Cairo
3,085 km²
Shanghai
6,341 km²
Egypt
China
Area Comparison
Cairo is 2.1x smaller than Shanghai
Population Comparison
Cairo has 2.5x fewer people than Shanghai
Yes — Shanghai is 2.1x larger than Cairo by area. Shanghai spans 6,341 km² (2,448 mi²) while Cairo covers 3,085 km² (1,191 mi²) — a difference of 3,256 km². You could fit Cairo inside Shanghai approximately 2 times.
To put Cairo's size in perspective, its area of 3,085 km² is about 1.2x the size of Luxembourg. Meanwhile, Shanghai at 6,341 km² is about 1.5x the size of Los Angeles metro.
Picture Cairo another way: its area is large enough to fit about 432,000 American football fields, 52 times the area of Manhattan, or 29 times the area of Paris. Shanghai, by comparison, equals about 888,000 American football fields, 110 times the area of Manhattan, or 60 times the area of Paris.
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.
Known as "The City of a Thousand Minarets", Cairo covers 3,085 km² with a population of 10.1 million. The city was established in 969. Cairo is known for Pyramids of Giza, Great Sphinx, Egyptian Museum, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the Cairo Metro.
Cairo is home to more than 9.8 million people and is part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa and the Arab world.
Shanghai is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. It has a population of 29,558,908 in the urban area as of 2025. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River bisecting the city. Shanghai is a global center for finance, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, tourism, and culture. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.
Often called "Pearl of the Orient", Shanghai has an area of 6,341 km² and is home to 24.9 million people. It was established in 1291. Visitors come for The Bund, Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Shanghai Metro.
Shanghai's urban population reached 29.5 million in 2025, making it the most populous urban area in all of China.
Looking beyond city limits, the Cairo metropolitan area covers 6,588 km², which is 1.0x larger than greater Shanghai at 6,341 km². The Shanghai metro area is also more populous, with 28.5 million people compared to 21.3 million.
Cairo has a population density of 3,274 people per km² — a moderately dense city. Shanghai, with 3,922 people per km², is a moderately dense city. Both cities have comparable density, though Shanghai is slightly more compact.
This comparison spans continents — Cairo in Africa versus Shanghai in Asia. Despite the geographic distance, comparing their sizes reveals surprising insights about how cities grow worldwide.
Cairo has a hot desert climate while Shanghai experiences humid subtropical conditions. When it's noon in Shanghai, it's 6:00 AM in Cairo — a 6-hour time difference.
Size Ratio
Cairo fits inside Shanghai ~2 times
Time Difference
6 hours apart
History
Cairo is ~322 years older
Cairo covers 3,085 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Hanoi (3,359 km²), Karachi (3,527 km²), Lima (2,672 km²), Moscow (2,511 km²), or Cape Town (2,455 km²).
Shanghai covers 6,341 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Perth (6,417 km²), Istanbul (5,461 km²), Guangzhou (7,434 km²), Wuhan (8,569 km²), or Dubai (4,114 km²).
The straight-line distance from Cairo to Shanghai is 8,355 km (5,191 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~10h 20m.
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