tion from all parts of the country was directed towards Cairo and Alexandria.
The Suez Canal Zone has not received any greater numbers of migrants from
rural areas, although the government has been trying to upgrade the war-
ridden region as an economic pole within the country, for which it possesses
an excellent infrastructure. During the thirty years from 1966 to 1996 the
proportion of inhabitants of the three governorates of Port Said, Ismailiya
and Suez as a percentage of the total population of Egypt declined from 3 per
cent to 2.7 per cent. On the other hand the fast-growing tourist industry in the
governorates of South Sinai, Red Sea and Marsa Matruh has been attracting
migrant labourers and caused a growth in the population there of about 58
per cent in the ten years between 1986 and 1996. However, the total population
of these three governorates amounted to only 424,000 persons in 1996. The
only governorate of Upper Egypt that was able to strike a balance between
emigration and immigration was Aswan, by virtue of the construction of
the High Dam and subsequent industrial development as well as flourishing
tourism through which jobs were created. In general, however, Upper Egypt
is the traditional emigration area, where apart from agriculture employment
opportunities are limited.