Sharqia Governorate

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Ash Sharqiyah (disambiguation).

Sharqia (Arabic: محافظة الشرقية, romanized: Moḥāfeẓeh esh-Sher'eyyeh, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [eʃ.ʃæɾˈʔejjæ], rural: [eʃ.ʃæɾˈɡejje]; lit. 'Governorate of the Eastern') is the third most populous of the 27 governorates of Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country, its capital is the city of Zagazig.

Sharqia Governorate
Governorate
Flag
Sharqia Governorate on the map of Egypt
Coordinates: 30.7°N 31.63°E / 30.7; 31.63
Country	Egypt
Seat	Zagazig (capital)
Government
• Governor	Shazem El-Ashmouni[1]
Area
• Total	4,180 km2 (1,610 sq mi)
Population  (January 2023)[2]
• Total	7,859,068
• Density	1,900/km2 (4,900/sq mi)
GDP [3]
• Total	EGP 302 billion (US$ 19.2 billion)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EGY)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
HDI (2021)	0.73[4] high · 14th
Website	www.sharkia.gov.eg

Overview

Farms in Diarb Negm

Bilbeis is the former capital of Sharqia. A section of the governorate once was part of the Qalyubia Governorate. There is a strong agriculture industry, poultry and fish farming in Sharqia.^[5]

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.^[6]

Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into the following municipal divisions for administrative purposes, with a total estimated population as of January 2023 of 7,021,046. In some instances there is a markaz and a kism with the same name.^[2]

Municipal divisions

Anglicized name	Native name	Arabic transliteration	Population (January 2023 est.)	Type
Abu Hammad	مركز أبو حماد	Abū Ḥammād	465,376	Markaz
Abu Kebir	مركز أبو كبير	Abū Kabīr	491,984	Markaz
El Husseiniya	مركز الحسينية	El-Ḥusayniya	373,774	Markaz
El Ibrahimiya	مركز الأبراهيمية	El-Ibrāhīmiya	200,590	Markaz
El Qanayat	قسم القنايات	El-Qanāyāt	74,611	Kism (fully urban)
El Qurein	قسم القرين	El-Qurayn	99,884	Kism (fully urban)
New Salhia	قسم الصالحية الجديدة	Eṣ-Ṣaliḥiyah el-Jedīda	62,610	Kism (fully urban)
Awlad Saqr	مركز أولاد صقر	Awlād Ṣaqr	244,870	Markaz
Zagazig 1	قسم اول الزقازيق	Ez-Zaqāzīq 1	208,682	Kism (fully urban)
Zagazig 2	قسم ثان الزقازيق	Ez-Zaqāzīq 2	245,662	Kism (fully urban)
Zagazig	مركز الزقازيق	Ez-Zaqāzīq	933,504	Markaz
Bilbeis	مركز بلبيس	Bilbays	889,709	Markaz
Diyarb Negm	مركز ديرب نجم	Diyarb Najm	532,950	Markaz
Faqous	قسم فاقوس	Fāqūs	104,244	Kism (fully urban)
Faqous	مركز فاقوس	Fāqūs	654,084	Markaz
Hihya	مركز ههيا	Hihyā	326,627	Markaz
Kafr Saqr	مركز كفر صقر	Kafr Ṣaqr	302,084	Markaz
10th of Ramadan City 1	قسم أول مدينة عشرة رمضان	Madīnat 'Ashirh min-Ramaḍān 1	87,808	Kism (fully urban)
10th of Ramadan City 2	قسم ثان مدينة عشرة رمضان	Madīnat 'Ashirh min-Ramaḍān 2	171,997	Kism (fully urban)
Mashtool El Souk	مركز مشتول السوق	Mashtūl es-Sūq	241,857	Markaz
Minya El Qamh	مركز منيا القمح	Minyā el-Qamḥ	831,505	Markaz
Minshat Abu Omar	مركز منشاه ابوعمر	Munshāh Abū 'Umar	86,670	Markaz
Tanis	مركز صان الحجر	Ṣān el-Ḥajar	158,443	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 23.1%. Out of an estimated 6,485,412 people residing in the governorate in 2015, 4,987,707 people lived in rural areas and 1,497,705 lived in urban areas.^[7]

Industrial zones

According to the Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), the following industrial zones are located in Sharqia:^[8]

Zone name
10th of Ramadan Industrial Zone
New El Salhia Industrial Zone

Cities and towns

The following cities and towns are located in Sharqia Governorate.

Name	Population (2006 census)[9]	Location
10th of Ramadan	29,601	30.306503°N 31.741455°E / 30.306503; 31.741455 (10th of Ramadan)
Abu Hammad	36,592	30.544376°N 31.679831°E / 30.544376; 31.679831 (Abu Hammad)
Abu Kebir	104,100	30.716667°N 31.666667°E / 30.716667; 31.666667 (Abu Kebir)
Awlad Saqr	19,515	30.9303418°N 31.6974966°E / 30.9303418; 31.6974966 (Awlad Saqr)
Bilbeis	141,285	30.416667°N 31.566667°E / 30.416667; 31.566667 (Bilbeis)
Diyarb Negm	52,611	30.751389°N 31.457778°E / 30.751389; 31.457778 (Diyarb Negm)
El Husseiniya	29,565	30.8610931°N 31.919806°E / 30.8610931; 31.919806 (El Husseiniya)
El Ibrahimiya	35,022	30.7183986°N 31.5630861°E / 30.7183986; 31.5630861 (El Ibrahimiya)
El Qurein	64,559	30.601771°N 31.744135°E / 30.601771; 31.744135 (El Qurein)
Faqous	73,081	30.733333°N 31.8°E / 30.733333; 31.8 (Faqous)
Hihya	43,672	30.668702°N 31.5904°E / 30.668702; 31.5904 (Hihya)
Kafr Saqr	30,004	30.796389°N 31.626111°E / 30.796389; 31.626111 (Kafr Saqr)
Mashtool El Souk	47,153	30.360556°N 31.3775°E / 30.360556; 31.3775 (Mashtool El Souk)
Minya El Qamh	67,450	30.515278°N 31.346111°E / 30.515278; 31.346111 (Minya El Qamh)
El Salheya El Gedida	9,350	30.629774°N 31.941019°E / 30.629774; 31.941019 (New Salhia)
Qanayat	75,000	30.615239°N 31.459733°E / 30.615239; 31.459733 (Qanayat)
Zagazig*	318,393	30.566667°N 31.5°E / 30.566667; 31.5 (Zagazig)

Notable people

• El-Said Badawi, sociolinguist
• Mohamed Morsi, former President of Egypt
• Ahmed Shafik, former Prime Minister of Egypt and Presidential Candidate for Egyptian presidential election, 2012
• The Abaza Family, Egypt's largest aristocratic family of Circassian Abazin origin.^[10][11]
• Mohammed Ahmed Sadek, Egyptian army general
• Ahmed Subhy Mansour, founder of the Quranist movement
• Sayed Marei, engineer and politician
• Abdel Halim Hafez, popular singer and actor
• Miral al-Tahawy, award-winning Bedouin novelist
• Yusuf Abu Rayya, award-winning novelist
• Husayn Fawzi Al Najjar, political historian and Islamic scholar
• Magdi Yacoub, professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the National Heart and Lung Institute
• Sama El Masry, actress, belly dancer, and activist
• Ahmed Fouad Negm, Egyptian vernacular poet
• Rushdy Abaza, actor
• Fekry Pasha Abaza, journalist and political activist
• Ahmed 'Urabi, the leader of the 1881 nationalist uprising against the British
• Hamada Helal, Egyptian singer
• Emad Moteab, Egyptian footballer
• Ahmed el-Mansy, an Egyptian officer who was killed in clashes with terrorists in North Sinai
• Aly Saad, professor of cardiology