Cairo Metropolitan Area
The Cairo Metropolitan Area (Arabic: نطاق القاهرة المتروبوليتاني niṭāq al-qāhirah al-mitrūbūlītānī), informally known as Greater Cairo (القاهرة الكبرى al-qāhirah al-kubrā), is the largest contiguous urban area in the Arab Union and the second-largest megacity in the world, after the metropolitan area centred on Tokyo, Japan. Centred on the city of Cairo, the most populous city in the Arab Union and capital of the Egyptian Arab Republic, the union's most populous and economically dominant member republic, the Cairo Metropolitan Area has a population exceeding 35 million.
Greater Cairo consists of 23 municipalities, the largest and most populous of which is Cairo proper, with the remaining 22 municipalities covering all contiguous urban areas surrounding Cairo proper outside of its municipal limits. The largest such municipality is Giza, located directly across the Nile from Cairo and home to 8.9 million people; the smallest, New Cairo, is a mostly suburban municipality located on the eastern outskirts of the metropolitan area, with a population of around 556,000.
All 23 municipalities are served by at least one line of the Cairo Metro, the largest rapid transit system in the Arab Union by ridership, total length, and number of lines; the Cairo Metro is a vital part of the Greater Cairo economy, transporting over 10 million individuals on an average weekday, the majority of whom work in or near Cairo proper while living in the cheaper municipalities nearer the edge of the metropolitan area. The Cairo Metro is owned and operated by the Cairo Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state corporation owned equally by the 23 municipalities of the Cairo Metropolitan Area, which also operates a reliable and extensive bus system covering all 23 municipalities' primary and secondary road routes as well as a special charter bus service for persons with disabilities.
The Cairo Metropolitan Area is home to three international airports and seven domestic airports, all owned and operated by the federal government's Ministry of Transportation.
