The governorate is divided into the followingmunicipal divisions for administrative purposes with a total estimated population as of January 2023 of117,113.[2]
The governorate is an attractive destination for tourism due to its amazing and fascinating nature scenes; however, it has been the site of several terrorist attacks. In 1985,a mass murder occurred in theRas Burqa resort and killed 8 people (7 Israeli tourists and 1 Egyptian policeman). The2004 Sinai bombings that targeted tourist hotels in and aroundNuweiba killed 34 people and wounded over 170. In 2005,Sharm El Sheikh was hit bya terrorist attack. 88 people were killed, the majority of them Egyptians, and over 200 were wounded, at that time making it the deadliest terrorist action in the country's history (exceeding theLuxor massacre of 1997, which killed 62 people).[5] 2006 saw theDahab bombings, which killed 23 people and wounded 80.
TheSinai insurgency, although happening mainly in the neighboring North Sinai Governorate, occasionally spilled over to South Sinai. In February 2014,a tourist bus was attacked inTaba. The perpetrators killed the Egyptian bus driver and three South Korean tourists.
After 2014, The Egyptian government and the Egyptian army took firm actions to eliminate terrorism, and city is now safe.[citation needed]
According to population estimates, in 2024 the majority of residents in the governorate lived in urban areas, with an urbanization rate of 51.1%. Out of an estimated 117,113 people residing in the governorate, 59,845 people lived in urban areas as opposed to only 57,268 in rural areas.[6] TheBedouin inhabit theMount Sinai area. Due to poor accessibility, at times the orchards in the mountains have served to hide narcotics smugglers in the region.[7]
^ab"ﻋـــﺩﺩ ﺍﻟﺳﻛــﺎﻥ ﺍﻟﺗﻘﺩﻳﺭﻯ ﻟﻸﻗﺳــﺎﻡ" [Estimated population number of sections](PDF).www.capmas.gov.eg (in Arabic). 2023.Archived(PDF) from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved4 July 2023.
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