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New Cairo ( ) is a satellite city within the Cairo Governorate of Egypt, and the metropolitan area of Greater Cairo. Administratively, it is officially part of the Eastern Area of Cairo city, but like all new settlements in Egypt, it is directly governed by the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA). The city was established in 2000 as part of Egypt's strategic effort to alleviate the chronic congestion of Greater Cairo by decentralising population and economic activity. The city is made up of a mix of residential neighbourhoods, commercial centres, and institutional zones. It is home to several gated communities, private universities, malls, international schools, and corporate headquarters, positioning it as a hub for Cairo’s upper and elite classes. Its development reflects Egypt’s broader neoliberal urban planning strategies, aimed at attracting private investments and promoting modern and western lifestyles.
According to the 2017 census, New Cairo's three had a combined population of 297,387 residents (also see population section below). The city could eventually host a population of 5 million. When compared to 6th of October, also built with the hopes of alleviating the strain on Cairo, more homes are being rented out in New Cairo.
New Cairo has attracted both praise and criticism. While it is seen as a model for modern urban expansion, it is also scrutinised for social exclusivity and limited accessibility for lower-income classes.
As the population continued to grow throughout the late 50s, rising land prices pushed lower- and middle Egyptians to settle informally on the outskirt of Cairo, into the desert onto privately owned agricultural land without official authorisation due to their affordability. This trend accelerated, and by 1990 the informal settlements housed nearly two-thirds of Cairo’s population. Despite their significance, successive governments largely overlooked these districts. The failure to provide adequate low-income housing was compounded by the economic liberalisation policies of the infitah era, which led to the continuous devaluation of the Egyptian pound and a stark decline is its purchasing power. Families sought alternative housing in graveyards, rooftop shacks, garages, and shared apartments. Cairo’s environmental conditions degraded, and became marked by visual chaos, polluted streets, and risen noise levels.
Urban planners characterised this transformation as a form of gentrification, as before the development of New Cairo, the area was home to three informal settlements housing poor families and the unhoused. These communities were later displaced, as the land was sold off to private investors. Although New Cairo was envisioned as a city akin to Heliopolis, housing all social classes, the dominance of private interest turned the area into a symbol of exclusion, reinforcing Cairo’s socio-spatial inequalities.
According to the 2017 census New Cairo's three qisms had a combined population of 297,387 residents:The interactive census site is the only available digital source (non-pdf) and must be queried as follows: Statistics and analysis > Population > 2017 Data > Gender >Statistical Tables >Total population and population by sex (Choose location). This is in stark contrast to the New Urban Communities Authority's (NUCA) undated population estimate of 1.5 million inhabitants and a target population of 4 million inhabitants. However, the same source contradicts this claim where it states 70,000 homes as built, leading to an impossibly high average of 21 people per home. The lower population figure translates into a more realistic 4 people per home.
| Qâhira al-Gadîda 1, al- | 014200 | 135,834 |
| Qâhira al-Gadîda 2, al- | 014300 | 90,668 |
| Qâhira al-Gadîda 3, al- | 014400 | 70,885 |
Al-Qahira al-Gadida Awwal had 135,834 residents across its four shiakhas (quarters):
| Jâmi`a al-Amrîkiyya, and al-Rawḍa, al- | 014204 | 451 |
| Narjis, and al-Mustathmirîn al-janûbiyya, al- | 014202 | 15,175 |
| Tajammu` 5, al- | 014201 | 36,830 |
| Yâsamîn et al-Banafsij, and al-Mustathmirîn al-shamâliyya, al- | 014203 | 83,378 |
| Akâdimiyyat al-Shurṭa, and al-Mîrâj | 014303 | 2,928 |
| Firdaws, and al-Kawthar, al- | 014302 | 24,010 |
| Riḥâb, and al-Mustathmirûn, al- | 014301 | 63,730 |
| Andalus, al- | 014405 | 330 |
| Anshiṭa, al- | 014403 | 1 |
| Iskân Mubarak li-l-Shabâb | 014402 | 46,421 |
| Manṭiqa al-Ṣinâ`iyya, al- | 014404 | 59 |
| Qaṭṭâmiyya, al- | 014401 | 24,074 |
The city is connected to other cities by a vast network of bus lines, and construction has begun for a Cairo Monorail line that connects the city with the Cairo suburb of Nasr City to the west, and the New Administrative Capital to the east. The city gets its drinking water from a water plant in Obour City, nearby.
A branch of Al Ahly SC is currently under construction in the eastern part of the city. There is also a championship golf course with tennis lies in the Kattameya section of the city.
At the entrance of New Cairo is Cairo Festival City, a 285 hectare (700 acres) real estate development which has parks, games, pools, gardens, walkways, business office space, a large mall and a dancing fountain. In addition to that, there are many other malls in New Cairo including Point 90, Downtown Kattameya, Porto Cairo, Emerald Plaza and Park mall, in addition to numerous other, smaller malls.
Demand for real estate in New Cairo has been very high, with prices per metre for apartments averaging around , and for villas . It has continued increasing, especially after the construction of the New Administrative Capital to the east. The government has also moved many services and administrations to the city, the most notable of which were the Traffic Administration offices of Nasr City, Heliopolis and New Cairo (which was previously located in El Shorouk) in 2020, as they were all moved into one three-floor building in the southern part of the city.
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