Egypt Environment - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

Climate

desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Land use

agricultural land: 3.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 2.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest: 0.1% (2018 est.)

other: 96.3% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 43.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.9% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

0.15% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 79.28 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 238.56 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 59.68 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 21 million tons (2012 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2.625 million tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 12.5% (2013 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Lake Manzala - 1,360 sq km
note - largest of Nile Delta lakes

Major rivers (by length in km)

Nile river mouth (shared with Rwanda [s], Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Sudan) - 6,650 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)

Major aquifers

Nubian Aquifer System

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 10.75 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 5.4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 61.35 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

57.5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Egypt on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Egypt 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Egypt 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.