Comprising roughly half of Egypt's area, this governorate is the country's largest and most sparsely populated, and one of thelargest country subdivisions in the world. The capital isKharga. New Valley Governorate is named after theNew Valley Project, which aims to irrigate parts of the Western Desert.
The governorate is divided intomunicipal divisions with a total estimated population, as of January 2024, at270,854. In the case of New Valley governorate, there is one kism with urban and rural parts, and fourmarakiz.[2]
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.[6][7] In 2018 the population was 245,000, with an urbanization rate of 46.7%.[8]
New Valley has a number of cities, towns and oases. As of 2018,Kharga Oasis, andDakhla Oasis were the two places in New Valley with a population of over 15,000.Farafra Oasis andBaris Oasis are also in New Valley.[9]
According to the Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), the following industrial zones are located in the New Valley Governorate:[10]
Zone name
Dakhla Industrial Zone in Mout
El Dakhla
Kharga Industrial Zone
Wadi Waer West
New Valley also contains some farming areas created by the New Valley project, likeSharq El Owainat.
Violent clashes were reported in the New Valley Governorate on February 8–9, 2011 as part of the2011 Egyptian revolution. Protesters set fire to police stations and theNational 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.[11][12]
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 theJuly 2013 ousting of Egyptian presidentMohamed Morsi and the second at the same checkpoint in less than three months.
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