Transportation in Egypt- statistics & facts
Egypt ranked the second highest in the African infrastructure development index (AIDI), following only Seychelles. As of 2022, the country registered around 89.9 points in the AIDI. In recent years, the transportation sector infrastructure has undergone significant changes, including but not limited to roads, rail transportation, and the development of the Suez Canal. The government embarked on these projects in an attempt to modernize an outdated transportation network. For instance, the country scored 5.1 points in the road quality infrastructure index in 2019, up from 2.7 in 2013. Furthermore, Egyptian ports had the second largest container throughput on the African continent, with 7.32 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), following only Morocco.
Furthermore, public transport companies and authorities counted 2.16 billion users around the governorates in 2020. However, the country also has an extensive informal transport system, run by informal private buses, and can be recognized by registered bus ownership. Another mode of transport used in the Greater Cairo Metropolitan area is the Cairo Metro (subway). With three operating lines, the Cairo Metro moved almost 796 million people in 2020. Additionally, there were over five million private cars licensed in the country.
Marine moves most cargo
The majority of the freight transported in the country was by sea. This is usually the case for worldwide international trade due to being cheaper compared to other modes of transport. In the last quarter of 2022, Egypt's maritime cargo transport amounted to 44 million metric tons. Based on the latest data, freight shipped in the Nile River amounted to 16.75 million metric tons in 2019, while close to 469,000 metric tons were moved using railways. Moreover, the country has one of the most important waterways in international trade, the Suez Canal. In January 2023, some 124 million metric tons of cargo passed through the canal, and an aggregate of 1.41 billion metric tons in 2022.The railway system is the most crowded and informal transport system
As of 2022, the Egyptian Railway Sector provided an aggregate of 403 million passengers with transportation services and around 34 million in January 2023. In comparison, some 142.3 million people used the Nile River for transportation in 2019. Air transport, a more expensive alternative, carried approximately 7.94 million individuals in the country in 2021.Furthermore, public transport companies and authorities counted 2.16 billion users around the governorates in 2020. However, the country also has an extensive informal transport system, run by informal private buses, and can be recognized by registered bus ownership. Another mode of transport used in the Greater Cairo Metropolitan area is the Cairo Metro (subway). With three operating lines, the Cairo Metro moved almost 796 million people in 2020. Additionally, there were over five million private cars licensed in the country.
