North Sinai Governorate ( ar, محافظة شمال سيناء ') is one of the

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

. It is located in the north-eastern part of the country, and encompasses the northern half of the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...

. It is bordered in the north by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, in the south by

South Sinai Governorate South Sinai Governorate ( ar, محافظة جنوب سيناء ') is the least populated governorate of Egypt. It is located in the east of the country, encompassing the southern half of the Sinai Peninsula. Saint Catherine's Monastery, an Easte ...

, in the west by Port Said,

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

, and

Suez Governorate Suez Governorate ( ar, محافظة السويس ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north-eastern part of the country and is coterminous with the city of Suez. It is situated north of the Gulf of Suez. Municipal division ...

s, and in the east by the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

in Palestine (

Rafah Governorate The Rafah Governorate ( ar, محافظة رفح ') is a Governorate of Palestine in the southernmost portion of the Gaza Strip. Its district capital or ''muhfaza'' is the city of Rafah located on the border with Egypt. According to the Palestin ...

) and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

( Southern District). Its capital is the city of

El Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Medite ...

. A governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the

President of Egypt The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the E ...

and serves at the president's discretion. The population of the North Sinai Governorate as at 2015 was 434,781 people, comprising predominantly Bedouin tribesmen. The Governorate covers an area of 27,574 square kilometers. The population density is 15 inhabitants per square kilometer. A significant economic activity of the Bedouin tribes has been smuggling. They have been active smuggling into the

supplies and weapons using cross-border tunnels as well as assisting illegal migrants into Israel. These activities have been curtailed by the Egyptian government crackdown of smuggling into the Gaza Strip and by the building of the

Egypt–Israel barrier The Egypt–Israel barrier or Egypt–Israel border fence ( he, שְׁעוֹן הַחוֹל, translit=Shaʽon HaḤol, lit=sand clock) refers to a separation barrier built by Israel along its border with Egypt. Initial construction on the ba ...

. North Sinai has since 2011 been especially affected by the

Sinai insurgency The Sinai insurgency is an ongoing insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, that was commenced by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which have also included attacks on civilians. The insurgency began during the Egyptian ...

and measures by government forces to combat it, which has resulted in many casualties. On October 14, 2016 twelve Egyptian troops were killed at a checkpoint near

. On November 27, 2017 a mosque in the village of Al-Rawda was attacked by roughly 40 gunmen, killing at least 305 and injuring up to 128 others, making it the deadliest terror attack in Egyptian history.

Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into municipal divisions for administrative purposes with a total estimated population as of July 2017 of 451,990.

Population

According to population estimates, in 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate lived in urban areas, with an urbanization rate of 60.2%. Out of an estimated total of 434,781 people, 261,686 people lived in urban areas and 173,095 lived in rural areas.

Cities and towns

ˇthe capital and largest city, with 164,830 inhabitants . * Nekhel *

Rafah Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palestini ...

* Bir al-Abed * Hassana (see Raid on Bir el Hassana and the map included therein; "bir" means "a well") *

Sheikh Zuweid Sheikh Zuweid (also spelled Sheikh Zoweid, Shaykh Zuwayd, or Sheikh Zouède; ar, الشيخ زويد , , Greek: ''Bitulion'') is a Bedouin town in the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt near the border with the Gaza Strip. It is situated bet ...

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 the governorate: * Bir Al Abd * Al Masa’eed Artisans * Heavy industrial zone - Arish

Governors

* Muhammad Abdul Mun'em El Qirmani (May 1974-November 1976) * Fu'ad Ibrahim Nassar (November 1976-November 1978) * Muhammad Hussein Shawkat (November 1978-May 1980) *

Youssef Sabri Abu Taleb Youssef Sabri Abu Taleb Giad Al-Haq (Arabic: يوسف صبري أبوطالب جادالحق; May 1929 – 29 September 2008) was an Egyptian colonel general and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Military career Abu Taleb participat ...

(May 1980-August 1982) * Mounir Ahmad Shash (September 1982-January 1996) * Muhammad Dasouqi El Ghayati (January 1996-July 1997) * Ali Hifzi Muhammad (July 1997-November 1999) * Ahmad Abdul Hamid Muhammad (November 1999-April 2008) * Abdel Fadil Shousha (April 2008-January 2010) * Murad Muwafi (January 2010-January 2011) * Sayyid Abdul Wahhab Mabrouk (30 January 2011 – 8 August 2012) * Abdul Fattah Harhour (4 September 2012 – 30 August 2018) * Abdel Fadil Shousha (second term) (August 2018-)

References

External links

Official website English
*
El Wattan News of North Sinai Governorate
{{Authority control Governorates of Egypt