Zagazig is a city and the capital of Sharqia governorate. It is on the eastern side of the Nile Delta, 80 kilometers north-east of Cairo and located next to Bahr Mouris Canal. It is one of Egypt’s largest cities.  It was constructed after Muhammad Ali Pasha gave orders to dig new canals and widen the existing irrigation and drainage canals in Sharqia administration in order to increase its area.  This led to an increase in tax revenues, and the population also increased. Zagazig administratively became the capital of the directorate in 1883.

After Bilbeis had been the biggest directorate city, the directorate divan and government offices were moved from it and the employees worked in temporarily prepared offices. Since then the city was officially named Zagazig.

The Sharqia administration decided to divide the governorate into two cities, 75 main villages, 64 dependent villages, and 353 sub-villages. The two cities in the administration are Zagazig, the capital, and Kanayat, which became a city by Ministerial Decision No. 45 on 11 April 1979. The city of Zagazig is divided into two districts.

Basta Hill is 3 kilometers southeast of Zagazig. It contains the ruins of Bobastis City, which was full of inhabitants at the time of the 22nd Dynasty. Haria Museum is located in Haria Rozna, 5 kilometers from Zagazig, and was established to commemorate the stand of Ahmed Arabi against Khedive Tewfiq during the Arabi Revolution. Zagazig includes 11 local rural units, 74 main villages, and 323 manors and hamlets.