Beheira Governorate


Beheira Governorate 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.
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, inclusively at Abu El Matamir, Abu Hummus, Damanhour, Rashid and Kafr El Dawwar. Coins, lamps, animal bones and pottery from Roman and Byzantine eras are some of the archaeological finds discovered at Kom El Giza and Kom El Hamam in Beheira.
In 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi appointed the first female governor in the country's history, Nadia Abdo, for Beheira's Governorate.
The rate of poverty is more than 60% in this governorate but recently some social safety networks have been provided in the form of financial assistance and job opportunities. The funding has been coordinated by the country's Ministry of Finance and with assistance from international organizations.

Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into the following municipal divisions for administrative purposes, with a total estimated population as of July 2017 of 6,200,137. In some instances there is a markaz and a kism with the same name.
Anglicized nameNative nameArabic transliterationPopulation
Type
Abu El Matamirمركز ابو المطاميرAbū al-Maṭāmīr555,471Markaz
Abu Hummusمركز ابوحمصAbū Ḥummuṣ535,823Markaz
El Delengatمركز الدلنجاتAd-Dilinjāt400,570Markaz
Mahmoudiyahمركز المحموديةAl-Maḥmūdiyah281,455Markaz
Rahmaniyaمركز الرحمانيةAr-Raḥmāniyah158,819Markaz
Badrمركز بدرBadr208,542Markaz
Damanhourقسم دمنهور Damanhūr262,505Kism
Damanhourمركز دمنهورDamanhūr548,390Markaz
West Nubariyahقسم غرب النوبارية Gharb an-Nūbāriyah118,786Kism
Hosh Essaمركز حوش عيسىḤawsh 'Īsā306,231Markaz
Edkuمركز إدكوIdkū216,892Markaz
Itay El Barudمركز إيتاى البارودItyāy al-Bārūd476,197Markaz
Kafr El Dawwarقسم كفر الدوارKafr ad-Dawwār304,258Kism
Kafr El Dawwarمركز كفر الدوارKafr ad-Dawwār701,199Markaz
Kom Hamadaمركز كوم حمادةKawm Ḥamādah496,752Markaz
Rosettaمركز رشيدRashīd271,947Markaz
Shubrakhitمركز شبراخيتShubrākhīt277,231Markaz
Natrn Valleyمركز وادى النطرونWadi an-Natrun79,069Markaz

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.

Cities and towns

According to the Egyptian Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones, in affiliation with the Ministry of Investment, the following industrial zones are located in this governorate:
In 1981, the Basic Village Service Program, under the auspices of USAID, had several water, road, and other projects, going on in several markazes in Beheira Governorate.
In 2018 the governorate council discussed a campaign of mosquito control and animal control to avert the spread of preventable diseases.