Egypt » Key Facts
Location
Area
Population
Population Density
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Government
Geography
The Mediterranean Sea forms Egypt's northern border, bringing cooler weather to the seaboard city of Alexandria and providing a coastal getaway for Cairo's residents. To the east, lies the mountainous Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Palestinian Territories; to the south, the deserts of Egypt quietly roll into the deserts of Sudan; to the west, the Great Western Desert forms an almost seamless wilderness through Libya and beyond.
Sinai is divided from the main landmass of Africa by the country's busy shipping lane, the Suez Canal. For centuries, however, it was the River Nile, plied by felucca (traditional Nile sailing boats), that provided the main conduit for trade along the country's length. Railways and roads now compete for that distinction, but the Nile remains an important economic and cultural artery.
The Nile perfuses the Delta north of Cairo, supporting 90% of the population in a flood land of cotton and rice-growing crops. The river's potency has been reduced since the building of the Aswan Dam; on the positive side, the dam has provided the country with a safe and reliable electricity supply - and has had the side effect of keeping the crocodiles out.
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Recent History
The pre-Hellenic period is distinguished by Kingdoms (Old, Middle and New) and divided into dynasties, including the IVth dynasty with the construction of the Great Pyramid, and Tutankhamun’s rule briefly during the XV
The arrival of Napoleon in AD 1798 brought Egypt once more into violent contact with a European power. By 1805, however, the struggle for independence had been won, with Muhammad Ali being recognised as Sultan.
The Suez Canal was opened in 1869; British occupation lasted from 1882 - 1936. Thereafter, Egypt was formally independent but severely constrained by the British.
The 1952 revolution, led by Colonel Nasser, took the Suez Canal into public ownership which led to the Suez Crisis of 1956, in which a combined Anglo-French-Israeli military operation attempted to depose Nasser. It failed, which greatly enhanced Nasser's standing.
The defeat of Arab forces by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War deprived Egypt of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, recovered only after another defeat by the Israelis in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and the subsequent Egyptian-Israeli peace initiative, which culminated in the 1979 Camp David accord.
The treaty was signed on the Egyptian side by Nasser's successor, Anwar El-Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981. Sadat was succeeded by his deputy, Hosni Mubarak after winning a fifth term of office in 2005. In response to mass protests, Mubarak stepped down in January 2011 and appointed Ahmed Shafik as the new Prime Minister. Shafik resigned in March 2011 and the country is currently under military rule.
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Information in this section was last updated: Wed May 23 2012
