As the 20th century ended, what was the largest metropolitan area in Africa?

As the 20th century ended, Cairo, Egypt, was the largest metropolitan area in Africa.

The metropolitan area generally called Greater Cairo extends across Cairo Governorate and adjoining parts of Giza and Qalyubia. It is centered on the Nile and includes the national capital, the city of Giza, and extensive suburbs and satellite communities. Around the year 2000, Greater Cairo’s population was commonly estimated at roughly 10 million, making it Africa’s leading metropolitan concentration by population in many urban comparisons.

Cairo’s importance is much older than the modern metropolis. The nearby ancient settlements of Memphis and Heliopolis flourished thousands of years ago, while the city of Cairo itself was founded in 969 CE by the Fatimid dynasty. Giza’s pyramids, although outside Cairo proper, are part of the metropolitan region’s internationally recognized landscape.

Population rankings can vary depending on whether researchers count city limits, built-up urban areas, or wider metropolitan boundaries. That explains occasional comparisons with Lagos or Kinshasa. For the late-twentieth-century metropolitan-area wording used here, however, Cairo, Egypt, is the standard answer.