Egypt at its true size
Egypt covers 1,010,408 km², number 29 of 194 countries by area. Home to 118,365,995 people (2025). Sitting near the equator, it is one of the few places Mercator gets almost right.
Equal-area projection · Natural Earth 50m
| Area | 1,010,408 km² Wikidata |
|---|---|
| Population | 118,365,995 World Bank, 2025 |
| Density | 117 per km² |
| Capital | Cairo |
| Local time in Cairo | |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 IANA |
| Currency | Egyptian pound (EGP) Wikidata |
| Languages | Arabic |
| Traffic | On the right |
| Region | Northern Africa, Africa |
| Status | Independent state |
| Member of | BRICS |
| Coast | Has a coastline |
| Calling code | +20 |
| Codes | EG · EGY · 818 |
Weather in Cairo now
Now
—Loading the forecast…
The next three days
Weather data: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), updated hourly · Temperatures on the map
Where Egypt ranks
Among the independent states, in 44 rankings. Each links to its table.
People
- Population#13 of 194118 million people#3 of 54 in Africa
- Population density#76 of 194117 people per km²#17 of 54 in Africa
- Urban population#144 of 19243% urban#33 of 54 in Africa
- Fertility rate#58 of 1922.74 births per woman#42 of 54 in Africa
- Population growth#64 of 192+1.56% a year#43 of 54 in Africa
- Birth rate#64 of 19220.9 births per 1,000 people#45 of 54 in Africa
- Death rate#156 of 1925.5 deaths per 1,000 people#46 of 54 in Africa
- Children under 15#60 of 19231.6% under 15#45 of 54 in Africa
- People over 65#119 of 1925.3% aged 65 and over#8 of 54 in Africa
- Net migration#100 of 192−0.5 per 1,000 people#21 of 54 in Africa
- Refugees abroad#102 of 1900.20 refugees abroad per 1,000 people#40 of 54 in Africa
Health & education
- Life expectancy#117 of 19271.8 years#7 of 54 in Africa
- Infant mortality#67 of 19120.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births#46 of 54 in Africa
- Doctors#121 of 1780.67 doctors per 1,000 people#8 of 51 in Africa
- University enrolment#93 of 14538.0% gross enrolment#5 of 29 in Africa
- Human Development Index#99 of 190an index of 0.754#4 of 54 in Africa
Economy
- GNI per capita#133 of 185$3,260 a person#16 of 52 in Africa
- Internet users#111 of 18475% online#8 of 52 in Africa
- GDP per capita (PPP)#92 of 184$20,204 a person#5 of 52 in Africa
- GDP growth#58 of 187+4.4% a year#28 of 52 in Africa
- Inflation#15 of 176+14.1% a year#9 of 50 in Africa
- Unemployment#60 of 1786.8% of the labour force#23 of 53 in Africa
- Extreme poverty#79 of 1491.4% under $3.00 a day#44 of 47 in Africa
- Income inequality (Gini)#129 of 149a Gini index of 28.5#47 of 47 in Africa
- Jobs in agriculture#85 of 17817.5% of jobs#44 of 53 in Africa
- Jobs in industry#22 of 17829.4% of jobs#4 of 53 in Africa
- Jobs in services#103 of 17853.1% of jobs#13 of 53 in Africa
- Foreign investment#46 of 1844.2% of GDP#16 of 52 in Africa
- Exports#134 of 16819.8% of GDP#34 of 49 in Africa
- Military spending#137 of 1550.6% of GDP#44 of 50 in Africa
- Mobile subscriptions#133 of 19197 subscriptions per 100 people#27 of 54 in Africa
Energy & environment
- CO₂ per person#94 of 1852.50 tonnes a person#9 of 53 in Africa
- Forest area#189 of 1920% forest#54 of 54 in Africa
- Renewable energy#156 of 1906.1% renewable#50 of 54 in Africa
- Access to electricity#1 of 192100.0% with electricity#1 of 54 in Africa
- Air pollution (PM2.5)#17 of 19143.1 µg/m³#5 of 54 in Africa
- Protected land#129 of 19113.1% of the land protected#33 of 54 in Africa
- Arable land#146 of 1903.3% of the land arable#42 of 54 in Africa
- Water stress#8 of 176141.2% of its available fresh water#3 of 53 in Africa
- Precipitation#180 of 18018 mm a year#54 of 54 in Africa
Governance & safety
Countries of a similar size
Every country within 25% of Egypt’s area, lit up on the map →
- Mauritania0.98×Egypt and Mauritania are almost exactly the same size.
- Tanzania1.07×Egypt is 7% larger than Tanzania.
- Bolivia0.92×Egypt is 8% smaller than Bolivia.
- Ethiopia0.91×Egypt is 9% smaller than Ethiopia.
- Nigeria1.09×Egypt is 9% larger than Nigeria.
- Venezuela1.11×Egypt is 11% larger than Venezuela.
How many times does Egypt fit into…
- Russia: about 17 times
- Canada: about 9.9 times
- United States: about 9.7 times
The land itself
Rivers, summits and lakes Egypt shares with the rest of the world. Turn on “Rivers & lakes” and “Physical names” in the atlas to see them on the map.
Rivers
- Nile6,650 km
- Suez Canal193 km
Summits
- Mount Catherine2,637 m
Lakes
- Lake Nasser5,250 km²
Rivers are listed by the published length of their whole course, not the part inside Egypt. Figures from Wikidata, features from Natural Earth.
Neighbours
Questions about Egypt
- How big is Egypt?
- Egypt covers 1,010,408 km², which makes it number 29 of 194 countries by area. About 118,365,995 people live there (2025), 117 per km².
- Is Egypt bigger than Mauritania?
- Egypt and Mauritania are almost exactly the same size. Egypt: 1,010,408 km²; Mauritania: 1,030,700 km².
- How much does the Mercator map distort Egypt?
- Egypt lies close to the equator, so Mercator draws it at nearly its true size. It is the countries far from the equator that Mercator inflates.
- Which countries border Egypt?
- Egypt shares a land border with Sudan, Libya, Israel, Palestine.