MakeYourChart

Largest cities in Egypt, 1975 to 2050

Cairo leads Egypt with 25.57 million people in 2025, ahead of Alexandria at 7.27 million in the UN city ranking.

Make this videoDownload data (CSV)

Free to edit and export · No signup to start

What the data shows

  • In 2025, Cairo ranks #1 with 25.57M, ahead of Alexandria (7.27M) and Luxor (4.19M).
  • By 2050, on the UN's projections, Cairo is projected to rank #1 with 32.37M, ahead of Alexandria (9.02M) and Luxor (7.57M).
  • Cairo holds #1 for the whole period, 1975 to 2025.
  • Biggest climber: Luxor, from #14 in 1975 to #3 in 2050.
  • Cairo grew 3.4× between 1975 and 2025.

About this chart

Cairo stands well above the other cities in Egypt: its 25.57 million people in 2025 are about 3.52 times the 7.27 million in second-place Alexandria. Cairo also led the 1975 ranking, when the UN series put it at 7.44 million. Luxor occupies third place in 2025 at 4.19 million. These are populations of urban areas defined consistently by the UN, rather than administrative city limits.

The UN projects Cairo to lead in 2050 at 32.37 million people. The figures after 2025 are projections. The Degree of Urbanization identifies contiguous dense settlements, so these totals can differ from municipal and metropolitan statistics. The historical ranking is useful for comparing positions; changing settlement boundaries mean it should not be treated as a measure of growth within fixed city limits.

The data

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 5, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. Blank cells indicate that the source supplies no city value for that year, not zero population.

Largest cities in Egypt, Population in millions, 1975–2050; projected after 2025, 1975–2050
Date🇪🇬 Cairo🇪🇬 Alexandria🇪🇬 El Mansura🇪🇬 El Mahalla El Kubra🇪🇬 Tanta🇪🇬 Al Zaqaziq🇪🇬 Nag Hammadi🇪🇬 Asyut🇪🇬 Qus🇪🇬 Port Said🇪🇬 Suhaj🇪🇬 Banha🇪🇬 Luxor🇪🇬 Mit Ghamr
19757.44M2.65M0.41M0.39M0.39M0.34M0.34M0.33M0.31M0.28M0.22M0.12M0.09M0.13M
19767.65M2.73M0.44M0.41M0.39M0.36M0.34M0.34M0.31M0.29M0.24M0.13M0.09M0.14M
19777.86M2.82M0.48M0.43M0.40M0.38M0.34M0.35M0.31M0.30M0.26M0.13M0.09M0.15M
19788.07M2.90M0.51M0.46M0.41M0.39M0.34M0.36M0.31M0.31M0.27M0.14M0.09M0.15M
19798.28M2.99M0.54M0.48M0.42M0.41M0.34M0.37M0.31M0.32M0.29M0.14M0.09M0.16M
19808.49M3.07M0.57M0.51M0.43M0.43M0.34M0.38M0.32M0.33M0.31M0.15M0.09M0.17M
19818.75M3.16M0.58M0.52M0.44M0.44M0.35M0.39M0.32M0.34M0.32M0.17M0.09M0.17M
19829.02M3.25M0.60M0.53M0.45M0.45M0.36M0.41M0.32M0.36M0.33M0.19M0.09M0.18M
19839.28M3.34M0.62M0.55M0.46M0.46M0.38M0.42M0.32M0.37M0.34M0.21M0.09M0.18M
19849.54M3.43M0.63M0.56M0.47M0.47M0.39M0.44M0.32M0.39M0.35M0.23M0.09M0.19M
19859.80M3.52M0.65M0.58M0.47M0.48M0.40M0.45M0.32M0.41M0.36M0.25M0.09M0.20M
198610.17M3.58M0.67M0.59M0.48M0.49M0.40M0.46M0.33M0.42M0.38M0.27M0.09M0.20M
198710.55M3.65M0.69M0.60M0.49M0.50M0.40M0.47M0.33M0.43M0.39M0.29M0.09M0.21M
198810.93M3.71M0.71M0.61M0.50M0.51M0.41M0.49M0.33M0.44M0.40M0.31M0.09M0.22M
198911.30M3.78M0.73M0.62M0.51M0.52M0.41M0.50M0.33M0.45M0.42M0.34M0.09M0.22M
199011.68M3.84M0.75M0.63M0.52M0.53M0.41M0.51M0.33M0.46M0.43M0.36M0.09M0.23M
199112.13M3.89M0.76M0.64M0.52M0.55M0.41M0.54M0.33M0.46M0.44M0.40M0.09M0.23M
199212.58M3.94M0.78M0.65M0.53M0.57M0.41M0.56M0.32M0.47M0.45M0.44M0.09M0.24M
199313.03M3.99M0.79M0.66M0.54M0.60M0.41M0.58M0.32M0.48M0.46M0.49M0.09M0.25M
199413.48M4.04M0.81M0.67M0.54M0.62M0.41M0.61M0.32M0.49M0.47M0.53M0.09M0.25M
199513.93M4.09M0.82M0.68M0.55M0.64M0.40M0.63M0.32M0.49M0.49M0.57M0.09M0.26M
199614.28M4.17M0.84M0.69M0.57M0.65M0.40M0.65M0.32M0.50M0.50M0.62M0.12M0.27M
199714.63M4.25M0.86M0.71M0.58M0.67M0.40M0.67M0.31M0.51M0.52M0.66M0.14M0.27M
199814.98M4.32M0.88M0.72M0.60M0.69M0.40M0.69M0.31M0.52M0.54M0.71M0.17M0.28M
199915.33M4.40M0.90M0.74M0.61M0.71M0.40M0.70M0.31M0.53M0.55M0.75M0.20M0.29M
200015.68M4.48M0.91M0.75M0.63M0.72M0.40M0.72M0.30M0.54M0.57M0.80M0.22M0.29M
200116.05M4.57M0.95M0.76M0.64M0.74M0.39M0.75M0.30M0.55M0.61M0.84M0.25M0.34M
200216.41M4.66M0.99M0.78M0.66M0.75M0.39M0.78M0.30M0.56M0.64M0.89M0.28M0.39M
200316.78M4.75M1.02M0.79M0.67M0.76M0.39M0.81M0.29M0.57M0.68M0.94M0.30M0.44M
200417.15M4.84M1.06M0.80M0.68M0.78M0.39M0.84M0.29M0.58M0.71M0.98M0.33M0.48M
200517.52M4.93M1.10M0.82M0.70M0.79M0.38M0.87M0.29M0.59M0.75M1.03M0.36M0.53M
200617.91M5.03M1.13M0.83M0.71M0.80M0.38M0.89M0.28M0.60M0.77M1.08M0.46M0.54M
200718.29M5.14M1.16M0.85M0.72M0.82M0.37M0.91M0.28M0.61M0.79M1.13M0.56M0.55M
200818.68M5.24M1.19M0.86M0.73M0.84M0.37M0.93M0.28M0.62M0.81M1.18M0.66M0.56M
200919.07M5.34M1.22M0.88M0.75M0.85M0.37M0.94M0.27M0.63M0.83M1.22M0.75M0.57M
201019.46M5.44M1.25M0.90M0.76M0.87M0.36M0.96M0.27M0.65M0.84M1.27M0.85M0.58M
201119.87M5.54M1.30M0.91M0.77M0.88M0.36M0.99M0.26M0.66M0.88M1.31M1.07M0.59M
201220.29M5.64M1.35M0.93M0.78M0.90M0.35M1.02M0.26M0.67M0.91M1.36M1.29M0.61M
201320.71M5.74M1.39M0.95M0.80M0.91M0.35M1.05M0.26M0.68M0.94M1.40M1.51M0.63M
201421.13M5.84M1.44M0.97M0.81M0.93M0.35M1.08M0.25M0.69M0.97M1.44M1.73M0.64M
201521.55M5.94M1.49M0.99M0.82M0.94M0.34M1.11M0.25M0.70M1.01M1.48M1.95M0.66M
201622.04M6.12M1.51M1.00M0.84M0.98M0.33M1.13M0.24M0.73M1.02M1.54M2.28M0.66M
201722.53M6.31M1.54M1.02M0.86M1.03M0.32M1.16M0.23M0.75M1.03M1.61M2.60M0.67M
201823.02M6.50M1.57M1.03M0.87M1.07M0.30M1.19M0.23M0.77M1.05M1.67M2.93M0.67M
201923.51M6.68M1.59M1.05M0.89M1.11M0.29M1.22M0.22M0.80M1.06M1.73M3.26M0.68M
202024.00M6.87M1.62M1.07M0.90M1.16M0.28M1.25M0.21M0.82M1.07M1.79M3.58M0.68M
202124.31M6.95M1.64M1.08M0.93M1.21M0.28M1.28M0.22M0.82M1.08M1.85M3.70M0.71M
202224.63M7.03M1.66M1.10M0.95M1.26M0.28M1.31M0.22M0.83M1.09M1.91M3.82M0.73M
202324.94M7.11M1.68M1.12M0.97M1.31M0.28M1.34M0.23M0.84M1.10M1.97M3.95M0.76M
202425.25M7.19M1.69M1.14M1.00M1.37M0.29M1.38M0.24M0.84M1.11M2.03M4.07M0.79M
202525.57M7.27M1.71M1.16M1.02M1.42M0.29M1.41M0.25M0.85M1.12M2.09M4.19M0.81M
202625.89M7.35M1.74M1.18M1.03M1.45M0.29M1.43M0.26M0.86M1.13M2.15M4.31M0.83M
202726.21M7.43M1.76M1.20M1.04M1.49M0.30M1.44M0.26M0.86M1.14M2.22M4.42M0.84M
202826.54M7.51M1.78M1.22M1.05M1.52M0.31M1.46M0.27M0.87M1.15M2.29M4.54M0.85M
202926.86M7.59M1.81M1.25M1.06M1.55M0.31M1.48M0.28M0.88M1.16M2.35M4.66M0.87M
203027.18M7.67M1.83M1.27M1.07M1.59M0.32M1.50M0.29M0.88M1.17M2.42M4.78M0.88M
203127.49M7.75M1.85M1.29M1.10M1.64M0.32M1.54M0.30M0.89M1.19M2.51M4.91M0.90M
203227.79M7.83M1.88M1.32M1.13M1.69M0.32M1.58M0.31M0.89M1.21M2.59M5.05M0.93M
203328.09M7.90M1.90M1.34M1.16M1.74M0.32M1.62M0.32M0.90M1.24M2.68M5.18M0.95M
203428.39M7.98M1.92M1.36M1.19M1.80M0.32M1.66M0.33M0.91M1.26M2.76M5.32M0.97M
203528.70M8.05M1.95M1.39M1.21M1.85M0.33M1.71M0.34M0.91M1.28M2.85M5.45M0.99M
203628.99M8.13M1.97M1.41M1.23M1.89M0.33M1.73M0.35M0.92M1.31M2.91M5.59M1.02M
203729.29M8.20M1.98M1.44M1.24M1.92M0.33M1.76M0.36M0.92M1.34M2.97M5.73M1.04M
203829.59M8.28M2.00M1.46M1.26M1.96M0.33M1.78M0.36M0.93M1.37M3.02M5.86M1.07M
203929.88M8.35M2.02M1.49M1.27M2.00M0.33M1.81M0.37M0.94M1.40M3.08M6.00M1.10M
204030.18M8.43M2.04M1.51M1.28M2.03M0.34M1.83M0.38M0.94M1.42M3.14M6.14M1.12M
204130.42M8.49M2.05M1.53M1.30M2.06M0.34M1.86M0.40M0.95M1.43M3.20M6.29M1.17M
204230.65M8.55M2.07M1.54M1.31M2.09M0.34M1.88M0.41M0.95M1.45M3.26M6.44M1.21M
204330.89M8.60M2.09M1.56M1.32M2.12M0.34M1.90M0.43M0.96M1.46M3.32M6.59M1.25M
204431.13M8.66M2.10M1.57M1.33M2.14M0.35M1.92M0.45M0.97M1.47M3.38M6.74M1.30M
204531.36M8.72M2.12M1.59M1.35M2.17M0.35M1.95M0.47M0.97M1.48M3.44M6.88M1.34M
204631.56M8.78M2.14M1.60M1.36M2.19M0.35M1.96M0.48M0.98M1.49M3.49M7.02M1.36M
204731.77M8.84M2.15M1.61M1.36M2.22M0.35M1.98M0.49M0.98M1.49M3.53M7.16M1.38M
204831.97M8.90M2.17M1.62M1.37M2.24M0.35M2.00M0.49M0.98M1.50M3.58M7.30M1.39M
204932.17M8.96M2.18M1.64M1.38M2.27M0.35M2.01M0.50M0.99M1.51M3.62M7.43M1.41M
205032.37M9.02M2.20M1.65M1.39M2.29M0.35M2.03M0.51M0.99M1.52M3.67M7.57M1.43M

Post it

Suggested caption: “Cairo: 25.57 million people, 3.52 times Alexandria.” Credit the source in your caption; it heads off the 'source?' comments.

Make it yours

  • Switch between bar, line, column and donut races with one click.
  • Pick 9:16 for Reels and TikTok, 4:5 for the feed or 16:9 for YouTube.
  • Change the theme, font, colors and race length, and add your own captions.
  • Paste your own numbers from Excel or Google Sheets. See the bar chart race maker for tips.

Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Egypt?

Cairo is the largest city in Egypt in the UN 2025 series, with about 25.57 million people. Alexandria follows at 7.27 million. These figures use the UN Degree of Urbanization definition, not municipal boundaries.

Which city is projected to be largest in Egypt in 2050?

The UN projects Cairo to rank first in 2050, with about 32.37 million people. This is a projection, not an observed population count.

Was Cairo also the largest city in 1975?

The 1975 ranking was led by Cairo, with 7.44 million people. The table preserves every city that reached the top ten in any year shown, including cities outside the top ten today.

Where does this data come from?

UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 5, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. Blank cells indicate that the source supplies no city value for that year, not zero population. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

Can I turn this chart into a video?

Yes. Open it in the editor, change the title, theme, colors or format (9:16 for Reels and TikTok, 16:9 for YouTube), and export an MP4. Free exports are 720p with a small watermark; Pro ($11.99/month) removes it and adds 1080p, 4K and 60 fps.

Related data

All cities charts
WorldReal data

Egypt's population

Egypt: 114.54M in 2023; UN projects 201.9M in 2100. The 1950 estimate was 21.15M. Future values follow the medium scenario.

MoneyReal data

Egypt's GDP

Egypt GDP: $476.7B in 2022, versus $365.3B in 2025. World Bank totals in current US dollars; not adjusted for inflation.

WorldReal data

Egypt: life expectancy

Egypt: 71.8 years in 2024. Life expectancy peaked at 71.8 years in 2024 in this 1990–2024 series.