Beheira Governorate

Beheira Governorate
Beheira Governorate
Governorate
	Flag
	Beheira Governorate subdivisions
	Beheira Governorate on the map of Egypt
	Coordinates: 30°37′N 30°26′E / 30.61°N 30.43°E
Country	Egypt
Seat	Damanhur (capital)
Government
• Governor	Hesham Amna
Area
• Total	9,826 km2 (3,794 sq mi)
Population (January 2023)
• Total	6,830,189
• Density	700/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
GDP
• Total	EGP 289 billion; (US$ 18.4 billion)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
ISO 3166 code	EG-BH
HDI (2021)	0.718; high · 16th
Website	behira.gov.eg

Beheira Governorate (Arabic: محافظة البحيرة Moḥafzet el Beḥēra, IPA: [moˈħɑfzˤet elbeˈħeːɾæ], "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorate in Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur.

Overview

Beheira Governorate enjoys an important strategical place, west of the Rosetta branch of the Nile. It comprises four important highways, namely the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, the Cairo agricultural road, the international road, and the circular road. Beheira Governorate is also home to a number of the most important Coptic monasteries in Wadi El Natrun (Scetes).^[2]^[6]

Beheira consists of 13 centers and 14 cities, and contains important industries such as cotton, chemicals, carpets, electricity, and fishing.

The governorate has a noteworthy number of archaeological sites, including at Abu El Matamir, Abu Hummus, Damanhour, Rosetta (Rashid), and Kafr El Dawwar.^[7] Coins, lamps, animal bones, and pottery from Roman and later Eastern Roman (Byzantine) eras are some of the archaeological finds discovered at Kom El Giza, and Kom El Hamam in Beheira.^[8]

In 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi appointed the first female governor in the country's history, Nadia Ahmed Abdou, for Beheira Governorate.^[9]

The rate of poverty in the governate is more than 60%, however, some social safety networks have been provided recently in the form of financial assistance, and job opportunities. The funding has been coordinated by Egypt's Ministry of Finance and with assistance from international organisations.^[10]

Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into the following municipal divisions for administrative purposes, with a total estimated population as of January 2023 of 6,830,189. In some instances there is a markaz and a kism with the same name.^[3]

Municipal Divisions
Anglicized name	Native name	Arabic transliteration	Population (January 2023 Est.)	Type
Abu El Matamir	مركز ابو المطامير	Abū al-Maṭāmīr	603,640	Markaz
Abu Hummus	مركز أبو حمص	Abū Ḥummuṣ	581,820	Markaz
El Delengat	مركز الدلنجات	Ad-Dilinjāt	400,570	Markaz
Mahmoudiyah	مركز المحمودية	Al-Maḥmūdiyah	305,974	Markaz
Rahmaniya	مركز الرحمانية	Ar-Raḥmāniyah	176,315	Markaz
Badr	مركز بدر	Badr	208,542	Markaz
Damanhour	قسم دمنهور	Damanhūr	327,352	Kism (fully urban)
Damanhour	مركز دمنهور	Damanhūr	586,244	Markaz
West Nubariyah	قسم غرب النوبارية	Gharb an-Nūbāriyah	130,405	Kism (urban and rural parts)
Hosh Essa	مركز حوش عيسى	Ḥawsh 'Īsā	339,556	Markaz
Edku	مركز إدكو	Idkū	257,873	Markaz
Itay El Barud	مركز إيتاى البارود	Ityāy al-Bārūd	476,197	Markaz
Kafr El Dawwar	قسم كفر الدوار	Kafr ad-Dawwār	344,133	Kism (urban and rural parts)
Kafr El Dawwar	مركز كفر الدوار	Kafr ad-Dawwār	749,595	Markaz
Kom Hamada	مركز كوم حمادة	Kawm Ḥamādah	496,752	Markaz
Rosetta	مركز رشيد	Rashīd	309,188	Markaz
Shubrakhit	مركز شبرا خيت	Shubrākhīt	302,429	Markaz
Natrn Valley	مركز وادى النطرون	Wadi an-Natrun	90,576	Markaz

Population

According to population estimates, in 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate lived in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of only 19.5%. Out of an estimated 5,804,262 people residing in the governorate, 4,674,346 people lived in rural areas as opposed to only 1,129,916 in urban areas.^[11]

Cities and towns

Notable people

Mahmud Shaltut, former Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria, former Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
Mohammed al-Ghazali, Islamic Scholar
Hassan Shehata, football manager
Karim Hafez, footballer

Industrial zones

According to the Egyptian Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), in affiliation with the Ministry of Investment (MOI), the following industrial zones are located in this governorate:^[12]^[2]

Natron Valley
Boseili Desert
(New urban community industrial zone) Nubaria
Edco

Projects and programs

In 1981, the Basic Village Service Program (BVS), under the auspices of USAID, had several water, road, and other projects, going on in several markazes in Beheira Governorate.^[13]

In 2018 the governorate council discussed a campaign of mosquito control and animal control to avert the spread of preventable diseases.^[14]