Suez<\/a> to the south-east.<\/p>\nDemographics<\/h2>\n
Sharqia grew from 4,281,068 people in 1996 to 5,354,041 in 2006 and 7,163,824 at the 2017 census. CAPMAS estimated 7,859,068 in January 2023 and 7,909,342 by mid-2023. That is close to a doubling in under 30 years, and it is why only Cairo and Giza hold more people.<\/p>\n
The governorate is the most rural of the big three. Of the mid-2023 estimate, 5,804,928 people were counted as rural and 2,104,414 as urban, so nearly three quarters live in villages. Zagazig, Bilbeis, 10th of Ramadan City and Abu Kebir hold most of the town population. Density averages about 1,600 people per km², but the farmed core is far more crowded than that, because the desert margins carry almost no one.<\/p>\n
Economy and Local Life<\/h2>\n
Sharqia is a leading producer of wheat, cotton, maize, rice and vegetables, and its village markets supply Cairo daily. Livestock and poultry are a major sideline, and Abu Kebir holds one of the largest cattle markets in the delta. The Salhia reclamation project in the eastern desert grows potatoes, sugar beet and fruit for export under pivot irrigation.<\/p>\n
Industry is concentrated at 10th of Ramadan City, founded in 1977 on the Cairo-Ismailia desert road and now one of Egypt’s biggest industrial centres, with textiles, engineering, ceramics, chemicals and food plants. Zagazig adds a university, a teaching hospital and the governorate’s wholesale trade. Bilbeis has a long-established air base. Weekly markets in Mashtool El Souk, Hihya and Kafr Saqr still set local prices for produce and animals.<\/p>\n
History<\/h2>\n
The eastern delta holds two of Egypt’s important ancient capitals. Bubastis, on the edge of Zagazig at Tell Basta, was the centre of the cat goddess Bastet and the seat of the 22nd dynasty from about 945 BC. Tanis, at San El Hagar in the north-east, was the royal capital of the 21st and 22nd dynasties; Pierre Montet found intact royal tombs there in 1939, with silver coffins and gold masks that rank with Tutankhamun’s burial.<\/p>\n
Zagazig itself is modern, laid out in the 1820s around a cotton ginning trade on the Muweis canal. The nationalist officer Ahmed Orabi, who led the 1879-1882 revolt against foreign control, was born in the Sharqia village of Hirriyat Raznah in 1841. The governorate was also the main recruiting ground for the delta cotton economy that grew under Muhammad Ali and his successors.<\/p>\n
Getting There<\/h2>\n
Zagazig is about 80 km north-east of Cairo, roughly 90 minutes by road. Drivers use the Cairo-Belbeis agricultural road or the Cairo-Ismailia desert road, leaving at 10th of Ramadan or Belbeis. The desert road also carries most traffic to Ismailia and the canal.<\/p>\n
Trains run from Cairo Ramses to Zagazig, and on to Mansoura and Damietta or east to Ismailia and Port Said. Zagazig is a junction, so most delta lines meet there. Microbuses from the Zagazig terminal serve every markaz seat. The nearest airport is Cairo International, about 70 km away.<\/p>\n
FAQ<\/h2>\nWhat is the capital of Sharqia Governorate?<\/h3>\n
Zagazig. Its markaz held 933,504 people in January 2023, and the two urban kism of Zagazig 1 and Zagazig 2 added a further 454,344.<\/p>\n
How many towns and villages are in Sharqia?<\/h3>\n
More than 2,000 populated places in the governorate are mapped in the GeoNames gazetteer, from market towns to single hamlets. They are administered through 15 markaz and 8 kism.<\/p>\n
What is the population of Sharqia?<\/h3>\n
CAPMAS estimated 7,859,068 people in January 2023, up from 7,163,824 at the 2017 census. Only Cairo and Giza have more.<\/p>\n
Which governorates border Sharqia?<\/h3>\n
Dakahlia to the north, Qalyubia to the west, Cairo to the south-west, Ismailia to the east and Suez to the south-east.<\/p>\n
What is 10th of Ramadan City?<\/h3>\n
An industrial new town founded in 1977 on the Cairo-Ismailia desert road, inside Sharqia. Its two kism held 259,805 people in January 2023.<\/p>\n
How far is Zagazig from Cairo?<\/h3>\n
About 80 km, or roughly 90 minutes by road on the agricultural or desert route.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sharqia Governorate (Arabic: \u0645\u062d\u0627\u0641\u0638\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0631\u0642\u064a\u0629) is Egypt’s third-most populous governorate and the largest in the eastern Nile Delta. Its capital is Zagazig, and CAPMAS put the population at 7,859,068 in January 2023 across 4,911 km². Sharqia means “the eastern one”, and the governorate runs from the Cairo suburbs to the desert edge of Sinai. Capital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Sharqia Governorate: Towns, Villages & Population","_seopress_titles_desc":"Sharqia Governorate, Egypt: 7.86 million people (2023), capital Zagazig, 15 markaz. Towns and villages by markaz, plus geography, economy, Tanis 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-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-egypt","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59","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=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions\/115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}