# Monufia Governorate

Monufia Governorate (Arabic: محافظة المنوفية Muḥāfaẓah Al Monofeya IPA:) is one of the governorates of Egypt. Monufia’s name was derived from the hieroglyphic word “Nafr”, which means “The Good Land”. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, to the south of Gharbia Governorate and to the north of Cairo. The governorate of Monufia is known for being the birthplace of four Egyptian presidents: Mohammad Anwar el-Sadat, Hosni Mubarak, Adly Mansour, and Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. The governorate is named after Menouf, an ancient city which was the capital of the governorate until 1826. The current governor (as of 2018) is Said Mohammed Mohammed Abbas.

## Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into municipal divisions, with a total estimated population as of January 2023 of 4,802,305. In some instances there is a markaz and a kism with the same name.
Municipal Divisions :
| Anglicized name | Native name | Arabic transliteration | Population (July 2017 Est.) | Type |
| El Bagour | مركز الباجور | Al-Bājūr | 436,371 | Markaz |
| Ashmoun | مركز أشمون | Ashmūn | 920,871 | Markaz |
| El Shohada | مركز الشهداء | Ash-Shuhadā' | 377,133 | Markaz |
| Birket el Sab | مركز بركة السبع | Birkat as-Sab' | 338,111 | Markaz |
| Sadat City | مركز و مدينة السادات | Madīnat as-Sādāt | 196,666 | Markaz |
| Menouf | قسم مدينة منوف | Minūf | 129,179 | Kism (fully urban) |
| Menouf | مركز منوف | Minūf | 475,641 | Markaz |
| Quweisna | مركز قويسنا | Quwaysinā | 537,968 | Markaz |
| Shibin el Kom | قسم شبين الكوم | Shibīn al-Kawm | 275,347 | Kism (fully urban) |
| Shibin el Kom | مركز شبين الكوم | Shibīn al-Kawm | 516,990 | Markaz |
| Sers El Lyan | قسم سرس الليان | Sirs al-Layyānah | 80,327 | Kism (fully urban) |
| Tala | مركز تلا | Talā | 422,980 | Markaz |

## Population

According to population estimates in 2015, the majority of residents in the governorate lived in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of only 20.6%. Out of an estimated 3,941,293 people residing in the governorate, 3,128,460 people lived in rural areas as opposed to only 812,833 in urban areas.

## Cities

The capital of the Monufia Governorate is the city of Shibin El Kom. The main cities of the governorate are Quesna, Tala, Bagour, Menouf, Ashmoun and Sers El Lyan. It is mainly an agricultural governorate.
* Shibin El Kom
* Menouf
* Ashmoun
* Sers El Lyan
* Tala
* El Bagour
* El Shohada
* Sadat City
* Quesna
* Birket El Sab
* Shanawan

## 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 Monufia:
* Mubarak Industrial Zone
* Sadat City Industrial Zone

## History

In 1826, Mohammed Ali transferred the capital of Monufia from Menouf to Shibin El Kom as the latter fell exactly in the center of the governorate. Other than Shibin El Kom, the governorate had four other administrative divisions which are Quesna, Tala, Menouf and Talawy. In 1942, El Shohada became a new administrative division and included parts from Shibin El Kom and Tala. In 1947, Bagour was created to encompass regions from Menouf, Talawy, Quesna and Shibin El Kom. In 1955, five villages were taken from Tala and redistributed to Tanta. In 1960, Berket El Sabe'e (Lake of the Lion) was established and consisted of former towns and villages of Tala, Quesna and Shibin El Kom. In 1975, Sers El Lyan became a city rather than a village after it was separated from Menouf. In 1991, Sadat City was annexed to Monufia, being its only region west of the Rosetta branch. In the final round of the 2012 Egyptian presidential election, Monufia had the highest voter turnout rate of all governorates (61.5%) as well as the most overwhelming support for candidate Ahmed Shafik (71.5%).

## Agriculture

The governorate is famous for the production of crops like cotton, maize and wheat as well as vegetable crops such as potatoes and green beans of which a large part is exported. Agricultural land is irrigated with water from the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile. Agriculture is generally the main activity of the population due to the fertile land in the Nile Delta.

## Stereotypes

Menoufis are the subject of numerous stereotypes among other Egyptians, with the most popular one being about how greedy they are. The reason for this particular stereotype is because of a story since the Mamluk Sultanate. During the Mamluk dynasty, a Mamluk killed someone, however the crime was witnessed by a Menoufi man, the Mamluk went to the Menoufi and fed him all kinds of meat and the best food ever, all the man had to do was bear false witness in front of the judge. On the day of judgement, the Menoufi told the truth to the judge and the Mamluk man was sentenced to jail, after that case, the phrase “المنوفي لا يوفي” (The Menoufi is not loyal) became popular.

## Notable residents

* St. Pishoy
* Anwar Sadat (1918–1981)
* Hosni Mubarak (1928–2020).
* Omar Fayed (b. 2003), Fenerbahçe football player
* Naguib El-Helaly Gohar (1944–2015), professor and university president

## Projects

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 the Monufia Governorate.
In 2018, the National Agricultural Animal Health Services (NAAHS) was formed by the Ministry of Agriculture in order to care for the rising number of infected horses and donkeys in the Shibin El-Kom area. This was sparked by the tragedy.
Menoufia University is one of the most important educational institutions in the governorate. It was established by a presidential decree in 1976.