Monufia Governorate

Monufia Governorate
Governorate

Flag

Monufia Governorate on the map of Egypt
Coordinates: 30°31′N 30°59′E / 30.52°N 30.99°E / 30.52; 30.99Coordinates: 30°31′N 30°59′E / 30.52°N 30.99°E / 30.52; 30.99
Country  Egypt
Seat Shibin El Kom
Government
  Governor Saeed Mohammed Mohammed Abbas[1]
Area
  Total 2,543.03 km2 (981.87 sq mi)
Population (January 2018)
  Total 4,366,000[2]
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
Website Monofeya

Monufia Governorate (Egyptian Arabic: محافظة المنوفية Muḥāfẓet El Monofeya  IPA: [elmenoˈfejjæ, -monoˈ-]) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, to the south of Gharbia governorate and to the north of Cairo. The governorate is named after Menouf, an ancient city which was the capital of the governorate until 1826. The current governor is doctor Ashraf Helal.

Population

According to population estimates from 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate live in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of only 20.6%. Out of an estimated 3,941,293 people residing in the governorate, 3,128,460 people live in rural areas as opposed to only 812,833 in urban areas. [3]

Cities

The capital of the Monufia Governorate is the city of Shibin El Kom. The main cities of the governorate are Quesna, Tala, Bagour, Menouf, Ashmoun and Sers El Lyan. It is a mainly an agricultural governorate.

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:[4]

  • Mubarak Industrial Zone and its expansion
  • Industrial Zones In kafr Dawod
  • (New urban community industrial zone) El Sadat

History

In 1826 Mohammed Ali transferred the capital of Monufia from Menouf to Shibin El Kom as the later fell exactly in the center of the governorate. Other than Shibin El Kom, the governorate had four other administrative divisions which are Quesna, Tala, Menouf 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. 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, the Sadat City was annexed to Monufia being its only region west of the Rosetta branch. In the final round of the 2012 Egyptian presidential election, Monufia had the highest voter turnout rate of all governorates (61.5%) as well as the most overwhelming support for candidate Ahmed Shafik (71.5%).

Agriculture

The governorate is famous for the production of crops like cotton, maize and wheat as well as vegetable crops such as potatoes and green beans of which a large part is exported. Agricultural land is irrigated with water from the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile. Agriculture is generally the main activity of the population due to the fertile land in the Nile Delta.

Notable residents

Monufia Governorate is particularly known for being the birthplace of two Egyptian presidents, Anwar Sadat (1918–1981), born in Mit Abu El Kom and Hosni Mubarak (1928-), born in Kafr El Meselha.

Projects

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 the Monufia Governorate.[5]

In 2018, the National Agricultural Animal Health Services (NAAHS) was formed by the Ministry of Agriculture in order to care for the rising number of infected horses and donkeys in the Shibin El-Kom area. This was sparked by the tragedy of the death of Shamekh, a 135 year-old horse, widely regarded as a Patriarch of the Governorate.

References

  1. "رسمياً.. المحافظون الجدد ونوابهم يؤدون اليمين الدستورية أمام الرئيس". Almasry Alyoum (in Arabic). 30 August 2018.
  2. "الجهاز المركزي للتعبئة العامة والإحصاء". www.capmas.gov.eg. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. "Population Estimates By Sex & Governorate 1/1/2015" (PDF). CAPMAS. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  4. "Investment Regimes, Industrial Zones of Governorate". Ministry of Investment Egypt. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. "Egypt: The Basic Village Services Program" (PDF). USAID. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
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