Egypt
Giza Governorate on the western edge of the Nile Valley, not Cairo. Continent Africa. World Heritage site since 1979.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage List
Egypt. That is the complete answer, and if you only wanted to know that, you are done here.
The question is usually phrased as: In which country are the Pyramids of Giza located? And the answer almost always comes with an incorrect addition, namely that the structures stand in Cairo. They do not. They stand on the western edge of Giza, an independent million-city on the opposite bank of the Nile, which belongs to its own governorate. Cairo is a neighbor, not the location, and the river lies between them.
The official assignment is recorded in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The necropolis has been listed since 1979, together with Memphis and the pyramid fields up to Dahshur, and Egypt is entered as the contracting state.
The classification in five lines
- State
- Arab Republic of Egypt
- Continent
- Africa, with an Asian part of the country on the Sinai Peninsula
- Governorate
- Giza, not Cairo
- Location
- Western edge of the city of Giza, at the edge of the Nile Valley
- World Heritage
- since 1979, together with Memphis and Dahshur
Africa or Asia?
The second question almost always follows immediately: Africa or Asia?
Egypt is a state on two continents. The vast majority of the country lies in Africa; east of the Suez Canal, the Sinai Peninsula connects, which is geographically counted as Asia. The canal is thus more than just a waterway. It is a continental border with ship traffic.
For travelers, this has a consequence that is rarely spoken aloud. If you spend your vacation on the Red Sea in Sharm el-Sheikh or Dahab and book a day trip to Giza from there, you change continents on the way there and back again. In the same country, with the same ID, without a single border control.
For the structures themselves, however, the matter is clear. Giza lies in the Nile Valley, clearly west of the canal, and thus unquestionably on the African mainland. If asked in a quiz on which continent the plateau lies, you answer Africa and are correct. If asked on which continent Egypt lies, you may hesitate briefly.
Two pyramid countries compared
The neighbors along the Nile both built pyramids, but at different times and on different scales.
| Egypt | Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of pyramids | well over a hundred, depending on counting methods | around 255 |
| Built by | the kings of the Old and Middle Kingdoms | the kings of Kush |
| Approximate period | around 2670 to 1700 BC | around 700 BC to 300 AD |
| Most famous site | Giza | Meroe |
| UNESCO World Heritage since | 1979 | 2011 |
- Egypt
- well over a hundred, depending on counting methods
- Sudan
- around 255
- Egypt
- the kings of the Old and Middle Kingdoms
- Sudan
- the kings of Kush
- Egypt
- around 2670 to 1700 BC
- Sudan
- around 700 BC to 300 AD
- Egypt
- Giza
- Sudan
- Meroe
- Egypt
- 1979
- Sudan
- 2011
The numbers vary depending on what is counted as a pyramid. The ranking between the two countries does not fluctuate.
Which country has the most pyramids?
Now to the question that stumps most people: Which country has the most pyramids in the world?
Not Egypt. There are more in Sudan, and significantly more. National Geographic estimates the stock at around 255 pyramids, more than double the number in the neighboring country. They were erected by the kings of Kush, whose empire flourished long after the Old Kingdom, and whose rulers sometimes even ruled over Egypt.
The buildings look different: smaller, steeper, and closer together. The largest measure barely more than thirty meters at the base, while the Great Pyramid of Khufu measures over two hundred there. They are hardly known because tourism in Sudan is practically undeveloped.
Were the pyramids always in Egypt?
There remains a question that is rarely asked and makes the answer all the more interesting: Were the pyramids always in Egypt?
The state that today calls itself the Arab Republic of Egypt is roughly four and a half millennia younger than the structures on the plateau. When the Great Pyramid of Khufu was created, there was neither a republic nor the country name in its current form. The residence was located at Memphis, a few kilometers further south, and the necropolis belonged to its surroundings.
Even the name of the place has changed. The word pyramid is Greek, not Egyptian; the builders called their structures differently and gave each one its own name. What now looks like a fixed assignment of structure, city, and state is a snapshot from the last of roughly forty-five centuries.
The Arabic country name is still Misr, and that is what the people there call their country. The German form is borrowed via Greek. So when asking about the country, one asks about a political order that emerged long after the structures. The place has remained the same. Everything else has changed multiple times.
Who had authority over this place
- around 2560 BC
The Great Pyramid of Khufu is built. The residence is at Memphis, the realm is the Old Kingdom.
- 30 BC
Egypt becomes a Roman province.
- 641 AD
Arab conquest. The country name Misr has been in use since then.
- 1922
The country formally gains independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1953
Proclamation of the Republic. The current state is around 4,500 years younger than the structures in its territory.
- 1979
The necropolis is added to the World Heritage List.
Frequently asked questions
In which country is the Great Pyramid of Giza located?
In Egypt, on the western edge of the city of Giza. Not in Cairo, although the two cities have long merged into one urban area.
On which continent are the pyramids located?
In Africa. Although Egypt has an Asian part of the country on the Sinai, it lies east of the Suez Canal and far from the plateau.
Does Egypt have the most pyramids in the world?
No. More than twice as many stand in Sudan, erected by the kings of Kush.
What is Egypt called in Arabic?
Misr. The German form is borrowed via Greek and has nothing to do with the local name.