Cairo
3,085 km²
Shenzhen
1,997 km²
Egypt
China
Area Comparison
Cairo is 1.5x larger than Shenzhen
Population Comparison
Cairo has 1.7x fewer people than Shenzhen
In terms of area, Cairo is 1.5x the size of Shenzhen. Cairo spans 3,085 km² (1,191 mi²) while Shenzhen covers 1,997 km² (771 mi²) — a difference of 1,088 km².
To put Cairo's size in perspective, its area of 3,085 km² is about 1.2x the size of Luxembourg. Meanwhile, Shenzhen at 1,997 km² is roughly the same size as Tokyo (city proper).
Cairo's footprint is roughly about 432,000 American football fields, 52 times the area of Manhattan, or 29 times the area of Paris — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. Shenzhen works out to about 280,000 American football fields, 34 times the area of Manhattan, or 19 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.
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, and Macau to the southwest. With a population of 17.5 million in 2020, Shenzhen is the third-most-populous city by urban population in China after Shanghai and Beijing.
Nicknamed "China's Silicon Valley", Shenzhen has an area of 1,997 km² and is home to 17.6 million people. The city dates back to 1979. Visitors come for Ping An Finance Centre, Window of the World, OCT Loft, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Shenzhen Metro.
Shenzhen grew from a small town into China's third-most-populous urban city, hitting 17.5 million residents by 2020
Looking beyond city limits, the Cairo metropolitan area covers 6,588 km², which is 3.3x larger than greater Shenzhen at 1,997 km². The Cairo metro area is also more populous, with 21.3 million people compared to 17.6 million.
Cairo has a population density of 3,274 people per km² — a moderately dense city. Shenzhen, with 8,793 people per km², is a densely populated city. Shenzhen is noticeably denser, packing 2.7 times more people per square kilometer.
This comparison spans continents — Cairo in Africa versus Shenzhen in Asia. Despite the geographic distance, comparing their sizes reveals surprising insights about how cities grow worldwide.
Cairo has a hot desert climate while Shenzhen experiences humid subtropical conditions. When it's noon in Shenzhen, it's 6:00 AM in Cairo — a 6-hour time difference.
Density Gap
Shenzhen is 2.7x more densely populated
Time Difference
6 hours apart
History
Cairo is ~1,010 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).
Shenzhen covers 1,997 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Ho Chi Minh City (2,061 km²), Tokyo (2,194 km²), Riyadh (1,798 km²), Houston (1,725 km²), or Johannesburg (1,644 km²).
The straight-line distance from Cairo to Shenzhen is 8,121 km (5,046 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~10h 3m.
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