Egypt
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt
conventional short form: Egypt local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah local short form: Misr former: United Arab Republic (with Syria) |
| Gevernment type | republic |
| Capital |
name: Cairo
geographic coordinates: 30 03 N, 31 15 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Friday in April; ends last Thursday in September |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the national emblem (a gold Eagle of Saladin facing the hoist side with a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; design is based on the Arab Liberation flag and similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band |
| Currency | Egyptian pound (EGP) |
| Internet country code | .eg |
| Ports and terminals | Alexandria, Damietta, El Dekheila, Port Said, Suez, Zeit |
| Agriculture products | cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures |
| Geography |
| 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 |
| Coordinates | 27 00 N, 30 00 E |
| Continent | Africa |
| Area |
total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| 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 |
| Climate | desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters |
| Terrain | vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms |
| People |
| Population | 78,887,007 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Egyptian 98%, Berber, Nubian, Bedouin, and Beja 1%, Greek, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1% |
| Religions | Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1% |
| Languages | Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes |
