Egypt - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Egypt. Controls Sinai Peninsula, the only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Mother's mean age at first birth is 22.6 years (2014 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 17 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Geographical data of Egypt
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 27 00 N, 30 00 E |
| Map references | Africa |
| Tarrain | vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc |
| Natural Hazards | periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorms called khamsin occur in spring; dust storms; sandstorms |
| Irrigated Land | 36,500 sq km (2012) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | An Nīl (Nile) river mouth (shared with Rwanda [s], Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Sudan) - 6,650 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
| Major aquifers | Nubian Aquifer System |
| Land Boundaries | 2,612 km |
| Border Countries | Gaza Strip 13 km; Israel 208 km; Libya 1,115 km; Sudan 1,276 km |
| Coastline | 2,450 km |
| Climate | desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 995,450 sq km |
| Water Area | 6,000 sq km |
| comparative Area | more than eight times the size of Ohio; slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm or the equidistant median line with Cyprus |
| Continental shelf | 200 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Mount Catherine 2,629 m |
| Lowest point | Qattara Depression -133 m |
| Mean elevation | 321 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 4.1% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 3.1% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 1% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 0% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 95.9% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
Approximately 95% of the population lives within 20 km (12 mi) of the Nile River and its delta; vast areas of the country remain sparsely populated or uninhabited, as shown in this population distribution map
People and Society
In Egypt, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Egyptian 99.7%, other 0.3% (2006 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 1.49% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 19.5 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 1.1 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.65 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.28 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 71.1% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | |
| Education expenditures | |
| Net Migration rate | -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Egyptian | Egyptian(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 90%, Christian (majority Coptic Orthodox, other Christians include Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, Maronite, Orthodox, and Anglican) 10% |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 33.8% (male 19,349,395/female 18,243,571) |
| 15-64 years | 60.6% (male 34,646,369/female 32,792,151) |
| 65 years and over | 5.6% (2024 est.) (male 3,146,720/female 3,069,042) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 65 (2024 est.) |
| Youth dependency ratio | 55.7 (2024 est.) |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 9.2 (2024 est.) |
| Potential support ratio | 10.8 (2024 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 24.4 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 24.3 years |
| Female | 24.4 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 43.1% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 1.9% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 22.183 million CAIRO (capital), 5.588 million Alexandria, 778,000 Bur Sa'id (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 1.03 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 17.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 15.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 75 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 73.8 years |
| Female | 76.2 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.3% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 98.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 98.8% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.7% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 1.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 1.2% of population (2022 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.9% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 98.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 99.1% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.1% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 1.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.9% of population (2022 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 0.14 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 25.8% (2025 est.) |
| Male | 51% (2025 est.) |
| Female | 0.3% (2025 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 1.8% (2021) |
| Women married by age 18 | 15.8% (2021) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Egypt
Want to know more about Egypt? Check all different factbooks for Egypt below.
