Subdivisions of Egypt

Egypt is divided, for the purpose of public administration, according to a three-layer hierarchy and some districts are further subdivided, creating an occasional fourth layer. It has a centralized system of local government officially called local administration as it is a branch of the Executive.^[1]

The top-level of the hierarchy are 27 governorates (singular: محافظة muḥāfẓa, plural: محافظات muḥāfẓat).^[2] A governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt and serves at the president's discretion. Governors have the civilian rank of minister and report directly to the prime minister, who chairs the Board of Governors (maglis al-muhafzin) and meets with them on a regular basis.^[3]^[4] The Minister of Local Development coordinates the governors and their governorate's budgets.^[5]

The second-level, beneath and within governorates, are marakiz (singular: مركز markaz, plural: مراكز marakiz) or aqsam (singular: قسم qism, plural: أقسام aqsam). The third-level is composed of districts (singular: حي ḥay, plural: أحياء aḥya') and villages (singular: قرية qarya, plural: قرى qura). There is a governing structure at each of these levels.^[6]^[7] Districts may be further divided into sub-districts as a fourth level.

There are also seven economic regions used for planning purposes, defined by the General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP).

^ "Law 43/1979". The Official Gazette. 1979.
^ "Governorates of Egypt". ARE Presidency. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
^ "The Cabinet - Governors' Meetings". 2020-02-28. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
^ "Local Administration". State Information Service (SIS).
^ "About the Ministry". Ministry of Local Development. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
^ "Egypt: The Basic Village Services Program" (PDF). USAID. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
^ Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. (1990). Egypt: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1990. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.

[:1-1] "Law 43/1979". The Official Gazette. 1979.

[2] "Governorates of Egypt". ARE Presidency. Retrieved 2022-12-24.

[3] "The Cabinet - Governors' Meetings". 2020-02-28. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2022-12-23.

[:32-4] "Local Administration". State Information Service (SIS).

[5] "About the Ministry". Ministry of Local Development. Retrieved 2022-12-23.

[USAID-6] "Egypt: The Basic Village Services Program" (PDF). USAID. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.

[7] Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. (1990). Egypt: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1990. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.

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