Egypt vs Libya
Libya is 74% larger than Egypt. Egypt would fit into Libya about 1.7 times.
EgyptLibyaEgypt moved onto Libya · Equal-area projection
0.57×
Egypt is 0.57× the area of Libya. Put the other way, Libya is 1.74× the size of Egypt.
 Egypt |  Libya | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaLibya: 1.74× the area | 1,010,408 km²#29 of 194 | 1,759,541 km²#16 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEgypt: 15.9× the population | 118,365,995#13 of 194 · 2025 | 7,458,555#105 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEgypt: 27.6× the density | 117 / km²#76 of 194 | 4.2 / km²#187 of 194 |
| Urban populationLibya: 2.05× the urban share | 43%#144 of 192 · 2025 | 88%#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEgypt: 1.19× the births per woman | 2.74 per woman#58 of 192 · 2024 | 2.30 per woman#80 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthEgypt: 0.52 points higher | +1.56%#64 of 192 · 2025 | +1.04%#94 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEgypt: 1.27× the birth rate | 20.9 per 1,000#64 of 192 · 2024 | 16.5 per 1,000#88 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateLibya: 1.18× the death rate | 5.5 per 1,000#156 of 192 · 2024 | 6.5 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Egypt: 4.8 points higher | 31.6%#60 of 192 · 2025 | 26.8%#83 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Egypt: 0.1 points higher | 5.3%#119 of 192 · 2025 | 5.2%#120 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationLibya: 0.5 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadLibya: 11.5× the refugees for its size | 0.20 per 1,000#102 of 190 · 2025 | 2.30 per 1,000#39 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEgypt: 0.7 years longer | 71.8 years#117 of 192 · 2024 | 71.1 years#125 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityEgypt: 2.63× the infant mortality | 20.8 per 1,000 births#67 of 191 · 2024 | 7.9 per 1,000 births#124 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.67 per 1,000#121 of 178 · 2020 | — |
| University enrolment | 38.0%#93 of 145 · 2025 | — |
| Human Development IndexEgypt: 0.033 higher | 0.754#99 of 190 · 2023 | 0.721#114 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaLibya: 2.22× the income per person | $3,260#133 of 185 · 2025 | $7,250#95 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPEgypt: 7.59× the economy | $365.26B2025 | $48.1B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Egypt: 1.22× the output per person | $20,204#92 of 184 · 2025 | $16,521#104 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLibya: 9.0 points higher | +4.4%#58 of 187 · 2025 | +13.4%#2 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationEgypt: 12.3 points higher | +14.1%#15 of 176 · 2025 | +1.8%#124 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentLibya: 2.76× the unemployment | 6.8%#60 of 178 · 2025 | 18.8%#9 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 1.4%#79 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 28.5#129 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureEgypt: 7.5 points higher | 17.5% of jobs#85 of 178 · 2025 | 10.0% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEgypt: 10.8 points higher | 29.4% of jobs#22 of 178 · 2025 | 18.6% of jobs#97 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesLibya: 18.3 points higher | 53.1% of jobs#103 of 178 · 2025 | 71.4% of jobs#48 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentEgypt: 2.5 points higher | 4.2% of GDP#46 of 184 · 2025 | 1.7% of GDP#105 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsLibya: 51.9 points higher | 19.8% of GDP#134 of 168 · 2025 | 71.7% of GDP#21 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingLibya: 5.85× the military spending | 0.6% of GDP#137 of 155 · 2025 | 3.6% of GDP#17 of 155 · 2023 |
| Internet usersLibya: 1.1× the share online | 75%#111 of 184 · 2024 | 82%#91 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsLibya: 1.99× the mobile subscriptions | 97 per 100#133 of 191 · 2024 | 193 per 100#4 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | 0% of land#189 of 192 · 2024 | 0% of land#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personLibya: 3.46× the CO₂ per person | 2.50 t a year#94 of 185 · 2024 | 8.66 t a year#21 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEgypt: 3.0 points higher | 6.1%#156 of 190 · 2021 | 3.1%#163 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityEgypt: 22.6 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 77.4%#150 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Egypt: 2.16× the air pollution | 43.1 µg/m³#17 of 191 · 2023 | 20.0 µg/m³#84 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landEgypt: 13.0 points higher | 13.1% of land#129 of 191 · 2025 | 0.1% of land#187 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEgypt: 2.3 points higher | 3.3% of land#146 of 190 · 2024 | 1.0% of land#171 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressLibya: 5.79× the water stress | 141.2%#8 of 176 · 2022 | 817.1%#4 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLibya: 3.11× the rain and snow | 18 mm#180 of 180 · 2022 | 56 mm#179 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityEgypt: 0.95 higher | −0.89#163 of 193 · 2025 | −1.84#182 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEgypt: 0.83 higher | −0.70#133 of 193 · 2025 | −1.53#183 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 1.3 per 100,000#92 of 146 · 2017 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Military or transitionalin transition |
| Member of | BRICS | OPEC |
| Capital | Cairo | Tripoli |
| Currency | Egyptian pound (EGP) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
| Official languages | Arabic | Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +20 | +218 |
| Region | Northern Africa, Africa | Northern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Egypt sits at about 26° N and is stretched to 1.25× its true area; Libya at 27° N is stretched to 1.26×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Egypt bigger than Libya?
- No. Egypt is 43% smaller than Libya. Egypt covers 1,010,408 km² and Libya covers 1,759,541 km².
- How many times does Egypt fit into Libya?
- About 1.7 times: Libya has 1.74× the area of Egypt.
- Why do Egypt and Libya look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Egypt is drawn about 1.25× its true area there and Libya about 1.26×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Egypt or Libya?
- Egypt: 118,365,995 people against 7,458,555. Density: Egypt 117 per km², Libya 4.2 per km².
- Which is richer, Egypt or Libya?
- By gross national income per person, Libya: $7,250 against $3,260 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.22× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Egypt or Libya?
- In Egypt: life expectancy at birth is 71.8 years, against 71.1 — 0.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Egypt and Libya have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Egypt: presidential republic; Libya: military or transitional.