Egypt Environment - 2024

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.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.15% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 63.16 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 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)

An Nīl (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.)