Egypt
Name
| Official name | Arab Republic of Egypt — Jumhūriyyat Miṣr al-ʿArabiyya (جمهورية مصر العربية) |
|---|---|
| Former names | Sultanate of Egypt (1914–1922); Kingdom of Egypt (1922–1953); Republic of Egypt (1953–1958); United Arab Republic (1958–1971, with Syria to 1961) |
| Demonym | Egyptian |
| Meaning of the name | Egypt from the Greek Aigyptos, from Hwt-ka-Ptah, the temple of Memphis; Miṣr in Arabic; Kemet, "the black land," to the ancients |
| Motto | None official |
Quick facts
| Capital | Cairo — al-Qāhira — founded 969; about 10 million in the governorate, 22 million in Greater Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Arab world; the government seated in the New Administrative Capital since 2024 |
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| Largest cities | Cairo; Alexandria, about 6 million; Giza; Shubra El Kheima; Port Said; Suez; Luxor; Aswan; the new cities of the desert |
| Official language | Arabic — Modern Standard in writing, Egyptian Arabic in speech, the most widely understood dialect in the Arab world through film and song; English and French in business; Coptic in the church |
| Currency | Egyptian pound — ISO code EGP, E£; 100 piastres; floated 6 March 2024, about 50 to the U.S. dollar |
| Time zone | Eastern European Time, UTC+2; summer time UTC+3 since 2023 |
| Calling code | +20 |
| Internet domains | .eg and .مصر |
| ISO 3166 codes | EG · EGY · 818 |
| Vehicle registration code | ET |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 220 V, 50 Hz; plug types C and F |
| Independence | 28 February 1922, from the United Kingdom — the kingdom under Fuad I; the republic 18 June 1953 |
| National days | 23 July, Revolution Day, for 1952 — the national day; 25 January, Revolution Day for 2011 and Police Day; 6 October, Armed Forces Day, for the crossing of 1973; 25 April, Sinai Liberation Day; Sham el-Nessim, the spring festival of the pharaohs |
| Constitution | 18 January 2014 — approved by referendum; amended 23 April 2019, lengthening the presidential term to six years and allowing the president a third term to 2030 |
| Population | 94,798,827 at the census of 2017; about 107.5 million resident (CAPMAS, January 2026); about 120 million (UN, 2026) counting Egyptians abroad and the refugees |
| Area | 1,001,450 km² (386,662 sq mi) — land 995,450 km², water 6,000 km²; about 95% desert, 4% inhabited |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | A horizontal tricolor of red, white and black — the Arab Liberation colors of the revolution of 1952: the blood of the struggle, the bright future, the dark past — with the golden Eagle of Saladin at the center of the white; adopted 4 October 1984.Flag of Egypt |
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| Coat of arms | The Eagle of Saladin — a golden eagle bearing a shield of the flag's colors, with the name of the republic on a scroll in its talons; the eagle of the Ayyubid citadel of Cairo; adopted 1984 |
| National anthem | "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady" ("My Country, My Country, My Country") — words by Mohamed Younis al-Qadi from a speech of Mustafa Kamil, music by Sayed Darwish, 1923; adopted 1979 |
| National colors | Red, white and black |
| National bird | The steppe eagle — the Eagle of Saladin of the arms; the sacred ibis of the ancients gone from Egypt |
| National flower | The lotus — the blue water lily of the Nile, the flower of Upper Egypt in the pharaohs' emblem; the papyrus of Lower Egypt |
| National tree | The date palm — widely cited; Egypt the largest producer of dates in the world |
| National dish | Koshari — rice, lentils, macaroni and fried onions; ful medames; molokhia; widely cited |
| Symbol status | The flag, arms and anthem are fixed by law; the bird, flower, tree and dish are traditional, none designated |
Geography
| Location | The northeast corner of Africa, with the Sinai in Asia — transcontinental; the Mediterranean to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Libya, Sudan, Israel and Gaza the neighbors |
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| Land borders | 2,612 km (1,623 mi) with four |
| Border with Sudan | 1,273 km (791 mi) — the Halayeb Triangle disputed; the Bir Tawil pocket claimed by neither |
| Border with Libya | 1,115 km (693 mi) |
| Border with Israel | 208 km (129 mi) |
| Border with Gaza | 13 km (8 mi) — the Rafah crossing |
| Coastline | 2,450 km (1,522 mi) on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea |
| Highest point | Mount Catherine, 2,629 m (8,625 ft), in the Sinai |
| Lowest point | The Qattara Depression, 133 m (436 ft) below sea level — the second-lowest point in Africa |
| Mean elevation | 321 m (1,053 ft) |
| The Nile | 1,545 km (960 mi) through Egypt of its 6,650 km — the longest river in the world; the valley and the delta, from Aswan to Cairo and the sea, hold nearly the whole population; the delta the Rosetta and Damietta branches |
| Lakes | Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam, about 5,250 km², among the largest reservoirs in the world; the Qarun of the Fayoum; the delta lagoons of Manzala, Burullus and Mariout; the Bitter Lakes of the canal |
| The Suez Canal | 193 km (120 mi) from Port Said to Suez, opened 17 November 1869 — the link between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, about 12% of world trade; the second lane of 2015; about 20,000 transits a year before the Red Sea crisis |
| Terrain | The Nile valley and delta; the Western Desert, two-thirds of the country, with the oases of Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga and the Great Sand Sea; the Eastern Desert to the Red Sea hills; the Sinai peninsula with its mountains |
| Climate | Desert — hot dry summers, mild winters; rain only on the Mediterranean coast; the khamsin wind of spring |
| Natural hazards | Drought and the dependence on the Nile; earthquakes — Cairo 1992; flash floods; sandstorms; the rising sea in the delta |
| Natural resources | Natural gas — the Zohr field, the largest in the Mediterranean; oil; iron ore, phosphates, manganese, gold at Sukari, limestone, gypsum; the Nile |
| Land use | Agricultural land about 4% — all irrigated; the reclaimed land of the New Delta |
| National parks | Ras Mohammed at the tip of Sinai, 1983, the first; the White Desert; Wadi El Rayan; Gebel Elba; the St. Catherine protectorate; the Red Sea islands |
| UNESCO World Heritage | 7 — Memphis and its necropolis with the pyramids of Giza; Ancient Thebes with Luxor and Karnak; the Nubian monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae; Historic Cairo; Abu Mena (all 1979); the Saint Catherine area (2002); Wadi Al-Hitan, the valley of the whales (2005) |
| Administrative divisions | 27 governorates — Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, the delta and canal governorates, the valley from Beni Suef to Aswan, the Red Sea, the New Valley, North and South Sinai, Matrouh |
People
| Population | 94,798,827 (census of 2017); about 107.5 million resident (January 2026) |
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| Population density | About 107 per km² (277 per sq mi) overall — above 1,500 per km² in the inhabited valley and delta |
| Population growth | About 1.4% a year — about 1.8 million more each year; the government's two-child campaign |
| Median age | About 25 years |
| Life expectancy | About 72 years |
| Fertility rate | About 2.8 births per woman |
| Urban population | About 43% |
| Adult literacy | About 74% |
| Ethnic groups | Egyptian about 99% — the Arabized descendants of the ancient Egyptians; Nubians in the south, the Bedouin of the Sinai and the deserts, the Siwi Berbers, the Beja |
| Refugees | About 1.5 million Sudanese since the war of April 2023 by the government's count, with Syrians, Yemenis, South Sudanese and Eritreans — about 9 million foreigners in all, the government says |
| Languages | Arabic by nearly all; Nubian languages; Siwi; Bedawi; Coptic, the last form of the ancient tongue, in the liturgy |
| Religion | Sunni Islam about 90% — the state religion; Coptic Orthodox Christians about 10%, the largest Christian community in the Middle East, with Catholics and Protestants; the Church founded by St. Mark in Alexandria |
| Human Development Index | 0.754 (2023 data, 2025 report) — high; about 100th of 193 |
| Sport | Football — the Pharaohs, African champions seven times, the record; Al Ahly, the most decorated club in Africa; Mohamed Salah; squash — the world's dominant nation; handball; weightlifting |
| Diaspora | About 10 million abroad — in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait and the Gulf, Libya, Jordan, the United States, Italy and Britain; remittances about US$30 billion a year |
Government
| Form of government | Semi-presidential republic under the Constitution of 2014 as amended in 2019 — the president elected for six years, twice; a prime minister appointed by the president |
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| President | Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (independent), since 8 June 2014 — the sixth president; field marshal, defense minister 2012–2013, who removed President Morsi on 3 July 2013; elected 2014 with 97%, 2018 with 97%, and December 2023 with 89.6%; his third term from 2 April 2024 to 2030; born 19 November 1954 |
| Prime Minister | Mostafa Madbouly (independent), since 14 June 2018 — reappointed 3 July 2024; an engineer and former housing minister |
| Parliament | The House of Representatives — 596 members elected for five years, two-thirds by closed lists, the Nation's Future Party the largest; elected in two phases in November and December 2025, with the vote annulled by the National Election Authority and rerun in some constituencies, and seated in January 2026; the Senate — 300 members, elected and appointed, since 2020, the second elected in August 2025 |
| The next election | The presidential election due in 2030 |
| Opposition | The Muslim Brotherhood banned as a terrorist organization since 2013; the secular parties small; tens of thousands of political prisoners by the count of rights groups |
| Legal system | Civil law on the French model with Islamic law for personal status; the Supreme Constitutional Court; the Court of Cassation |
| Governorates | 27, each under a governor appointed by the president |
| Gaza and Israel | The peace treaty with Israel of 26 March 1979, the first by an Arab state; the mediator, with Qatar, of the Gaza war of 2023–25 — the Rafah crossing, the refusal to take in Gazans, the summit at Sharm el-Sheikh on 13 October 2025 that sealed the ceasefire with the U.S. president; the Egyptian plan for Gaza's reconstruction |
| The Nile | The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, inaugurated 9 September 2025 on the Blue Nile — an existential threat in Egypt's words, which relies on the river for about 97% of its water; no agreement on its filling and operation |
| Armed forces | About 440,000 active — the largest in Africa and the Arab world; the army's companies in construction, food and industry |
| United Nations | A founding member, 24 October 1945; Boutros Boutros-Ghali secretary-general 1992–96 |
| Memberships | The Arab League, seated in Cairo since 1945; the African Union; the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; BRICS since 1 January 2024; the Non-Aligned Movement, which it founded; the WTO; COMESA |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$400 billion (fiscal 2025/26, IMF) — the second-largest in Africa after South Africa's by most counts |
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| GDP per capita | About US$3,700 (2025/26) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$20,000 (2025/26) |
| GDP growth | About 4% in 2025/26, recovering from 2.4% in 2023/24; inflation down from a peak of 38% in September 2023 to about 12% |
| Economy by sector | Services about 50%, industry about 35%, agriculture about 11% |
| Currency | Egyptian pound (EGP), floated 2024 |
| The Suez Canal | About US$10.3 billion in fiscal 2022/23; about US$4 billion in 2024 after the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea diverted shipping around Africa; recovering since the Gaza ceasefire of 2025 |
| Tourism | A record of about 15.7 million visitors in 2024 and more in 2025 — the pyramids, Luxor, the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh; the Grand Egyptian Museum opened 1 November 2025 |
| Gas | The Zohr field of 2015 made Egypt an exporter; production falling since 2022, and the country importing liquefied gas again in the summers of 2024 and 2025 |
| Remittances | About US$30 billion a year from the Gulf — the largest source of foreign exchange |
| The rescue of 2024 | The Ras El Hekma deal of February 2024 — US$35 billion from the United Arab Emirates for a city on the Mediterranean coast; the IMF program raised to US$8 billion in March 2024; the float of the pound; about US$57 billion in all |
| Public debt | About 90% of GDP; interest about half of government spending; the army-led megaprojects of the 2010s — the new capital, the roads, the cities |
| Income classification | Lower-middle income (World Bank) |
Transport & infrastructure
| Main airports | Cairo International; Sphinx International near Giza, 2019; Hurghada; Sharm el-Sheikh; Alexandria Borg El Arab; the new capital's airport |
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| Airline | EgyptAir, founded 1932 — the oldest airline in Africa and the Middle East |
| Main ports | Alexandria and El Dekheila; Port Said East; Damietta; Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea; Safaga |
| Railways | About 5,000 km (3,100 mi) — the first railway in Africa and the Middle East, Alexandria to Cairo, 1854; the high-speed network of 2,000 km under construction with Siemens, the Ain Sokhna–Alamein line first; the Cairo Metro, the first in Africa, 1987, four lines; the monorail and the light rail of the new capital |
| Roads | About 65,000 km (40,000 mi); some 7,000 km of highways built since 2014; the Cairo–Alexandria desert road; the ring roads |
| The new capital | The New Administrative Capital, 45 km east of Cairo, begun 2015 — the Iconic Tower, 394 m, the tallest building in Africa; the largest mosque and cathedral in the Middle East; the government there since 2024 |
History in dates
| c. 3100 BC | Narmer unites Upper and Lower Egypt — the first dynasty |
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| c. 2560 BC | The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza |
| 1279–1213 BC | Ramesses II — Abu Simbel |
| 332 BC | Alexander the Great; the Ptolemies; Cleopatra dies, 30 BC |
| 30 BC | A Roman province |
| 641 | The Arab conquest under Amr ibn al-As |
| 969 | Cairo founded by the Fatimids; al-Azhar, 970 |
| 1250 | The Mamluks |
| 1517 | The Ottoman conquest |
| 1798 | Napoleon at the Pyramids; the Rosetta Stone found, 1799 |
| 1805 | Muhammad Ali, the founder of modern Egypt |
| 1869 | The Suez Canal opens, 17 November |
| 1882 | The British occupation |
| 1922 | Independence, 28 February; Tutankhamun's tomb found, 4 November |
| 1952 | The Free Officers' revolution, 23 July; the republic, 1953 |
| 1956 | Nasser nationalizes the canal, 26 July; the Suez Crisis |
| 1967 | The Six-Day War, June |
| 1970 | The Aswan High Dam completed; Nasser dies, 28 September |
| 1973 | The October War, 6 October |
| 1979 | The peace treaty with Israel, 26 March |
| 1981 | Sadat assassinated, 6 October; Mubarak's 30 years |
| 2011 | The revolution of 25 January; Mubarak resigns, 11 February |
| 2013 | Morsi removed, 3 July |
| 2014 | Sisi president, 8 June |
| 2015 | The new Suez Canal lane, 6 August |
| 2024 | BRICS, 1 January; the pound floated, 6 March; the third term, 2 April |
| 2025 | The Grand Egyptian Museum opens, 1 November; the Gaza summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, 13 October |
Records & firsts
| The last of the Seven Wonders | The Great Pyramid of Giza, still standing after 4,500 years |
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| The longest river | The Nile, 6,650 km |
| The oldest nation-state | A unified state since about 3100 BC |
| The Suez Canal | An eighth of world trade through 193 km |
| The largest city in Africa | Greater Cairo, about 22 million |
| The most populous Arab country | About 108 million at home |
| The largest museum for one civilization | The Grand Egyptian Museum, 2025 |
| The tallest building in Africa | The Iconic Tower, 394 m |
| The first railway in Africa | Alexandria–Cairo, 1854 |
| The oldest airline in Africa | EgyptAir, 1932 |
| The most African Cup titles | The Pharaohs, seven |
| Al-Azhar | Among the oldest universities in the world, 970 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Egypt?
The Arab Republic of Egypt — Jumhūriyyat Miṣr al-ʿArabiyya — since 1971; the United Arab Republic in the union with Syria from 1958, the Republic of Egypt from 1953, the Kingdom from 1922. "Egypt" comes through Greek from the Egyptian Hwt-ka-Ptah, "the house of the spirit of Ptah," the temple of Memphis; the Egyptians' own name for the country was Kemet, "the black land" of the Nile's silt, and in Arabic it is Miṣr.
What is the capital of Egypt?
Cairo — al-Qāhira, "the Victorious" — founded by the Fatimids in 969 beside the older Fustat and Memphis, with about 10 million people in the governorate and some 22 million in Greater Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Arab world. Since 2024 the ministries, parliament and presidency have worked from the New Administrative Capital, a planned city 45 km east in the desert, though Cairo remains the capital in name. Alexandria on the Mediterranean, founded by Alexander in 331 BC, is the second city with about 6 million.
How big is Egypt, and how many people live there?
About 1,001,450 km² (386,662 sq mi) — three times the size of New Mexico — of which 95 percent is desert, so that nearly everyone lives on the 4 percent that is the Nile valley and delta. The statistics office CAPMAS counted about 107.5 million residents in January 2026; the UN estimates about 120 million counting the 10 million Egyptians abroad and the refugees. The last census, in 2017, counted 94.8 million. Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and the third in Africa.
What are the highest and lowest points of Egypt?
Mount Catherine — Jabal Katrina — 2,629 m (8,625 ft), in the Sinai beside Mount Sinai and the monastery of St. Catherine; and the Qattara Depression in the Western Desert, 133 m (436 ft) below sea level, the second-lowest point in Africa. The Nile runs 1,545 km through the country from the Sudanese border to the Mediterranean, the last stretch of the longest river on earth.
What currency does Egypt use?
The Egyptian pound (ISO code EGP, E£ or ج.م), of 100 piastres, issued by the Central Bank of Egypt — floated on 6 March 2024, when it lost a third of its value in a day, at about 50 to the U.S. dollar since. Clocks keep Eastern European Time, UTC+2, with summer time restored in 2023.
Who governs Egypt?
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the field marshal who removed Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and has held the presidency since 8 June 2014 — re-elected in 2018 and, with 89.6 percent, in December 2023 for a third term that runs from 2 April 2024 to 2030 under the constitutional amendments of 2019, which lengthened the term to six years. Mostafa Madbouly has been prime minister since 14 June 2018. The House of Representatives of 596 seats was elected in November and December 2025, with the vote annulled and rerun in some constituencies, and seated in January 2026; the Senate of 300 was elected in August 2025. The Muslim Brotherhood is banned, and the government controls parliament and the press.
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