A traffic jam at sunset on one of Cairo's bridges (Photo: AP)
The number of vehicles on Egypt's roads rose an annual 13.5 per cent in 2010, fuelled by enhanced credit facilities from banks, official data showed on Wednesday.
Egypt had a total of 5.854 million road vehicles in 2010, up from 5.159 million the year before, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Cairo saw the largest amount, comprising 31.6 per cent of the total, up from 29 per cent the previous year. North Sinai had the least vehicles -- just 0.3 per cent of the total in both 2009 and 2010.
There were 7.4 privately-owned vehicles per 100 people in Egypt last year, up from 6.7 in 2009. Cairo had the highest rate of vehicle ownership: 20.4 per 100 people compared to 16.9 twelve months before.
The CAPMAS report partially attributed the climb to enhanced credit opportunities for those wanting to buy private cars and taxis. An increase in licences for tuk tuks -- motorised three-wheeled carts -- also boosted the total, the agency said.
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