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Updates: 

On 2015/04/24, Ahram Online reported that President El-Sisi has canceled Egypt's daylight saving time. On 2016/04/28, Ahram Online reported that Egypt's daylight saving time was reinstated, at least for 2016.

Sorin Cosoveanu notified me that Egypt created three new governorates on 2014-08-17. Central Sinai is being formed from parts of South Sinai and North Sinai. Al-Alamein is splitting from Matruh. The third is Al-Wahhat Al-Bahariya, also known as Wahat or Oases; from the maps I've seen, it appears to be formed from parts of Al Jizah and Al Wadi al Jadid. (Note that there was a governorate called Bahariya Oases in 1947. It's the name of a landform, whether or not it's an administrative division.) At the same time, there are many territorial adjustments to the other governorates. The smaller governorates will acquire desert land from the large, sparsely populated ones. In theory, this will allow the small ones to move their surplus population outward and release arable land for cultivation. Confirmation is provided by source [10].

Looking further ahead, the government envisages the creation of governorates called 10 Ramadan and 26 January in the vicinity of Cairo. Recalling the brief career of Helwan and Sixth of October, I wonder whether these changes will remain in effect.

Egypt stopped observing daylight saving time from 2010 to 2013, but it is resuming it in 2014.

Update 6 to "Geopolitical Entities and Codes" was dated 2011-11-30. For Egypt, it rescinded the FIPS codes that had been assigned to Helwan and Sixth of October governorates. ISO 3166-2 deleted the same governorates on 2014-10-29.

Update 1 to the U.S. standard "Geopolitical Entities and Codes" is dated 2010-08-20. It assigns FIPS codes to the three newest governorates, Al Uqsur, Helwan, and Sixth of October. Newsletter II-2, an update to the ISO 3166-2 standard, is dated 2010-06-30. It assigns ISO codes to Helwan and Sixth of October governorates.

ISO 3166-2 has come out in a second edition, dated 2007-12-15. This contains the ISO code for Luxor, as shown below.

Country overview: 

Short name	EGYPT
ISO code	EG
FIPS code	EG
Language	Arabic (ar)
Time zone	+2~
Capital	Cairo

 

Egypt had been part of the Ottoman Empire before 1879. The British military occupied it in 1882, setting up a government subservient to British interests, although it remained technically a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. On 1914-11-18, Great Britain declared Egypt to be its protectorate. After World War I, with Turkey defeated, Egypt was granted a large measure of independence, effective as of 1922-02-28. A constitutional monarchy was established. In 1952, the monarchy fell to a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser's government formed a union with Syria, the United Arab Republic (U.A.R.), on 1958-02-01. Egypt and Syria became regions of the U.A.R. Syria withdrew from the union on 1961-09-29. Egypt continued to call itself the U.A.R. until 1971-09-01. On that date, a loose federation was formed, the Federation of Arab Republics, comprising Egypt, Syria, and Libya. Egypt's official name became the Arab Republic of Egypt. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula up to the banks of the Suez Canal, later withdrawing to a cease-fire line a few kilometers to the east. The canal remained closed from 1967 to 1975. The Sinai was restored to Egypt in stages by the terms of the peace treaty negotiated at Camp David and signed on 1979-03-26.

Other names of country: 

1. Arabic: Misr, Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiya (formal)
2. Danish: Egypten, Ægypten, Egypten
3. Dutch: Egypte, Arabische Republiek Egypte (formal)
4. English: Arab Republic of Egypt (formal), United Arab Republic (obsolete)
5. Finnish: Egypti
6. French: Égypte f
7. German: Ägypten n
8. Icelandic: Egiptaland
9. Italian: Egitto m
10. Norwegian: Den arabiske republikk Egypt (formal) (Bokmål), Den arabiske republikken Egypt (formal) (Nynorsk), Egypt
11. Portuguese: Egipto, Egito (Brazil), República f Árabe do Egipto m (formal)
12. Russian: Арабская Республика Египет (formal)
13. Spanish: Egipto, República f Árabe de Egipto m (formal)
14. Swedish: Egypten
15. Turkish: Mısır Arap Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Ancient Greek Aigyptios, from Egyptian hut-ka-ptah: castle of the soul of Ptah

Primary subdivisions: 

Egypt is divided into 27 muhāfazāt (governorates).

Governorate	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Reg	PC	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital
Ad Daqahlīyah	EG.DQ	DK	EG01	L	44	4,985,187	3,471	1,340	Al Mansūrah
Al Bahr al Ahmar	EG.BA	BA	EG02	D	84	288,233	203,685	78,643	Al Ghurdaqah
Al Buhayrah	EG.BH	BH	EG03	L	22	4,737,129	10,129	3,911	Damanhūr
Al Fayyūm	EG.FY	FYM	EG04	U	63	2,512,792	1,827	705	Al Fayyūm
Al Gharbīyah	EG.GH	GH	EG05	L	31	4,010,298	1,942	750	Tantā
Al Iskandarīyah	EG.IK	ALX	EG06	C	21,23	4,110,015	2,679	1,035	Al Iskandarīyah
Al Ismā`īlīyah	EG.IS	IS	EG07	L	41	942,832	1,442	557	Al Ismā`īlīyah
Al Jīzah	EG.JZ	GZ	EG08	U	12	6,272,571	85,105	32,859	Al Jīzah
Al Minūfīyah	EG.MF	MNF	EG09	L	32	3,270,404	1,532	592	Shibīn al Kawm
Al Minyā	EG.MN	MN	EG10	U	61	4,179,309	2,262	873	Al Minyā
Al Qāhirah	EG.QH	C	EG11	C	11	7,786,640	214	83	Al Qāhirah
Al Qalyūbīyah	EG.QL	KB	EG12	L	13	4,237,003	1,001	387	Banhā
Al Uqsur	EG.UQ	LX	EG28	C	83	451,318	55	21	Al Uqsur
Al Wādī al Jadīd	EG.WJ	WAD	EG13	D	72	187,256	376,505	145,369	Al Khārijah
Ash Sharqīyah	EG.SQ	SHR	EG14	L	35	5,340,058	4,180	1,614	Az Zaqāzīq
As Suways	EG.SW	SUZ	EG15	C	43	510,935	17,840	6,888	As Suways
Aswān	EG.AN	ASN	EG16	U	81	1,184,432	679	262	Aswān
Asyūt	EG.AT	AST	EG17	U	71	3,441,597	1,553	600	Asyūt
Banī Suwayf	EG.BN	BNS	EG18	U	62	2,290,527	1,322	510	Banī Suwayf
Būr Sa`īd	EG.BS	PTS	EG19	C	42	570,768	72	28	Būr Sa`īd
Dumyāt	EG.DT	DT	EG20	L	34	1,092,316	589	227	Dumyāt
Janūb Sīnā'	EG.JS	JS	EG26	D	46	149,335	33,140	12,795	At Tur
Kafr ash Shaykh	EG.KS	KFS	EG21	L	33	2,618,111	3,437	1,327	Kafr ash Shaykh
Matrūh	EG.MT	MT	EG22	D	51	322,341	212,112	81,897	Marsa Matrūh
Qinā	EG.QN	KN	EG23	U	83	3,001,494	1,796	693	Qina
Shamal Sīnā'	EG.SS	SIN	EG27	D	45	339,752	27,574	10,646	Al `Arish
Sūhāj	EG.SJ	SHG	EG24	U	82	3,746,377	1,547	597	Suhaj
27 governorates						72,579,030	997,690	385,210
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Reg: These have been called regions, but they are actually classes of governorate. C: (City) urban governorates D: (Desert) frontier governorates L: Governorates of Lower (downstream) Egypt U: Governorates of Upper Egypt PC: Egypt uses five-digit postal codes. The first two digits indicate the governorate. Population: 2006-11-11 census (source [3]).

Further subdivisions:

See the Markazes of Egypt page.

Egypt's subdivisions at the secondary level include markazes and kisms. The markazes are more rural than the kisms. Some small areas in port cities are under the separate jurisdiction of a police department. There are also territories, mostly desert, that are not in any of those subdivisions.

Territorial extent: 

Egypt ceded two sparsely inhabited areas to Libya in 1919 and 1926. These cessions left the border in its modern position, following the meridian of 25° East quite closely.

The legal boundary between Egypt and Sudan follows the parallel of 22° North, except for a small jog where the Nile crosses it. At the Nile, Sudan owns territory north of that parallel, mostly inundated by Lake Nasser. However, near the Red Sea, the administrative boundary deviates from the legal boundary. There is a small region in Sudan, south of 22°, administered by Egypt, and a larger area in Egypt, north of the parallel, administered by Sudan.

Egypt owns some islands in the Red Sea. They belong to Al Bahr al Ahmar governorate. The largest of them include Jazīrat Shākir and Jazīrat Zabarjad.

The UN LOCODE page  for Egypt lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. Al Fayyūm: from Coptic Fiom: the lake
2. Al Gharbīyah: Arabic for Western
3. Al Iskandarīyah: founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.
4. Al Ismā`īlīyah: named for Ismail Pasha (1830-1895), viceroy of Egypt during the building of the Suez Canal
5. Al Jīzah: Egyptian er-ges-her: beside the great pyramid
6. Al Qāhirah: Arabic for the victorious one, an epithet of the planet Mars, which was in the ascendant when construction began on 969-07-06
7. Ash Sharqīyah: Arabic for Eastern
8. As Suways: after a nearby spring, Bīr Suweis
9. Aswān: Ancient Egyptian suanit: market
10. Asyūt: Ancient Egyptian syawt: guardian
11. Būr Sa`īd: Arabic for Port Said, which was named for Mohammed Said Pasha, viceroy of Egypt when work began on the Suez Canal

Change history: 

There have been numerous border adjustments. Typically, one of the smaller governorates annexes adjacent territory from a frontier governorate.

According to source [6], the divisions of Egypt in 1913 were as follows. El-Arish is in what is now Shamal Sīnā' (North Sinai).

Name	Typ	Population	Area(km.²)
Alexandria	G	332,246	49
Assiut	U	903,335	1,989
Aswan	U	232,813	438
Behera	L	798,473	4,468
Beni-Suef	U	372,412	1,062
Cairo	G	654,476	111
Daqahlia	L	912,428	2,634
El-Arish	G	5,897
Fayum	U	441,583	1,733
Gharbia	L	1,484,814	6,563
Girga	U	792,971	1,489
Gizeh	U	460,080	1,031
Ismailia	G	11,448	4
Kena	U	772,492	1,683
Menufia	L	970,581	1,572
Minia	U	659,967	1,948
Port Said	G	49,884	4
Qaliubia	L	434,575	925
Sharqia	L	879,646	3,403
Sinai	G	1,510
Suez	G	18,347	8
Total		11,189,978	31,114
Typ: G = (urban) governorate; L = governorate of Lower Egypt; U = governorate of Upper Egypt. Population: 1907 census. Area: excludes desert areas.

 

By the time of the 1947 census, the divisions were as follows (sources [8], [9], and others). Bahariya Oases seems to have come and gone over the span of a few years. When it was eliminated, it became part of Giza.

Name	Typ	Pop-47	Pop-37	Area(km.²)	Capital
Alexandria	C	919,024	682,101	75	Alexandria
Aswan	U	290,842	305,195	940	Aswan
Asyut	U	1,374,454	1,203,906	2103	Asyut
Bahariya Oases	D	6,678
Beheira	L	1,244,495	1,060,882	4,452	Damanhur
Beni Suef	U	612,027	561,239	1096	Beni Suef
Cairo	C	2,090,654	1,307,422	161	Cairo
Canal	C	245,932	161,804	104
Damietta	C	53,631	40,259	3	Damietta
Daqahliya	L	1,413,905	1,215,663	2,650	Mansura
Faiyum	U	669,696	601,901	1735	Faiyum
Gharbiya	L	2,327,031	1,963,654	7,299	Tanta
Girga	U	1,283,468	1,117,898	1577	Sohag
Giza	U	818,168	682,174	1059	Giza
Minufiya	L	1,165,015	1,157,433	1611	Shibin el-Kom
Minya	U	1,044,201	928,319	2025	Minya
Qalyubiya	L	693,908	607,304	953	Benha
Qena	U	1,106,302	1,016,753	1826	Qena
Red Sea	D	15,929	9,906	62
Sharqiya	L	1,345,829	1,119,456	5,006	Zagazig
Sinai	D	37,670	29,951	91
Southern Desert	D	32,503	29,092	122
Suez	C	107,244	49,669	18	Suez
Western Desert	D	68,161	52,544	189
Total		18,966,767	15,904,525	956,809
Typ: D = frontier district; G = (urban) governorate; L = province of Lower Egypt; U = province of Upper Egypt. Pop-47: 1947-03-26 census. Pop-37: 1937 census.

1. ~1950: Kafr ash Shaykh governorate split from Gharbiya. Canal governorate split into Ismailia, Port Fuad, Port Suez, and Western-Qantara governorates (source [7]).
2. ~1960: Capital of Girga governorate moved from Girga to Sūhāj, and name changed to match.
3. 1980s: Several sources show a governorate named At Tahrīr (Liberation), capital Nasr. This governorate was apparently swallowed up by the growth of the governorates of Al Iskandarīyah and Al Buhayrah.
4. ~1984: Sīnā' governorate split into Janūb Sīnā' (South) and Shamal Sīnā' (North).
5. ~1987: Name of Marsā Matrūh governorate, and its capital, changed to Matrūh.
6. 2008-04-17: By decree of President Hosni Mubarak, Helwan governorate split from Al Qāhirah; Sixth of October governorate split from Al Jīzah. According to source [4], "The final borders of Helwan, Fayoum, Beni Sweif, Minya, and Sixth of October governorates will be fixed by the beginning of May [2008]...."
7. 2009-12-07: Luxor governorate officially split from Qina by Hosni Mubarak. I saw evidence as early as 2001-08-10 that this split had occurred, but apparently it was misleading.
8. 2011-04-12: By Supreme Council of Armed Forces decree no. 63, Helwan governorate merged with Al Qāhirah, and Sixth of October governorate merged with Al Jīzah, reversing the changes of 2008-04-17. During their brief existence, Helwan had HASC code EG.HW, ISO HU, FIPS EG30, and capital Helwan; Sixth of October had the respective codes EG.SO, SU, EG29, and its capital was Sixth of October City.
9. 2014-08-17: Central Sinai governorate formed from parts of South Sinai and North Sinai. Al-Alamein governorate split from Matruh. Al-Wahhat Al-Bahariya governorate, also known as Wahat or Oases, formed from parts of Al Jīzah and Al Wadi al Jadid (tentative). Other governorates transferred territory to their neighbors. These changes are not yet shown in the table.

Other names of subdivisions: 

Spelling notes:
Place names are officially written in Arabic script. Some names may be translated, but most are transliterated or transcribed into the Roman alphabet. There are many possible methods of transliteration. Some of this variety is shown in the table of variant names.
The initial elements Ad, Al, As, Ash, At, and Az are articles. Sometimes, especially in older sources, they are spelled Ed, El, Es, and so on. Sometimes they are connected to the following word with hyphens. Some sources omit them entirely.
I have not attempted to reproduce the "dot below" diacritical mark that modifies some h's, s's, and t's. The ayn is shown as a back apostrophe (`), and the hamza as an apostrophe (').

1. Ad Daqahlīyah: Dacahlia, Dagahlia, Dakahlieh, Dakahliya, Dakalieh, Daqahlīya (variant); Dakahlia, Dekahlia (Anglicized)
2. Al Bahr al Ahmar: Mar Rojo (Spanish); Mar Rosso (Italian); Mar Vermelho (Portuguese); Mer Rouge (French); Red Sea (Anglicized); Röda havet (Swedish); Rødehavet (Norwegian); Rotes Meer (German)
3. Al Buhayrah: Beheira, Behera (Anglicized); El Buhayra (variant); Béhéra (French)
4. Al Fayyūm: El Faiyum, el Fayoum, Faium, Faiyūm, Fayum (variant); Fayoum, Fayyum (Anglicized)
5. Al Gharbīyah: al-Garbīyah, Al Gharbya, El Gharbiya, Garbia, Gharbieh, Gharbīya (variant); Gharbia (Anglicized)
6. Al Iskandarīyah: Alejandría (Spanish); Alessandria (Italian); Alexandria (Anglicized); Alexandrie (French); El Iskandariya (variant)
7. Al Ismā`īlīyah: Ismailia (Anglicized); Ismaïlia (French); Isma'iliya (variant)
8. Al Jīzah: El Giza, El Gīzah, Gizeh (variant); Giza (Anglicized); Guizèh (French)
9. Al Minūfīyah: Menoufieh, Menufia, Menūfīya, Minūfīya, Munufia (variant); Menoufia, Minufia, Monofiya (Anglicized)
10. Al Minyā: Minia, Minieh (variant); Menia, Minya (Anglicized)
11. Al Qāhirah: Cairo (English, Portuguese); El Cairo (Spanish); El Qahira (variant); Il Cairo (Italian); Kairo (Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish); Le Caire (French); Каир (Russian)
12. Al Qalyūbīyah: Caliubia, Kalioubieh, Kalioubiya, Qaliyubia, Qalyubiya (variant); Kalyobiya, Kalyoubia, Kalyubia (Anglicized)
13. Al Uqsur: Al-Qusur, Al-Uqsor (variant); Luxor, Luxur City (Anglicized)
14. Al Wādī al Jadīd: El-Wadi El-Gidid (variant); New Valley (Anglicized); Novo Vale (Portuguese); Ouādi El Guedīd (French); Southern Desert (obsolete)
15. Ash Sharqīyah: Charkieh, Sharqia, Sharqīya, Sharquia (variant); Sharkia, Sharqeia (Anglicized)
16. As Suways: El Suweiz, Es Suweis (variant); Suez (Anglicized)
17. Aswān: Assouan (French); Assuã (Portuguese); Assuan (Italian, Norwegian); Assuán (Spanish); Aswan (Anglicized); Syene (ancient)
18. Asyūt: Assiout (French); Assiut, Assyut (variant); Asyout, Asyut (Anglicized)
19. Banī Suwayf: Bani Souwaif, Beni Suef (Anglicized); Beni Souef (French)
20. Būr Sa`īd: Canal (obsolete); Port Said (Anglicized); Port-Saïd (French)
21. Dumyāt: Damietta (Anglicized, Italian); Damiette (French); Dumiāt (variant)
22. Janūb Sīnā': Sina al-Janubiyah, Sina' al-Janūbīyah, Sinai al Janūbīa (variant); South Sinai (Anglicized); Sud Sinaï (French)
23. Kafr ash Shaykh: Kafr ash Shaikh, Kafr ash-Shayk, Kafr el Sheik (variant); Kafr el Sheikh (Anglicized)
24. Matrūh: Marsā Matrūh, Mersa Matruh, Western Desert (obsolete); Matrouh (Anglicized, French)
25. Qinā: Kena, Qena (Anglicized); Quena (variant)
26. Shamal Sīnā': Nord Sinaï (French); North Sinai (Anglicized); Sina ash-Shamālīyah, Sinai ash Shamālīya (variant)
27. Sūhāj: Girga, Girgeh (obsolete); Sawhāj, Sohag (variant); Suhag (Anglicized)

Population history:

Governorate	1937	1947-03-26	1957	1966-05-30	1976-11-22	1986-11-17	1996-11-18	2006-11-21
Ad Daqahlīyah	1,218,502	1,413,905	1,849,000	2,285,000	2,732,756	3,500,470	4,223,655	4,985,187
Al Bahr al Ahmar	9,914	15,929	N/A	38,000	56,191	90,491	155,695	288,233
Al Buhayrah	1,061,596	1,244,495	1,484,000	1,979,000	2,517,292	3,257,168	3,981,209	4,737,129
Al Fayyūm	602,122	669,696	765,000	935,000	1,140,245	1,544,047	1,989,881	2,512,792
Al Gharbīyah	1,967,894	2,327,031	1,567,000	1,901,000	2,294,303	2,870,960	3,404,827	4,010,298
Al Iskandarīyah	685,736	919,024	1,290,000	1,801,000	2,318,655	2,917,327	3,328,196	4,110,015
Al Ismā`īlīyah				345,000	351,889	544,427	715,009	942,832
Al Jīzah	685,331	818,168	1,117,000	1,650,000	2,419,247	3,700,054	4,779,865	6,272,571
Al Minūfīyah	1,159,701	1,165,015	1,260,000	1,458,000	1,710,982	2,227,087	2,758,499	3,270,404
Al Minyā	928,259	1,044,201	1,476,000	1,706,000	2,055,739	2,648,043	3,308,875	4,179,309
Al Qāhirah	1,312,096	2,090,654	1,726,000	4,220,000	5,084,463	6,052,836	6,789,479	7,786,640
Al Qalyūbīyah	610,157	693,908	758,000	1,212,000	1,674,006	2,514,244	3,302,860	4,237,003
Al Uqsur							360,503	451,318
Al Wādī al Jadīd	29,109	32,503	N/A	59,000	84,645	113,838	141,737	187,256
Ash Sharqīyah	1,120,826	1,345,829	1,635,000	2,108,000	2,621,208	3,420,119	4,287,848	5,340,058
As Suways	49,686	107,244	163,000	264,000	194,001	326,820	417,610	510,935
Aswān	305,096	290,842	340,000	521,000	619,932	801,408	973,671	1,184,432
Asyūt	1,205,321	1,374,454	1,203,000	1,418,000	1,695,378	2,223,034	2,802,185	3,441,597
Banī Suwayf	561,312	612,027	793,000	928,000	1,108,615	1,442,981	1,860,180	2,290,527
Būr Sa`īd	161,146	245,932	416,000	283,000	262,620	399,793	469,533	570,768
Dumyāt	40,332	53,631	333,000	432,000	557,115	741,264	914,614	1,092,316
Janūb Sīnā'						28,988	54,495	149,335
Kafr ash Shaykh			832,000	1,118,000	1,403,468	1,800,129	2,222,920	2,618,111
Matrūh	52,576	74,839	N/A	124,000	112,772	160,567	211,866	322,341
Qinā	1,017,569	1,106,302	1,219,000	1,471,000	1,705,594	2,252,315	2,441,420	3,001,494
Shamal Sīnā'	18,011	37,670	N/A	131,000	10,104	171,505	252,750	339,752
Sūhāj	1,118,402	1,283,468	1,449,000	1,689,000	1,924,960	2,455,134	3,123,000	3,746,377
Totals	15,920,694	18,966,767	21,675,000	30,076,000	36,656,180	48,205,049	59,272,382	72,579,030

 

The 1966 census is described as a "sample census".

Sources: 

1. [1] Recensements Africains, 1^ere partie, Monographes Méthodologiques, suite. Groupe de Travail de Démographie Africaine, Paris, 1981.
2. [2] Statistical Year Book, Arab Republic of Egypt 1952-1993. 1994.
3. [3] Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics  (CAPMAS). This site has figures for the 1996 population which differ slightly from those shown under Population history; the total population of Egypt differs by 4,290, less than 0.01%.
4. [4] Al-Ahram Weekly On-line , Issue No. 894, 2008-04-24 describes the creation of Helwan and Sixth of October governorates (retrieved 2008-04-19).
5. [5] Ahram Online  describes the revocation of Helwan and Sixth of October governorates (dated 2011-04-14, retrieved 2011-09-03).
6. [6] Keltie, J. Scott, ed. The Statesman's Year-Book 1913. Macmillan, London, 1913.
7. [7] Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, 1957 edition.
8. [8] Demographic Yearbook , 7th Ed. Statistical Office of the United Nations, New York, 1955 (retrieved 2011-08-20).
9. [9] Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, 1951 edition.
10. [10] Sisi reviews plan for governorates new demarcation , dated 2014-08-19, and Sisi holds meeting on governorate demarcation , dated 2014-09-01. State Information Service (retrieved 2014-10-07).