The E.G.S. is by far one of the oldest non – governmental institutions in Egypt. It comes second after “L'Institut d'Egypte” which symbolized the scientific achievements of the French Military Campaign (1798). World-wide, it holds the ninth position amongst the geographical societies of the world and is only superseded by some of the geographical societies in both North America and Europe. It is also worth- mentioning that the E.G.S is also one of the founding members of the International Geographical Union ( IGU ) and is still keeping close contacts with the international geographical community.

In1925 the E.G.S. hosted and participated in the organization of the twelfth International Geographical Congress which was held in the present – day headquarter of the society whose premises were adapted and prepared for this special occasion. Its unique amphithetre with its Islamic architecture and its attractive artistic decorations was furnished particularily for this occasion. The impact of this historical event on the participants was tremendous. In 1962 the E.G.S. took the initiative of holding the first “ Arab Geographical Conference “ which was attended by a large number of Geographers from the different parts of the Arab world, and culminated in the declaration of establishing the “Union of Arab Geographers”. The E.G.S. has also been very keen to participate in almost all the (IGU) Conferences and its delegation participated effectively in the deliberations of these meetings and they succeeded in fostering closer ties with the world Geographical community. Many of the scientific and cultural activities of the E.G.S. are now being monitored and reviewed by the IGU and are almost regularity mentioned in its bulletin