Egypt

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
  - The Nile valley and delta
  - The Eastern Desert
  - The Western Desert
  - Sinai Peninsula
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
- Population density
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labor and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
  - Local government
  - Justice
  - Political process
  - Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- From the Islamic conquest to 1250
  - Period of Arab and Turkish governors (639–868)
    - The Arab conquest
    - Early Arab rule
    - Egypt under the caliphate
  - The Ṭūlūnid dynasty (868–905)
  - The Ikhshīdid dynasty (935–969)
  - The Fāṭimid dynasty (969–1171)
    - Islamization
    - Arabization
    - Growth of trade
    - The end of the Fāṭimid dynasty
  - The Ayyūbid dynasty (1171–1250)
    - Saladin’s policies
    - Power struggles
    - Growth of Mamluk armies
- The Mamluk and Ottoman periods (1250–1800)
  - The Mamluk rulers (1250–1517)
    - Political life
    - Contributions to Arabic culture
    - Religious life
    - Economic life
  - The Ottomans (1517–1798)
    - The Ottoman conquest
    - Ottoman administration
    - Mamluk power under the Ottomans
    - Expansion
    - Culture
    - Religious affairs
- From the French to the British occupation (1798–1882)
  - The French occupation and its consequences (1798–1805)
  - Muḥammad ʿAlī and his successors (1805–82)
    - Military expansion
    - Administrative changes
    - ʿAbbās I and Saʿīd, 1848-63
    - Ismāʿīl, 1863–79
    - Renewed European intervention, 1879–82
- The period of British domination (1882–1952)
  - The British occupation and the Protectorate (1882–1922)
    - ʿAbbās Ḥilmī II, 1892–1914
    - World War I and independence
  - The Kingdom of Egypt (1922–52)
    - The interwar period
    - World War II and its aftermath
- The revolution and the Republic
  - The Nasser regime
  - The Sadat regime
  - The Mubarak regime
  - Unrest in 2011: January 25 Revolution
  - Transition to an elected government
  - The June 30 Revolution
  - Return to authoritarianism

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Flag of Egypt with horizontal red, white, and black stripes and a gold eagle centered on the white stripe.

Map of Egypt displaying its international boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries, including Libya, Sudan, Israel, and Jordan. The Nile River runs south to north through the country, and a small locator map shows Egypt's position in northeastern Africa and the Middle East. The map also marks the Gaza Strip and an area in the southeast with undetermined status between Egypt and Sudan.

Silhouettes of the pyramids of Giza with the sun setting behind them and clouds illuminated in the orange sky near Cairo, Egypt.

Map highlighting Egypt in light orange within northeastern Africa and the Middle East, showing its borders with Libya, Sudan, Israel, and the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Major neighboring countries and capitals are labeled, and Cairo is marked as Egypt's capital.

Aerial view of downtown Cairo, Egypt, showing the Nile River winding through the city with bridges, high-rise buildings, and green spaces along the riverbanks.

Physical map of Egypt highlighting major geographical features such as the Nile River, Nile Delta, Western Desert, Eastern Desert, Sinai Peninsula, and notable landmarks including the Pyramids of Giza, Valley of the Kings, and Aswan High Dam. The map also shows surrounding countries and a locator inset indicating Egypt's position in northeastern Africa and the Middle East.

Giza, Egypt: outfitted camel

Egypt: Ethnic composition

At a Glance

default image

Egypt: Media

country, Africa

Videos

Nile River

Nile River

An overview of the importance of the Nile River to the development of North Africa.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Explore mosques and Coptic, Catholic, Protestant, Maronite, and Eastern Orthodox churches in Egypt

Explore mosques and Coptic, Catholic, Protestant, Maronite, and Eastern Orthodox churches in Egypt

Mosques and other religious architecture in Egypt.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Explore traditional Egyptian irrigation methods and tools including shaduf, water screw, and waterwheel

Explore traditional Egyptian irrigation methods and tools including shaduf, water screw, and waterwheel

Traditional irrigation methods in rural Egypt.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Learn how Cleopatra used her influence over Julius Caesar to stay in power

Learn how Cleopatra used her influence over Julius Caesar to stay in power

Learn how Cleopatra used her influence over Julius Caesar to stay in power.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Journey of the Nile: The longest river in the world

Journey of the Nile: The longest river in the world

Overview of the Nile River, 2009.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Dmitry Pichugin/Dreamstime.com

Images

Flag of Egypt with horizontal red, white, and black stripes and a gold eagle centered on the white stripe.

Egypt

Flag of Egypt.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Egypt displaying its international boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries, including Libya, Sudan, Israel, and Jordan. The Nile River runs south to north through the country, and a small locator map shows Egypt's position in northeastern Africa and the Middle East. The map also marks the Gaza Strip and an area in the southeast with undetermined status between Egypt and Sudan.

Egypt

Political map of Egypt, showing the

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Silhouettes of the pyramids of Giza with the sun setting behind them and clouds illuminated in the orange sky near Cairo, Egypt.

Giza, Egypt: pyramids

Pyramids dating from the 3rd millennium bce,...

© Digital Vision/Getty Images

Map highlighting Egypt in light orange within northeastern Africa and the Middle East, showing its borders with Libya, Sudan, Israel, and the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Major neighboring countries and capitals are labeled, and Cairo is marked as Egypt's capital.

Egypt

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Aerial view of downtown Cairo, Egypt, showing the Nile River winding through the city with bridges, high-rise buildings, and green spaces along the riverbanks.

Cairo

The city of Cairo, on the Nile River in Egypt.

© Mikael Damkier/Dreamstime.com

Physical map of Egypt highlighting major geographical features such as the Nile River, Nile Delta, Western Desert, Eastern Desert, Sinai Peninsula, and notable landmarks including the Pyramids of Giza, Valley of the Kings, and Aswan High Dam. The map also shows surrounding countries and a locator inset indicating Egypt's position in northeastern Africa and the Middle East.

Physical features of Egypt

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Giza, Egypt: outfitted camel

Giza, Egypt: outfitted camel

Outfitted camel, Giza, Egypt.

Manrico Mirabelli/Index Open

Scattered dark hills rise from golden desert sands in Gebel Elba Nature Reserve, Egypt, with a flat, arid plain and blue sky in the distance.

Al-Baḥr al-Aḥmar governorate, Egypt: seminomadic camp

A seminomadic camp in Al-Baḥr al-Aḥmar governorate, eastern Egypt.

© Samir_Mustafa/Shutterstock.com

Blue Iznik ceramic tile wall with an ornate mihrab niche and a decorated marble minbar platform inside the Mosque of Aqsunqur, Cairo, Egypt.

Cairo: Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque in Cairo.

© Khaled El-Adawi/stock.adobe.com

View of Al-Qasr village in Egypt's ad-Dakhilah oasis, showing mud-brick buildings, a tall minaret, palm trees, and people walking on a dirt road, with desert cliffs in the background.

Al-Qaṣr, Egypt

Al-Qaṣr, Egypt, in the oasis of Al-Dākhilah in the Western Desert.

Georg Gerster/Photo Researchers

Facade of the historic Zeinab Khatoun house in Cairo, featuring prominent wooden oriel windows known as mashrabiya above a stone courtyard and wooden staircase.

Cairo: house

House in Cairo with moucharaby.

© Halit Sadik/Shutterstock.com

Cairo: farmland

Cairo: farmland

Farmland near Cairo, Egypt.

©Robert Holmes

Dandarah, Egypt: sugarcane

Dandarah, Egypt: sugarcane

A stand of sugarcane on the west bank of the Nile River, near Dandarah, Egypt.

Bob Burch/Bruce Coleman Inc.

Suez Canal

Suez Canal

Cargo ship in the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt.

Hubertus Kauns/SuperStock

Luxor, Egypt: feluccas on Nile River

Luxor, Egypt: feluccas on Nile River

Feluccas on the Nile River near Luxor in Upper Egypt.

Robert Frerck/Odyssey Productions

Vertical map showing the Suez Canal in Egypt, running from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the city of Suez on the Gulf of Suez in the south. The map highlights the canal's navigation route, adjacent drainage canals, nearby lakes such as Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah, and the Great and Little Bitter Lakes, as well as surrounding cities, railroads, and salt marshes. An inset locator map shows the canal's position within northeastern Africa and the Middle East.

Suez Canal

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egyptian fellah (agricultural worker)

Egyptian fellah (agricultural worker)

An Egyptian agricultural worker (fellah) wearing a traditional djellaba (gallibiyah).

©1992 Bill Lyons

Tourists gather at night in the illuminated outer court of the Temple of Luxor, with large seated statues of King Ramses II and an obelisk in Luxor, Egypt.

Luxor: temple complex

Colossal statues of Ramses II flanking the entrance to the temple complex at Luxor,...

© Jose Ignacio Soto/stock.adobe.com

Interior view of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, showing ancient statues and artifacts displayed in a grand hall with tall columns and visitors walking among the exhibits.

Cairo: Egyptian Museum

Galleries in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

© Mohamed Ahmed Soliman/Dreamstime.com

Courtyard of the Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo, featuring a large domed fountain, arched arcade, and the mosque's distinctive spiral minaret in the background.

Mosque of Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn

Arcade and courtyard of the Mosque of Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn, Cairo.

© Анастасия Смирнова/stock.adobe.com

Saladin

Saladin

Muslim sultan Saladin.

Fine Art Images/Heritage Images Partnership Ltd./Alamy

Cairo: citadel of Saladin

Cairo: citadel of Saladin

The citadel of Saladin, Cairo.

Katherine Young/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map showing the Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent, with the empire highlighted in orange stretching across southeastern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, including Anatolia, Egypt, the Balkans, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Lighter orange areas indicate tributary and vassal states surrounding the core territory. Major cities such as Constantinople, Cairo, Baghdad, and Mecca are labeled, along with surrounding bodies of water like the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Red Sea.

Ottoman Empire

Egypt as part of the Ottoman Empire.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Selim I

Selim I

Selim I.

Sonia Halliday

Selim III

Selim III

Selim III.

Sonia Halliday

Cairo: Muḥammad ʿAlī Mosque

Cairo: Muḥammad ʿAlī Mosque

Muḥammad ʿAlī Mosque, also called the Alabaster Mosque, Cairo, Egypt.

Dennis Jarvis (CC-BY-2.0) (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Historical map showing the territorial expansion of Egypt under Muhammad 'Ali and Isma'il in the 19th century, with shaded areas indicating lands acquired by each ruler. The map covers northeastern Africa and parts of the Middle East, including Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Crete, Cyprus, and regions of Arabia and the Levant, with labels for dates of acquisition, loss, and battle sites.

Egypt under Muḥammad ʿAlī and Ismāʿīl

Expansion of Egypt under Muḥammad ʿAlī and Ismāʿīl.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Nūbār Pasha

Nūbār Pasha

Nūbār Pasha, engraving.

Courtesy of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

Saad Zaghloul

Saad Zaghloul

© Universal History Archive—Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Nine members of the Free Officers, including Gamal Abdel Nasser and Mohammed Neguib, pose in military uniforms around a large desk in an office in Cairo, 1952.

Free Officers after the 1952 coup

Some of the Free Officers in Cairo after their overthrow of King Farouk I and...

© AFP/Getty Images

General Muhammad Naguib, wearing a tan military uniform, sits smiling at a desk with papers and office items in front of him.

Muhammad Naguib

Muhammad Naguib.

© Hulton Archive/Getty Images

British soldiers stand in front of a large crowd of civilians waiting for food distribution in the Arab quarter of Port Said, Egypt, with damaged buildings and rubble in the background.

Suez Crisis: British occupation of Port Said

British soldiers supervising a crowd in Port Said, Egypt, while food is distributed...

Fox Photos—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Egyptian Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser, 1967.

IBL/REX/Shutterstock.com

A line of Israeli armored vehicles and tanks travels along a dusty road through a rocky landscape toward Syria during the Yom Kippur War.

Yom Kippur War

An Israeli armored column on its way into Syria during the Yom Kippur War between...

Daniel Rosenblum—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Camp David Accords

Camp David Accords

Egyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat (left), U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter (center), and Israeli...

Jimmy Carter Library

Hosni Mubarak

Hosni Mubarak

Hosni Mubarak, 2009.

Office of the Presidents of the Italian Republic

Arab Spring: Egypt's January 25 Revolution

Arab Spring: Egypt's January 25 Revolution

A protester in Cairo holding signs calling for Pres. Hosni Mubarak to step down,...

monasosh

Arab Spring: Egypt's January 25 Revolution

Arab Spring: Egypt's January 25 Revolution

An Egyptian armored personnel carrier covered in anti-Mubarak graffiti in Cairo,...

monasosh

Great Sphinx and pyramid of Khafre

Great Sphinx and pyramid of Khafre

The Great Sphinx and the pyramid of Khafre, near Giza, Egypt.

© Goodshoot/Jupiterimages

Map of the Nile River basin showing the river's full course from its sources in East Africa through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The map highlights physical features including elevation, irrigated areas, swamps, sand areas, intermittent streams, dams, waterfalls, rapids, and canals, as well as major lakes and cities along the drainage network.

Nile River basin and its drainage network

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of the Sahara Desert region in northern Africa showing physical features such as mountain ranges, plateaus, major sand areas, and elevation with color shading. Country boundaries, major cities, and select spot elevations are labeled. An inset locator map highlights the Sahara's position within Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Physiography of the Sahara.

The Sahara.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A chart displays Egyptian hieratic numerals for units, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands, with each value represented by a unique red symbol in handwritten script.

Egyptian hieratic numerals

Chart of numerals in the Egyptian hieratic writing system.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A chart showing ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic numerals, with symbols representing 1, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, and 1,000,000, plus an example using these symbols to form the number 258,458.

Egyptian hieroglyphic numerals

Chart of numerals in the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egypt

Egypt

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Egypt

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Egypt.

Interactives

Egypt: Ethnic composition

Egypt: Ethnic composition

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egypt: Religious affiliation

Egypt: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egypt: Urban-rural

Egypt: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egypt population density map showing the highest density around Cairo and along the Nile Valley and delta, with sparse population across the western and eastern deserts; based on 2025 estimates.

Population density of Egypt

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egypt: Age breakdown

Egypt: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egypt: Major import sources

Egypt: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Egypt: Major export destinations

Egypt: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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