North Sinai<\/a> to the east.<\/p>\nDemographics<\/h2>\n
Port Said grew from 472,331 people in 1996 to 570,603 in 2006 and 749,371 at the 2017 census. CAPMAS estimated 789,241 in January 2023 and 791,749 by mid-2023. Growth has slowed sharply since 2017, and the governorate is now among the slowest-growing in Egypt.<\/p>\n
All 789,241 residents are classed as urban, so the governorate has no rural population at all. Average density of about 590 people per km² understates how crowded the built-up area is, because most of the 1,345 km² is lake and salt flat. The city itself is dense, low-rise in the old quarters and high-rise in the post-1974 housing districts.<\/p>\n
Economy and Local Life<\/h2>\n
The canal sets the rhythm. Pilotage, towage, bunkering, ship chandling and agency work employ a large share of the city, and the Suez Canal Authority keeps its old headquarters here, under three green domes on the waterfront. East Port Said container terminal, on the Sinai side of the new channel, is one of the largest transshipment ports in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n
Port Said has been a free zone since 1976, and shoppers still travel from across the delta for imported goods. Other work comes from fishing on Lake Manzala and at sea, textiles and ready-made clothing, chemicals and food processing. Summer visitors use the Mediterranean beaches along the corniche.<\/p>\n
History<\/h2>\n
The city was founded on 25 April 1859, the day digging of the Suez Canal began, and was named after Sa’id Pasha, the ruler who granted the concession. It grew from a construction camp on a sand spit into the canal’s northern gateway when the waterway opened in 1869. The lighthouse of 1869 was among the first large reinforced-concrete structures in Egypt.<\/p>\n
British forces bombarded and occupied the city in 1882. In 1956 Anglo-French troops landed here during the Suez Crisis, and civilian resistance in the streets is still commemorated locally. Between 1967 and 1973 the population was evacuated and much of the city destroyed by shelling across the canal. Reconstruction began after 1974, and the free-zone law of 1976 shaped the rebuilt economy. Port Fuad, founded in 1926, remains the only Egyptian town on the Asian side of the canal that belongs to a delta governorate.<\/p>\n
Getting There<\/h2>\n
Port Said is about 220 km from Cairo. The fastest road route runs on the Cairo-Ismailia desert road, then north on the Ismailia-Port Said road, a drive of about three hours. The International Coastal Road links the city west to Damietta, about 70 km away, and east into Sinai over the canal.<\/p>\n
Trains run from Cairo Ramses to Port Said via Ismailia. Port Said Airport lies at El Gamil, west of the city. Free ferries cross the canal to Port Fuad every few minutes, and they are the normal way to reach the east bank.<\/p>\n
FAQ<\/h2>\nWhat is the capital of Port Said Governorate?<\/h3>\n
Port Said city. It holds seven of the governorate’s eight districts and most of its 789,241 residents.<\/p>\n
Does Port Said have any villages?<\/h3>\n
No. Port Said is a fully urban governorate with no markaz and no rural councils. Every resident is counted as urban, and its named places are city districts, housing quarters and a few lake-shore hamlets.<\/p>\n
What is the population of Port Said?<\/h3>\n
CAPMAS estimated 789,241 people in January 2023, up from 749,371 at the 2017 census.<\/p>\n
Where is Port Fuad?<\/h3>\n
On the east bank of the Suez Canal, opposite Port Said city and inside Asia. Free ferries connect the two banks, and Port Fuad had about 101,567 people in January 2023.<\/p>\n
What is the phone code for Port Said?<\/h3>\n
The area code is 066.<\/p>\n
How far is Port Said from Cairo?<\/h3>\n
About 220 km, or roughly three hours by road via Ismailia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Port Said Governorate (Arabic: \u0645\u062d\u0627\u0641\u0638\u0629 \u0628\u0648\u0631\u0633\u0639\u064a\u062f) stands at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal, where the canal meets the Mediterranean. It is one of Egypt’s few fully urban governorates: the city of Port Said lies on the west bank of the canal and the district-town of Port Fuad on the east bank, in Asia. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Port Said Governorate: Districts, Towns & Population","_seopress_titles_desc":"Port Said Governorate, Egypt: 789,241 people (2023) in 8 districts including Port Fuad. Districts and localities listed, plus the Suez Canal economy and travel.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-egypt","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions\/111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}