Country agriculture profile · Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Egypt, Arab Rep.
Egypt is an almost entirely arid country whose agriculture is confined to the irrigated Nile Valley and Delta and to reclaimed desert on their fringes, where the river’s water sustains some of the most intensive cropping systems in the world. Warm winters and abundant irrigation allow year-round production, rotating winter wheat, berseem clover, and sugar beet with summer rice, maize, and cotton, and — in Upper Egypt — sugarcane. Smallholdings integrate cattle and water buffalo for milk and draught with fodder crops, alongside a large poultry sector. Because rainfall is negligible almost everywhere, essentially all cropland depends on Nile irrigation, and the country is at once a major producer of rice, long-staple cotton, and horticulture and one of the world’s largest importers of wheat.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Hot desert (arid)
- Mediterranean (narrow north coast)
Agroecological zones
- Nile Delta
- Nile Valley (Middle and Upper Egypt)
- Reclaimed desert fringe
- North-coast rainfed strip
Dominant crop systems
- Fully irrigated Nile Valley and Delta cropping with multiple crops per year
- Winter wheat, berseem clover, and sugar beet
- Summer rice, maize, and long-staple cotton
- Sugarcane in Upper Egypt
- Irrigated citrus and vegetable horticulture for export
Major livestock systems
- Smallholder cattle and water buffalo for milk and draught, integrated with fodder crops
- Sheep and goats
- Large-scale poultry
Irrigation: Essentially all cropland is irrigated from the Nile — historically by basin flooding and now perennially since the Aswan High Dam — so agriculture is almost wholly dependent on a single river system.
Latest verified data
Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.
| Indicator | Value | Unit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural land | 4.08 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Arable land per person | 0.03 | hectares per person | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 7,402.2 | kg per hectare | 2023 |
| Agriculture value added | 13.71 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Employment in agriculture(est.) | 17.98 | % of total employment | 2024 |
| Average precipitation | 18.1 | mm per year | 2022 |
| Rural population | 57.2 | % of total population | 2024 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Commodity market data
6,306 official observations across 55 commodities. Figures are shown on each commodity page with the unit, status and release its source published.
| Commodity | Metrics recorded |
|---|---|
| Almonds | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Avocados | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Bananas | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Barley Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Domestic use, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value |
| Black Peppercorns | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Buckwheat Grain | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Cashew Nuts | Imports, Import value |
| Chickpeas | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Cocoa Beans | Imports, Import value |
| Cotton Lint | Production, Beginning stocks, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value |
| Cottonseed | Production, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Imports, Index value, Exports, Export value, Import value |
| Cowpeas | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value |
| Cucumbers | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value |
| Dates | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dried Chillies | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dried Tobacco Leaf | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dry Beans | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dry Bulb Onions | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Dry Peas | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Flax Fibre | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Flaxseed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Apples | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Oranges | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Pineapples | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Strawberries | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Fresh Tomatoes | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Green Coffee | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Groundnuts | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value |
| Hazelnuts | Imports, Import value |
| Head Cabbage | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Hen Eggs | Production, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value |
| Jute Fibre | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Lentils | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Maize Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value |
| Milled Rice | Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Export value, Import value |
| Millet Grain | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Oat Grain | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Pistachios | Imports, Import value |
| Rapeseed | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Raw Cow Milk | Production, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Raw Wool | Production, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Rice Paddy | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Imports, Import value |
| Rye Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value |
| Sesame Seed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Sorghum Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value |
| Soybeans | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value |
| Sugar Beet | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Sugarcane | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price |
| Sunflower Seed | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value |
| Sweet Potatoes | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Tea Leaf | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Vanilla Beans | Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Walnuts | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Imports, Import value |
| Ware Potatoes | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value |
| Wheat Grain | Area harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value |
Cereal yield over time
Show data table
| Year | kg per hectare |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 7,269 |
| 2013 | 7,285.3 |
| 2014 | 7,085 |
| 2015 | 7,117.3 |
| 2016 | 7,251.5 |
| 2017 | 7,400.6 |
| 2018 | 6,776 |
| 2019 | 6,043.8 |
| 2020 | 7,167.4 |
| 2021 | 7,340.5 |
| 2022 | 7,080.3 |
| 2023 | 7,402.2 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Derived indicator
Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 76.5 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (3.1) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (4.1). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.
Documented crops & livestock
Agricultural institutions
- Agricultural Research Center (ARC) — National agricultural research body under the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation — National ministry responsible for agriculture, irrigation-linked land reclamation, and food policy.
Data coverage & limitations
Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators, compiled largely from FAO and national sources.
| Layer | Status | What is held |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural authorities | Not yet indexed | — |
| Official registries | Not yet indexed | — |
| Compliance requirements | Not yet indexed | — |
| Support programmes | Not yet indexed | — |
| Biosecurity listings | Not yet indexed | — |
| Variety registrations | Not yet indexed | — |
| Input authorisations | Not yet indexed | — |
| Extension resources | Not yet indexed | — |
| Market statistics | Covered | 441 records |
| Soil survey observations | Not yet indexed | — |
| Border requirements | Not yet indexed | — |
| Farm economics figures | Not yet indexed | — |
| Climate, drought and water values | Covered | 39 records |
This page describes what AgricultureID has indexed, not what exists. A layer shown as not yet indexed means nobody has looked, and never that the thing is absent in that country. How coverage is worked out.
- Agricultural statistics are dated, versioned, and periodically revised; always read them together with their observation year and dataset version.
- National statistical definitions — of agricultural land, irrigated area, holdings, and livestock categories — differ between countries and over time, which limits strict cross-country comparison.
- Because nearly all cropland is irrigated from the Nile, water availability rather than land is the binding constraint, and cropped area can exceed physical land area where multiple crops are grown in a year.
- Old-land Valley and Delta holdings and newer reclaimed-desert farms differ markedly in productivity, a contrast that national averages blend together.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- Authoritative
Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Cited for: Production systems, irrigation, and food-balance context
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12