About Egypt
The map shows Egypt, a country situated mainly in the northeastern corner of the African continent bordering the
Mediterranean Sea in the north and the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the
Red Sea in the east. The eastern portion of Egypt, the
Sinai Peninsula, is situated in
Western Asia (Middle East).
Countries with international borders to Egypt are the
occupied Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip,
Israel,
Libya, and
Sudan. Egypt shares maritime borders with
Cyprus,
Greece,
Jordan,
Saudi Arabia, and
Turkey.
Modern Egypt became independent in 1922 (from
Britain). From 1958 to 1961, the country was united with
Syria as the United Arab Republic.
Today the Arab Republic of Egypt (its official name) occupies an
area of 1 million km²; compared, it is almost twice the size of
France or more than twice the size of the
U.S. State of
California.
Egypt has a
population of some 102 million (in 2021). The capital and by far the largest city is
Cairo, with a population of 20 million people in its metropolitan area (including the governorate of Giza). Spoken
language is Modern Standard Arabic; the colloquial language is the Egyptian-Arabic dialect. The main religion is Sunni Islam (85-90% of the population), about 10-15% of the Egyptians are Coptic Christians.
More about Egypt
This night view of Egypt shows that the population is almost entirely concentrated along the Nile Valley, which makes up only a small portion of the country's land area. Onboard the International Space Station, Astronauts capture nighttime photographs of city lights, spectacular evidence of humanity's existence, distribution, and ability to change the environment.
Photo: NASA Earth Observatory
The inhabitants of the most populated country in the Arab world settled predominantly along the fertile valley of the Nile river, its delta, and along the coastal plains of the Mediterranean and the northern part of the Red Sea coast.
Except for those near the coast, all major cities in the country lie along the Nile valley. The rest of the country is largely desert and sparsely populated.
The Upper Nile is the life-sustaining artery of Egypt. The fertile alluvial plains of the river were one of the regions in the world where humans began the transition from a hunting and gathering society to sedentary living and the development of agriculture and the domestication of food animals.
Major geographical features of Egypt
The Nile
The
Nile is the longest river in the world or the second longest; experts are still debating. The life source of Egypt has two major tributaries, the White Nile, which begins in the drainage basin of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and the Blue Nile, originating at Lake Tana in
Ethiopia.
The river flows northward for 6,650 km (4,132 mi) through
Uganda, South Sudan,
Sudan, and Egypt, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea through a large delta.
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is a 160 km (100 mi) long shipping canal that connects the Gulf of Suez (Red Sea) with the Mediterranean Sea. The southern terminus of the channels is at the seaport of Suez; the northern terminus is at
Port Said, a city founded in 1859 during the building of the canal. The canal separates the western portion of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, the African continent from Asia.
Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser is a reservoir in southwestern Egypt created between 1960 and 1970 by building two dams on the Nile River south of the city of Aswan.
The construction of the dam resulted in the 355 km (220 mi; including the Sudanese part) long Lake Nasser, one of the largest human-made lakes in the world.
Statue of Ramses II in the Temple of Luxor.
Photo: Mohammed Moussa
The eastern portion of the Sahara covers large parts of Egypt. The various regions of the country's deserts are known as the Libyan Desert, the Western Desert, the White Desert, the Black Desert, the Eastern Desert and the Nubian Desert.
Cities
Egypt's largest cities are
Cairo, capital of Egypt and one of the largest urban agglomerations in Africa.
Alexandria, the country's chief port.
Giza, the third-largest city and the location of the
Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx. Giza is part of the Cairo metropolitan area.
Port Said, the northern terminus of the Suez Canal. Port Said was founded at the start of the construction of the Suez Canal in April 1859.
Suez, the seaport on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez, is the southern terminus of the Suez Canal.
Luxor, the largest city in central Egypt, is home to the Luxor Temple and the World Heritage Site of
Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis.
Mansoura, a city in the Nile delta region on the east bank of the Damietta branch of the river.
Tanta, another large city in the
delta region and a center of Egypt's cotton industry.
The map shows the location of the following cities, towns, and oases:
Abu Simbel, Abu Zenima, Al Qosimah, Alexandria, Arish, Aswan, Asyut, Bahariya Oasis, Beersheba, Beni Suef, Berenice Troglodytica, Bir al-Abed, Cairo, Dahab, Dakhla Oasis, Damanhur, Damietta, Edfu, El Alamein, El-Tor, Esna, Faiyum Oasis, Farafra Oasis, Girga, Hurghada, Ismailia, Kharga Oasis, Luxor, Mansoura, Marsa Alam, Mersa Matruh, Minya, Nekhel, New Cairo City, Nuweibaa, Port Said, Qena, Quseer, Ras Abu Rudeis, Ras Gharib, Ras Sedr, Safaga, Saint Catherine, Sallum, Samalut, Shalateen, Sharm el-Sheikh, Sidi Barrani, Siwa Oasis, Sohag, Suez, Taba, Tanta, Zaafarana, and Zaqaziq.
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Searchable map/satellite view of Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx