Egypt: Population and Key Statistics

AfricaCapital: Cairo#13 by population

With a population of 116.5 million, Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world. Roughly 95% of its people live in the Nile Valley and Delta, which make up only 5% of the national territory — one of the most striking concentrations of population anywhere on earth.

The Suez Canal, through which about 10% of global maritime trade passes, ranks among the country's main sources of foreign currency alongside tourism and worker remittances. Successive currency devaluations and high inflation in recent years have pushed the economy into a comprehensive IMF-backed reform program.

Population (2025)
118.4 million
118,365,995 people
GDP (2025)
$365bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$3,086
Life expectancy
71.8
years
Area
1,001,450
km²
Population density
118
people/km²
Median age
24.3
Internet usage
74.6%

Military Strength

Military expenditure (2024)
$2.4bn
2,396 million dollars
Share of GDP
0.67%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
2.93%
Spending per capita
$20
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
836 thousand
836,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
7.1
2.76% of the labor force

Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.

How Egypt compares

Egypt and South Africa — core indicators
02 b4 b6 b8 bGDP per capita ($)Life expectancy (years)Internet usage (%)GDP per capita ($) — Egypt: 3.086Life expectancy (years) — Egypt: 71,8Internet usage (%) — Egypt: 74,6GDP per capita ($) — South Africa: 6.598Life expectancy (years) — South Africa: 66,3Internet usage (%) — South Africa: 78,4
EgyptSouth Africa

The indicators use different scales, so the chart is a rough visual comparison only. For exact figures see the full side-by-side comparison.

Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26