General Information About Egypt

 

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

Area:

Total: 1,001,450 sq km

Country comparison to the world: 30

Land: 995,450 sq km

Land boundaries :

Total: 2,612 km

Border countries: Gaza Strip 13 km, Israel 208 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,276 km

Coastline :

2,450 km

Climate :

Desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Geography – note:

Egypt controls the Sinai Peninsula, the only land bridge between Africa and the remainder of the Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; it is dependent on upstream neighbors in its Nile water.

 

 

 

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world’s greatest civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control around 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517.

Completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 elevated Egypt as an important world transportation hub. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt’s government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1014. Partially independent from the ٧^ in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty from Britain in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High □am in 1971 and the resultant take Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt.

A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arabie land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government is challenged to meet the demands of Egypt’s population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure

Inspired by the 2010 Tunisian revolution, Egyptian opposition groups led demonstrations and labor strikes countrywide, culminating in President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Egypt’s military assumed national leadership until a new parliament was in place in early 2012; later that same year, Mohammed Morsi won the presidential election. Following protests throughout the spring of 2013 against Morsi’s government and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), and massive anti-government demonstrations, the Egyptian Armed Pomes (EAF) intervened and removed Morsi from power in mid-july 2013 and replaced him with interim president Adly Mansour. In mid-january 2014, voters approved a new constitution by referendum. In May 2014, Abdel Fatah ElSisi won the presidential elections, with 96.9% of votes against Hamdeen Sabahi, According to the constitution and the government’s transitional road map, parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2015.