Monufia Governorate ( ar, محافظة المنوفية ' ) is one of the

governorates of Egypt Egypt has a Centralisation, centralised system of local government officially called local administration as it is a branch of the Executive (government), Executive. The country is divided into twenty-seven governorates ( '; ; genitive case#Ara ...

. It is located in the northern part of the country in the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...

, to the south of

Gharbia Governorate Gharbia Governorate ( ar, محافظة الغربية ', ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north of the country, south of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, and north of Monufia Governorate. Its capital is Tanta, which is 90&n ...

and to the north of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. The governorate is named after

Menouf Menouf ( ar, منوف, from ) is a city in Egypt located in the Nile Delta. It has an area of 18.76 square kilometers. The city gave name to the Monufia Governorate that it is located in and it was the capital of the governorate until 1826. Menouf ...

, an ancient city which was the capital of the governorate until 1826. The current governor (as of 2018) is Said Mohammed Mohammed Abbas.

Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into municipal divisions, with a total estimated population as of July 2017 of 4,319,082. In some instances there is a markaz and a kism with the same name.

Population

According to population estimates in 2015, the majority of residents in the

governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...

lived in rural areas, with an

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

rate of only 20.6%. Out of an estimated 3,941,293 people residing in the governorate, 3,128,460 people lived in rural areas as opposed to only 812,833 in urban areas.

Cities

The capital of the Monufia Governorate is the city of

Shibin El Kom Shibin El Kom ( ar, شبين الكوم , colloquially shortened to ''Shibin'') is a city in Egypt's Nile Delta, and the capital of the Monufia Governorate. Etymology The city was previously known as Shaybin as-Ssarya () the first part of wh ...

. The main cities of the governorate are Quesna, Tala, Bagour,

, Ashmoun and Sers El Lyan. It is mainly an agricultural governorate. *

* Ashmoun * Sers El Lyan * Tala * El Bagour * El Shohada *

Sadat City Sadat City ( ar, مدينة السادات ' ) is a city in the Monufia Governorate, Egypt. It is named after late president Anwar Sadat. The city is located northwest of Cairo. It is a first generation new urban community and one of the largest ...

* Quesna * Birket El Sab *

Shanawan Shanawan ( ar, شنوان) is one of the biggest villages in Monufia Governorate, Egypt. It is in the middle between Shibin El Kom Shibin El Kom ( ar, شبين الكوم , colloquially shortened to ''Shibin'') is a city in Egypt's Nile Delt ...

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: *Mubarak Industrial Zone and its expansion. *Industrial Zones In kafr Dawod. * (New urban community industrial zone) El Sadat. *Industrial zone El lawy stud ran by El doc ramy.

History

In 1826, Mohammed Ali transferred the capital of Monufia from

as the latter fell exactly in the center of the governorate. Other than Shibin El Kom, the governorate had four other administrative divisions which are Quesna, Tala,

and Talawy. In 1942, El Shohada became a new administrative division and included parts from Shibin El Kom and Tala. In 1947, Bagour was created to encompass regions from Menouf, Talawy, Quesna and Shibin El Kom. In 1955, five villages were taken from Tala and redistributed to

Tanta Tanta ( ar, طنطا ' , ) is a city in Egypt with the country's fifth largest populated area and 658,798 inhabitants as of 2018. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia ...

. In 1960, Berket El Sabe'e (Lake of the Lion) was established and consisted of former towns and villages of Tala, Quesna and Shibin El Kom. In 1975, Sers El Lyan became a city rather than a village after it was separated from Menouf. In 1991,

was annexed to Monufia, being its only region west of the Rosetta branch. In the final round of the

2012 Egyptian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Egypt in 2012, with the first round on 23 and 24 May 2012 and the second on 16 and 17 June. The 2012 Egyptian Presidential election was the first democratic presidential election of Egypt’s history. The Musli ...

, Monufia had the highest voter turnout rate of all governorates (61.5%) as well as the most overwhelming support for candidate

Ahmed Shafik Ahmed Mohamed Shafik ZakiAlso spelled: ''Shafiq''. ( ar, أحمد محمد شفيق زكى, ; born 25 November 1941) is an Egyptian politician and former presidential candidate. He was a senior commander in the Egyptian Air Force and later ser ...

(71.5%).

Agriculture

The governorate is famous for the production of crops like

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

as well as vegetable crops such as

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

and

green beans Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis' ...

of which a large part is

exported An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

. Agricultural land is irrigated with water from the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

. Agriculture is generally the main activity of the population due to the fertile land in the

Notable residents

Monufia Governorate is particularly known for being the birthplace of St. Pishoy, born in the village of Shansa (Shensha or Shesna), and of two

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

presidents:

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

(1918–1981) and

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

(1928-2020). Monufia is also where the parents of Egyptian President

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

(b. 1954) originated.

Projects

In 1981, the Basic Village Service Program (BVS), under the auspices of

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

, had several

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

, and other projects, going on in several markazes in the Monufia Governorate. In 2018, the National Agricultural Animal Health Services (NAAHS) was formed by the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in order to care for the rising number of infected

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

and

donkeys The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

in the

Shibin El-Kom Shibin El Kom ( ar, شبين الكوم , colloquially shortened to ''Shibin'') is a city in Egypt's Nile Delta, and the capital of the Monufia Governorate. Etymology The city was previously known as Shaybin as-Ssarya () the first part of wh ...

area. This was sparked by the tragedy.

References

External links

Official Website ArabicOfficial Website English

El Watan News of Monufia Governorate
{{Authority control Governorates of Egypt Nile Delta