# Faiyum Governorate

29°21′48″N 30°44′45″E﻿ / ﻿29.36333°N 30.74583°E﻿ / 29.36333; 30.74583
Faiyum Governorate (Arabic: محافظة الفيوم Muḥāfāzah Al Fayyūm) is one of the governorates of Egypt in the middle of the country. Its capital is the city of Faiyum, located about 81 mi (130 km) south west of Cairo. It has a population of 3,848,708 (2020).

## Etymology

pA-y-m (Faiyum) in hieroglyphs :
The name Faiyum comes from Coptic ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ /Ⲡⲉⲓⲟⲙ efiom/peiom (whence the proper name Ⲡⲁⲓⲟⲙ payoum), meaning the Sea or the Lake, which in turn comes from late Egyptian pA y-m of the same meaning, a reference to the nearby Lake Moeris.

## Overview

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.

## Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into the following municipal divisions for administrative purposes, with a total estimated population as of January 2023 of 4,047,387. In some instances there is a markaz and a kism with the same name.
Municipal Divisions :
| Anglicized name | Native name | Arabic transliteration | Population (January 2023 Est.) | Type |
| Al Shawashna | مركز الشواشنة | Al-Shawashnah | 257,768 | Markaz |
| Faiyum | مركز الفيوم | Al-Fayyūm | 625,249 | Markaz |
| Faiyum 1 | قسم أول الفيوم | Al-Fayyūm 1 | 281,676 | Kism (fully urban) |
| Faiyum 2 | قسم ثان الفيوم | Al-Fayyūm 2 | 248,210 | Kism (fully urban) |
| Ibsheway | مركز إبشواى | Ibshawāy | 467,862 | Markaz |
| Itsa | مركز إطسا | Iṭsā | 797,962 | Markaz |
| New Faiyum | مدينة الفيوم الجديدة | Madīnat al-Fayyūm al-Jadīdah | 442 | New City |
| Sinnuris | مركز سنورس | Sinnūris | 714,085 | Markaz |
| Tamiya | مركز طامية | Ṭāmiyah | 502,444 | Markaz |
| Yousef El Seddik | مركز يوسف الصديق | Yūsuf aṣ-Ṣiddīq incl. Ash-Shawāshnah | 151,689 | Markaz |

## Geography

The governorate of Faiyum includes:
* The large fertile Faiyum Oasis, which comprises farmland, Lake Moeris, and some cities.
* South of the Faiyum Oasis, a smaller depression contains the town of El Gharaq el Sulţāni. It is also irrigated from the Nile.
* A dry barren depression named Wadi El Rayan, which covers 280 mi² (725 km²), west of the El Gharaq el Sulţāni depression.
* Desert and dry mountains, which mostly surround the depressions.

## Population

According to population estimates from 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate live in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of only 22.5%. Out of an estimated 3,170,150 people residing in the governorate, 2,456,368 people lived in rural areas and only 713,782 lived in urban areas.

## Industrial zones

According to the Egyptian Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), in affiliation with the Ministry of Investment (MOI), the following industrial zones are located in this governorate:
* Kom Oshim
* New Kom Oshim
* Kouta
* (New urban community industrial zone) New Fayoum

## Notable people

* Aly Lotfy Mahmoud
* Ahmed Fakhry
* Arafa El Sayed
* Fawzia Fahim
* Hamdi Abu Golayyel
* Pope John XVIII of Alexandria
* Magdy Atwa
* Mariam Fakhr Eddine
* Mohamed Abdelwahab
* Mohamed Ihab
* Saadia Gaon
* Sayed Abdel Hafeez
* Sayed Moawad
* Sabri Raheel
* Sufi Abu Taleb
* Tefta Tashko-Koço
* Youssef Wahbi
* Yousef Wali
* Zakariyya Ahmad