Cairo

This article is about the Egyptian city. For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation).

Cairo القاهرة
Capital city
Skyline of Cairo on the banks of the Nile Egyptian Museum Cairo Tower Al-Muizz Street Ibn Tulun Mosque Tahrir Square Al-Azhar Park Cairo Opera House Cairo Citadel
Flag Emblem
Nickname:  City of a Thousand Minarets
Interactive map of Cairo
Cairo Location of Cairo within Egypt Cairo Cairo (Africa)
Coordinates: 30°2′40″N 31°14′9″E
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Cairo
First major foundation	641–642 AD (Fustat)
Last major foundation	969 (969) AD (Cairo)
Government
• Governor	Ibrahim Saber
Area
• Capital city	606 km2 (234 sq mi)
• Metro	2,744 km2 (1,059 sq mi)
Elevation	23 m (75 ft)
Population  (2023)
• Capital city	9,801,536
• Rank	1st in Egypt 1st in Africa
• Density	16,200/km2 (41,900/sq mi)
• Metro	22,200,000
• Metro density	8,090/km2 (21,000/sq mi)
• Demonym	Cairene
GDP (nominal, 2024)
• Metro	$103.6 billion
• Per capital	$4,604
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code	(+20) 2
Website	cairo.gov.eg
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Historic Cairo
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, v, vi
Designated	1973
Reference no.	89

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Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate. It is home to more than 9.8 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world, and the Middle East. The Greater Cairo metropolitan area is one of the largest in the world by population with over 22 million people. Areas of what would become Cairo were inhabited from pre-dynastic and early-dynastic ancient Egypt c. 6000 years ago, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis are today within the city.

Located near the Nile Delta, the predecessor city was Fustat. Thereafter, Cairo was founded in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (12th–16th centuries). Cairo has since become a longstanding centre of political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture. Cairo's historic center was awarded World Heritage Site status in 1979. The city is considered a regional center of finance and commerce, academics and the arts, and is home to the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Cairo Opera House, while the Academy of Arts provides visual arts education.

Cairo is home to Egypt's oldest university, Al-Azhar University, one of the oldest universities in the world, as well as the oldest and largest film and music industry in Africa and the Arab world. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in Cairo, such as the headquarters of the Arab League, and the regional offices of the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations Development Programme.

Cairo is a key global city and, like many other megacities, suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic. The Cairo Metro, opened in 1987, is the oldest metro system in Africa, and ranks amongst the fifteen busiest in the world, with over 1 billion annual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East in 2005 by Foreign Policy's Global Cities Index, and first in Africa in 2025 according to the International Monetary Fund, and continues to be a major destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) due to its massive consumer market and strategic location.