Objective: To assess the differences in the symptomatology in depressed elderly patients and the influence of risk factors and life events in the Egyptian and Libyan cultures. Method: 96 Egyptian and 91 Libyan patients have been assessed by LEDS, PSE-10, GDS HDRS and MMSE, four depressive subtypes have been included Results: A significant influence of some risk factors and life events have been found in either samples particularly health, financial marital problems. Regarding the symptoms, the cultural impact was found to affect few symptoms while the other significant differences were mainly due to clinical backgrounds. Conclusion: The two cultures have shown identical cultural influences on the psychopathology of depression in late life. Few differences have been discussed.