Real size
How big is Egypt really?
1 million km²
388,000 sq mi · 30th largest of the 167 here · about the size of Mauritania
Normal web maps draw it 1.3× too big
Egypt covers 1 million km² (388,000 sq mi), about the size of Mauritania. A normal web map draws it about 1.3 times too big: not much, but enough to make it look bigger than countries nearer the equator.
Measured from our map outlines, so official figures can differ by a few percent. Ranks count the 167 countries and territories on these pages: those over 5,000 km², not counting disputed territories.
Part of the land Egypt holds or claims is disputed (1 dispute). Our area follows the borders drawn on today's map. See the disputed territories →
- Real area
- 1 million km²
- Size rank
- 30th of 167
- On a normal web map
- 1.3× too big
- Latitude
- 27°N
Countries about the same size
- MauritaniaAbout the same size
- TanzaniaEgypt is 1.1 times the size of Tanzania
- BoliviaBolivia is 1.1 times the size of Egypt
- VenezuelaEgypt is 1.1 times the size of Venezuela
- NigeriaEgypt is 1.1 times the size of Nigeria
Egypt through history
Borders here have moved many times. Step through our maps, from 2000 BCE to today, to see who ruled this land before, and how big their realms really were.
Open the history map →Browse the eras →
Common questions
- How big is Egypt?
- Egypt covers about 1 million km² (388,000 sq mi). It is the 30th largest of the 167 countries and territories on these pages (those over 5,000 km²).
- Why does Egypt look so big on maps?
- Most web maps use the Mercator projection, which keeps shapes right but stretches area more and more toward the poles. Averaged over the whole country, it draws Egypt about 1.3 times too big.
- Is Egypt bigger than Mauritania?
- They are about the same size: within 5% of each other.