New Valley (or El Wadi El Gedid ( , )) is a governorate of Egypt. It is in the southwestern part of the country, in the south of Egypt

Western Desert In Egypt, the Western Desert is an area of the Sahara that lies west of the river Nile, up to the Libyan border, and south from the Mediterranean Sea to the border with Sudan. It is named in contrast to the Eastern Desert which extends east fro ...

(part of the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

), between the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, northern

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, and southeastern

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Comprising roughly half of Egypt's area, this governorate is the country's largest and most sparsely populated, and one of the largest country subdivisions in the world. The capital is

Kharga The Kharga Oasis ( , ) ; , "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's five western oases. It is located in the Western Desert, about 200 km (125 miles) to the west of the Nile valley. "Kharga" or "El Kharga" is ...

. New Valley Governorate is named after the

New Valley Project The New Valley Project or Toshka Project consists of building a system of canals to carry water from Lake Nasser to irrigate part of the sandy wastes of the Western Desert of Egypt, which is part of the Sahara Desert. History In 1997, the Egypt ...

, which aims to irrigate parts of the Western Desert.

Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into municipal divisions with a total estimated population, as of January 2024, a
270,854
In the case of New Valley governorate, there is one kism with urban and rural parts, and four

marakiz Markaz (, ), or the equivalent term in Persian, is a second-level administrative division found in Asia and Africa. Examples include: * Markazes of Egypt, below Governorates of Egypt * Markaz in Saudi Arabia, below Governorates of Saudi Arabia * T ...

. In an effort to decentralize the administration of Kharga, it was divided into four sections effective 19 June 2018.

Population

According to population estimates, in 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate lived in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of only 48.0%. Out of an estimated 225,416 people residing in the governorate, 117,180 people lived in rural areas and only 108,236 lived in urban areas. In 2018 the population was 245,000, with an urbanization rate of 46.7%.

Cities, towns, oases

New Valley has a number of cities, towns and oases. As of 2018,

Kharga Oasis The Kharga Oasis ( , ) ; , "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's five western oases. It is located in the Western Desert, about 200 km (125 miles) to the west of the Nile valley. "Kharga" or "El Kharga" is ...

, and

Dakhla Oasis Dakhla Oasis or Dakhleh Oasis ( Egyptian Arabic: , , "''the inner oases"''), is one of the seven oases of Egypt's Western Desert. Dakhla Oasis lies in the New Valley Governorate, 350 km (220 mi.) from the Nile and between the oases ...

were the two places in New Valley with a population of over 15,000.

Farafra Oasis The Farafra depression (, ) is a geological depression, the second biggest by size in Western Egypt and the smallest by population, near latitude 27.06° north and longitude 27.97° east. It is in the large Western Desert of Egypt, approximately ...

and

Baris Oasis Baris () is a town in Egypt. It contains the ancient Egyptian temple of Dosh. It is south of the New Valley Governorate, from the Kharga Oasis The Kharga Oasis ( , ) ; , "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's f ...

are also in New Valley.

Industrial zones

According to the Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), the following industrial zones are located in the New Valley Governorate: New Valley also contains some farming areas created by the New Valley project, like

Sharq El Owainat Sharq El Owainat, or East Oweinat is a 110,000 acre desert land reclamation project that started in 1991, in the New Valley Governorate, Egypt. It is in a remote location in the Western Desert in the extreme south-west of the country, east of Ow ...

History

2011 Egyptian revolution

Violent clashes were reported in the New Valley Governorate on February 8–9, 2011 as part of the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...

. Protesters set fire to police stations and the National Democratic Party building. Multiple deaths were reported in addition to hundreds of injuries amid claims that the police opened fire on protesters in Kharga Oasis with live ammunition.

2014 Farafra ambush

On 19 July 2014, unidentified gunmen ambushed a desert checkpoint by the Farafra Oasis Road in New Valley Governorate. Twenty-two border guards were killed in the attack, which was one of the biggest since the July 2013 ousting of Egyptian president

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 dates Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activit ...

* Tourism and safaris * Agricultural activities (around oases)

References

External links

El Watan News of New Valley Governorate
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Valley Governorate Governorates of Egypt