{{short description|Governorate of Egypt}} {{Infobox settlement <!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->| name = Beheira Governorate | settlement_type = Governorate | image_skyline = DSC 5684-01.jpg | image_flag = File:Flag of Behira Govenorate.svg | flag_size = 120px | image_blank_emblem = Coat of Arms of Behira Govenorate.png | blank_emblem_size = 75px | image_map = Behiera.svg | image_map1 = Beheira in Egypt (2011).svg | map_caption = Beheira Governorate subdivisions | map_caption1 = Beheira Governorate on the map of Egypt | coordinates = {{coord|30.61|N|30.43|E|region:EG-BH|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{EGY}} | seat = Damanhur (capital) | leader_party = | leader_title = Governor | leader_name = Jacqueline Azer<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/133262/et-guide-19-women-appointed-in-Egypt-s-cabinet-governors |title=Et guide: 19 women appointed in Egypt's cabinet, governors reshuffle |date=3 July 2024 }}</ref> | government_footnotes = | area_footnotes = <ref name="sis.gov.eg" /> | area_total_km2 = 9,826 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | population_footnotes = <ref name="CAPMAS2023">{{cite web |url=https://www.capmas.gov.eg/Admin/Pages%20Files/202331512347%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%AF%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86%20%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89%20%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%B2%20%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85%20%D9%81%D9%89%201%D9%80%201%D9%80%202023.pdf |access-date=2 April 2023}}</ref> | population_total = 6992742 | population_as_of = January 2024 | population_density_km2 = auto | demographics_type1 = GDP | demographics1_footnotes = <ref>{{citation|title=GDP BY GOVERNORATE|url=https://mped.gov.eg/Governorate?lang=en|website=mped.gov.eg}}</ref> | demographics1_title1 = Total | demographics1_info1 = EGP 289 billion<br />(US$ 18.4 billion) | timezone1 = EGY | utc_offset1 = +2 | timezone1_DST = EEST | utc_offset1_DST = +3 | blank_name_sec2 = HDI (2021) | blank_info_sec2 = 0.718<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sub-national HDI - Subnational HDI - Table - Global Data Lab |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/EGY/?levels=1+4&years=2021&extrapolation=0 |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=globaldatalab.org}}</ref><br/>{{color|#0c0|high}} · 16th | website = {{URL|http://behira.gov.eg/}} | iso_code = EG-BH | calling_code = | footnotes = }}
'''Beheira''' ({{langx|ar|محافظة البحيرة}} ''{{Transliteration|arz|Moḥafzet el Beḥēra}}'', {{IPA|ar|moˈħɑfzˤet elbeˈħeːɾæ|IPA}}, "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorate in northern Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur.
==Overview== thumb|Wadi El Natrun - El Alamein Rd, El Beheira Governorate, Egypt Beheira Governorate enjoys an important strategical place, west of the Rosetta branch of the Nile. It comprises four important highways, namely the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, the Cairo agricultural road, the international road, and the circular road. Beheira Governorate is also home to a number of the most important Coptic monasteries in Wadi El Natrun (Scetes).<ref name="sis.gov.eg">{{cite web |title=El-Beheira Governorate |url=http://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/68566?lang=en-us |website=sis.gov.eg |date=24 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Al-Buḥayrah GOVERNORATE, EGYPT |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Al-Buhayrah|website=britannica}}</ref>
Beheira consists of 13 marakez and 14 cities, and contains important industries such as cotton, chemicals, carpets, electricity, and fishing.
The governorate has a noteworthy number of archaeological sites, including at Abu El Matamir, Abu Hummus, Damanhour, Rosetta (Rashid), and Kafr El Dawwar.<ref name="Wilson 2009"> {{cite book |last1=Wilson|first1=Penelope|author-mask1=Wilson, Penelope |last2=Grigoropoulos|first2=Dimitris|year=2009|title=West Delta Regional Survey, Beheira and Kafr el-Sheikh provinces|url=http://community.dur.ac.uk/penelope.wilson/Delta/Survey.html |series=Excavation memoir |publisher=London : Egypt Exploration Society|publication-date=2009 |isbn=9780856981944 |oclc=690191661 }}</ref> Coins, lamps, animal bones, and pottery from Roman and later Eastern Roman (Byzantine) eras are some of the archaeological finds discovered at Kom El Giza, and Kom El Hamam in Beheira.<ref name="SCHEDIA PROJECT">{{cite web |last1=Bergmann |first1=Marianne |last2=Heinzelmann |first2=Michael |title=Schedia Project at Kom El Giza / Kom El Haman |url=http://archaeologie.uni-koeln.de/sites/archaeologie/Dokumente/personen/heinzelmann/publikationen/Bergmann_Heinzelmann_Schedia_2009.pdf |website=archaeologie.uni-koeln.de |publisher=University of Goettingen/Germany at Schedia}}</ref>
In 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi appointed the first female governor in the country's history, Nadia Ahmed Abdou, for Beheira Governorate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/02/egypt-appoint-first-female-governor-nadia-abdu-baheira.html|title=Egypt's first-ever female governor marches to a different drummer|date=2017-02-22|newspaper=Al-Monitor|access-date=2017-02-22|language=en-us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223003016/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/02/egypt-appoint-first-female-governor-nadia-abdu-baheira.html|archive-date=2017-02-23|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Municipal divisions== The governorate is divided into the following municipal divisions for administrative purposes, with a total estimated population as of January 2024 of [https://www.capmas.gov.eg/Pages/populationClock.aspx 6,992,742]. In some instances there is a markaz and a kism with the same name.<ref name="CAPMAS2023" />
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" |+ Municipal Divisions ! Anglicized name !! Native name !! Arabic transliteration !! Population<br /><small>(January 2023 Est.)</small>!! Type |- | Abu El Matamir || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز ابو المطامير}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Abū al-Maṭāmīr}} ||style="text-align:right;"|603,640 || Markaz |- | Abu Hummus || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز أبو حمص}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Abū Ḥummuṣ}} ||style="text-align:right;"|581,820 || Markaz |- | El Delengat || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز الدلنجات}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Ad-Dilinjāt}} ||style="text-align:right;"|400,570 || Markaz |- | Mahmoudiyah || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز المحمودية}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Al-Maḥmūdiyah}} ||style="text-align:right;"|305,974 || Markaz |- | Rahmaniya || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز الرحمانية}}|| {{Transliteration|ar|Ar-Raḥmāniyah}} ||style="text-align:right;"|176,315 || Markaz |- |Badr || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز بدر}}|| {{Transliteration|ar|Badr}} ||style="text-align:right;"|208,542 || Markaz |- | Damanhour || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|قسم دمنهور}}||{{Transliteration|ar| Damanhūr}}|| style="text-align:right;"|327,352 || Kism (fully urban) |- | Damanhour || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز دمنهور}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Damanhūr}} || style="text-align:right;"|586,244 || Markaz |- | West Nubariyah || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|قسم غرب النوبارية }}|| {{Transliteration|ar|Gharb an-Nūbāriyah}} || style="text-align:right;"|130,405 || Kism (urban and rural parts) |- | Hosh Essa || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز حوش عيسى}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Ḥawsh 'Īsā}} || style="text-align:right;"|339,556 || Markaz |- | Edku ||style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز إدكو}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Idkū}} || style="text-align:right;"|257,873 || Markaz |- | Itay El Barud || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز إيتاى البارود}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Ityāy al-Bārūd}} || style="text-align:right;"|476,197 || Markaz |- | Kafr El Dawwar || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|قسم كفر الدوار}}|| {{Transliteration|ar|Kafr ad-Dawwār}} || style="text-align:right;"|344,133 || Kism (urban and rural parts) |- | Kafr El Dawwar || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز كفر الدوار}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Kafr ad-Dawwār}} || style="text-align:right;"|749,595 || Markaz |- |Kom Hamada ||style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز كوم حمادة}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Kawm Ḥamādah}}|| style="text-align:right;"|496,752 || Markaz |- | Rosetta || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز رشيد}}|| {{Transliteration|ar|Rashīd}} || style="text-align:right;"|309,188 || Markaz |- | Shubrakhit || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز شبرا خيت}}|| {{Transliteration|ar|Shubrākhīt}} || style="text-align:right;"|302,429 || Markaz |- | Natrn Valley || style="text-align:right;"| {{lang|ar|مركز وادى النطرون}} || {{Transliteration|ar|Wadi an-Natrun}}|| style="text-align:right;"|90,576 || Markaz |}
==Population== According to population estimates, in 2024 the majority of residents in the governorate lived in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of only 19.5%. Out of an estimated 6,992,742 people residing in the governorate, 5,629,157 people lived in rural areas as opposed to only 1,363,585 in urban areas.<ref name="pop">{{cite web|title=Population Estimates By Sex & Governorate 1/1/2015|url=http://www.msrintranet.capmas.gov.eg/pdf/EgyptinFigures2015/EgyptinFigures/Tables/PDF/1-%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86/pop.pdf|website=CAPMAS|access-date=23 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019093240/http://www.msrintranet.capmas.gov.eg/pdf/EgyptinFigures2015/EgyptinFigures/Tables/PDF/1-%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86/pop.pdf|archive-date=2015-10-19|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Archaeology == IIn March 2026, archaeologists from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Ithe discovery of a 5th-century CE building at the Qalaye site in Hosh Issa, identified as a monastic guesthouse from the early period of Coptic monasticism. The structure, consisting of multiple rooms and functional spaces, was likely used to host visitors and monks, reflecting a transition from isolated ascetic practices to more organized, semi-communal religious life. Architectural features, including decorated elements and designated communal areas, provide valuable insights into the evolution of early monastic complexes and daily life within one of Egypt’s major monastic centers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Egypt uncovers 5th-century Coptic monastic guesthouse in Beheira - Coptic - Antiquities |url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/42/564482/Antiquities/Coptic/Egypt-uncovers-thcentury-Coptic-monastic-guesthous.aspx |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Ahram Online}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Egypt, 5th century A.D. building found linked to early phase of Coptic monastic life |url=https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/archaeology/egypt-5th-century-a-d-building-found-linked-to-early-phase-of-coptic-monastic-life |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=www.finestresullarte.info |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carvajal |first=Guillermo |date=2026-03-23 |title=Archaeological discovery from the 5th century in the Nile Delta: the second-largest monastic complex in the history of Egyptian Christianity |url=https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/03/archaeological-discovery-from-the-5th-century-in-the-nile-delta-the-second-largest-monastic-complex-in-the-history-of-egyptian-christianity/ |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=LBV Magazine English Edition |language=en}}</ref>
==Cities and towns== *Abu Hummus *Abu El Matamir *Damanhur *Edku *El Delengat * El Mahmoudiyah *El Rahmaniya *Itay El Barud *Hosh Essa *Kafr El Dawwar *Kom Hamada *Rosetta *Shubrakhit *Wadi El Natrun *El Nubaria
==Notable people== * Mahmud Shaltut, former Grand Imam of Al-Azhar * Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria, former Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark * Mohammed al-Ghazali, Islamic Scholar * Hassan Shehata, football manager * Karim Hafez, footballer
==Industrial zones== According to the Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), the following industrial zones are located in Beheira:<ref name="IndustrialZones">{{cite web |title=Industrial Zones of Governorate |url=http://www.gafi.gov.eg/English/StartaBusiness/InvestmentZones/Pages/Industrial-Zones.aspx |website=Ministry of Investment Egypt |access-date=23 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123201111/http://www.gafi.gov.eg/English/StartaBusiness/InvestmentZones/Pages/Industrial-Zones.aspx |archive-date=2018-11-23 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="sis.gov.eg" /> {| class="wikitable" |- !Zone name
|- |rowspan="1"|New El Nubaria Industrial Zone
|}
==Projects and programs== 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 Beheira Governorate.<ref name="SrvcProgram">{{cite web|title=Egypt: The Basic Village Services Program|url=https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDAAR029.pdf|website=USAID|access-date=19 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019144503/https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDAAR029.pdf|archive-date=2016-10-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2018 the governorate council discussed a campaign of mosquito control and animal control to avert the spread of preventable diseases.<ref name="2018 council mtg">{{cite news |last1=Qassam |first1=Hamdi |title=Secretary General discusses stray dogs and mosquitoes in the lake |url=https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/1344375 |work=Al Masry Al Youm |date=19 November 2018 |access-date=2018-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120011755/https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/1344375 |archive-date=2018-11-20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.elwatannews.com/subsection/159 El Watan News of Beheira Governorate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412051354/https://www.elwatannews.com/subsection/159 |date=2019-04-12 }}
{{Governorates of Egypt}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Beheira Governorate Category:Governorates of Egypt