Egyptian Cities

Egyptian Cities, Towns and Governorates

When most people think about towns and cities in Egypt, the main ones that come to mind are the major cities or the ones with popular tourist attractions, but there are more than 200 towns and cities with a population of over 15,000 in Egypt.

Because 90% of Egypt is desert, most of the towns have developed bordering the River Nile, along the shores of the Mediterranean or Red Seas, beside the Suez Canal, or among various desert oases. Due to Egypt’s enormous population growth, this has caused many areas to be built on sandy foundations, rather than the more sustainable soil. Giza is a prime example of this as it slowly moves towards the plateau where the famous pyramids were built.

For administrative purposes, Egypt is divided into 27 governorates, which are the top level of the country’s five-level jurisdiction system that determines which administrative body has authority to decide certain things. Each province is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt, serving at the president’s discretion.

Governorates

These governorates have a population density of more than one-thousand per km², although the three most significant (Cairo, Alexandria, and Giza) have a population density of less than two per km². Egypt’s governorates are either entirely “urban” or else a mixture of “urban” and “rural”. The official distinction between “urban” and “rural” is reflected in the lower levels of administrative authority: urban governorates have no regions, or “Markaz”, as these are just an assortment of villages. Governorates may, however, consist of only one city, as is the case with Cairo or Alexandria, for example. These one-city governorates are divided into districts (fundamentally urban neighborhoods). Cairo has twenty-three districts, while Alexandria has only six.

Here is a list of all Egyptian cities with a polulation over 15,000: