Egypt is a transcontinental nation that bridges Africa’s northeast corner with Asia’s southwest corner via the Sinai Peninsula.
Exports from Egypt totaled US$22.5 billion in 2016. Highest-value Egyptian exports are petroleum oil, TV reception equipment, gold, oranges, cables, carpets and wood furniture according to the International Trade Centre.
Capital Facts for Cairo, Egypt: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Citadel (Al-Qalaa), Great Sphinx and Cairo Tower
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Cairo, Egypt:
- Atom Egoyan, director & producer (born Jul. 19, 1960)
- Julian Fellowes, actor & writer (born Aug. 17, 1949)
- Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Prize winner (born Jun. 17, 1942)
- Amr Waked, actor, director & producer (born Apr. 12, 1973)
- Jehane Noujaim, director & cinematographer (born May 17, 1974)
- Ahmed el-Sakka, actor (born Mar. 1, 1973)
- Sir John Anthony Kershaw, British parliamentarian (born Dec. 14, 1915)
- Gamil Ratib, actor (born Nov. 28, 1926)
- Mohamed Elmasry, engineering professor (born Dec. 24, 1943)
- Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader (born Aug. 4, 1929)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Cairo resident: Cairene
Population: 12,000,000 (Cairo)
Density: 58,824 people per square mile (22,712 per square kilometer)
Population: 20,500,000 (Greater Cairo metropolitan area)
Density: 31,061 people per square mile (11,993 per square kilometer)
Population: 94,666,993 (Egypt)
Density: 246 people per square mile (95 per square kilometer)
Financial
GDP: US$102.2 billion in 2014 (Cairo)
GDP per person: $7,843
Note: The above GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars.
Official currency used in Cairo: Egyptian pound
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data). Accessed on November 17, 2016
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas. Accessed on November 17, 2016
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition. Accessed on November 17, 2016
Guinness World Records, Largest food court record set in Egypt. Accessed on January 24, 2017
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on January 24, 2017
Official Government Website, Cairo Governorate. Accessed on November 17, 2016
The World Factbook, Africa: Egypt, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on January 24, 2017
The World Factbook, Field Listing: World, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on November 17, 2016
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags. Accessed on November 17, 2016
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Cairo. Accessed on November 17, 2016
Wikipedia, Greater Cairo. Accessed on November 17, 2016
Wikipedia, New Cairo. Accessed on November 17, 2016
Cairo has an estimated population as high as 12 million, according to 2016 World Population Review estimates. Cairo city has a land area of 204 square miles (528 square kilometers).
The Greater Cairo metropolitan area includes the city of Cairo, New Cairo city, Giza, Shubra El-Kheima, 6th of October City and Obour City. The metropolitan population is 20.5 million people living over 660 square miles (1,709 square kilometers).
At the country level, Egypt’s land territory covers 115,124 square miles (298,170 square kilometers). The national population was 102.6 million inhabitants as of July 2016.
Population density for Cairo city is more concentrated at 58,800 residents per square mile (22,700 per square kilometer).
Density within the larger Greater Cairo metropolitan area averages 31,100 people per square mile (12,000 per square kilometer).
For Egypt overall, population density drops significantly to an average 250 inhabitants per square mile (100 per square kilometer).
The revolution that resulted in Egypt’s status as a republic started on July 23, 1952. Egyptians celebrate Revolution Day each July 23 as a national public holiday.