 4,446,805
Ismailia 45.4 1,178,641 643,778 534,863
Kafr El Sheikh 23.1 3,172,753 2,441,246 731,507
Luxor 37.8 1,147,058 713,422 433,636
Matruh 70.6 447,846 131,841 316,005
Minya 18.9 5,156,702 4,183,284 973,418
Monufia 20.6 3,941,293 3,128,460 812,833
New Valley 48.0 225,416 117,180 108,236
North Sinai 60.2 434,781 173,095 261,686
Port Said 100.0 666,599 0 666,599
Qalyubia 44.7 5,105,972 2,825,045 2,280,927
Qena 19.7 3,045,504 2,445,051 600,453
Red Sea 95.1 345,775 17,062 328,713
Sharqia 23.1 6,485,412 4,987,707 1,497,705
Sohag 21.4 4,603,861 3,618,543 985,318
South Sinai 51.1 167,426 81,924 85,502
Suez 100.0 622,859 0 622,859
Total 42.7 87,963,276 50,384,188 37,579,088

Population density
Egyptian Population Density in pre-2013 administrative divisions

Data taken from CAPMAS:.[6] Information for population is in thousands, pop density - persons/km2 and area is in km2.

Governorate Population in thousands (2014-07-01) Pop. Density (Inhabited Area) Pop. Density (Total Area) % Inhabited to Total Inhabited Area Total Area
Alexandria 4,761 2,841.5 2,070.0 72.8 1,675.50 2,300.00
Aswan 1,412 13,477.1 22.5 0.2 104.77 62,726.00
Asyut 4,181 2,656.3 161.3 6.1 1,574.00 25,926.00
Beheira 5,720 806.3 582.1 72.2 7,093.84 9,826.00
Beni Suef 2,812 2,053.4 256.7 12.5 1,369.41 10,954.00
Cairo 9,184 48,235.3 2,976.8 6.2 190.40 3,085.12
Dakahlia 5,881 1,662.1 1,662.1 100.0 3,538.23 3,538.23
Damietta 1,316 1,968.7 1,445.7 73.4 668.47 910.26
Faiyum 3,118 1,680.0 513.8 30.6 1,856.00 6,068.00
Gharbia 4,698 2,418.7 2,418.7 100.0 1,942.34 1,942.34
Giza 7,487 6,286.3 567.9 9.0 1,191.00 13,184.00
Ismailia 1,162 229.3 229.3 100.0 5,066.97 5,066.97
Kafr El Sheikh 3,132 903.5 903.5 100.0 3,466.69 3,466.69
Luxor 1,132 4,992.7 469.8 9.4 226.73 2,409.68
Matruh 437 111.4 2.6 2.4 3,921.40 166,563.00
Minya 5,076 2,104.8 157.3 7.5 2,411.65 32,279.00
Monufia 3,890 1,596.9 1,556.6 97.5 2,435.93 2,499.00
New Valley 222 205.1 0.5 0.2 1,082.24 440,098.00
North Sinai 428 203.7 14.8 7.2 2,100.84 28,992.00
Port Said 660 499.7 490.7 98.2 1,320.68 1,344.96
Qalyubia 5,044 4,702.1 4,486.4 95.4 1,072.72 1,124.28
Qena 3,001 1,724.1 277.9 16.1 1,740.63 10,798.00
Red Sea 341 4,794.0 2.9 0.1 71.13 119,099.13
Sharqia 6,402 1,343.7 1,303.6 97.0 4,764.28 4,911.00
Sohag 4,536 2,845.8 411.5 14.5 1,593.92 11,022.00
South Sinai 166 9.9 5.3 53.7 16,791.00 31,272.00
Suez 615 68.3 68.3 100.0 9,002.21 9,002.21
Total 86,814 1109.1 85.9 7.8 78272.98 1010407.87
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See also

References
  1. "Governorates of Egypt". Statoids. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  2. Reem Leila. "Redrawing the map". Al Ahram Weekly (On-line). Archived from the original on 2009-08-10. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  3. "Egypt's PM centralises Helwan and 6 October governorates - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg.
  4. "Luxor announced Egypt's 29th governorate". Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  5. Metz, ed, Helen Chapin (1990). Egypt: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress. Retrieved 21 October 2016.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  6. "Egypt in Figures 2015" (PDF). CAPMAS. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  7. "Egypt in Figures-Census 2019 - 201937112036_2019 سكان.pdf".
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