Egypt

Country	Arab Republic of Egypt
Capital	Cairo
Independence	28 February 1922 (from UK protectorate status; the revolution that began on 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn on 18 June 1956)
National holiday	Revolution Day, 23 July (1952)
Population	85,294,388 (July 2013 est.)
Sex ratio	1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
Nationality	Egyptian(s)
Religions	Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%
Languages	Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Literacy	age 15 and over can read and write total population: 73.9% male: 81.7% female: 65.8% (2012 est.)
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
Geographic coordinates	27 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 1,001,450 sq km land: 995,450 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries	total: 2,665 km border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 266 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,273 km
Coastline	2,450 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate	desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain	vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc
Industries	textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures
Exports - commodities	crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals, processed food
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels
Land use	arable land: 2.92% permanent crops: 0.5% other: 96.58% (2005)
Irrigated land	35,300 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	86.8 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 68.3 cu km/yr (8%/6%/86%) per capita: 923 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorms called khamsin occur in spring; dust storms; sandstorms
Environment - current issues	agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees from Sudan and the Palestinian territories