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.
Land Area: 1,001,450 sq. kilometers (386,660 sq. miles)
Coastline: 2,450 km (1,523 miles)
Highest Point: Mount Catherine, 2,629 meters (8,623 feet)
Lowest Point: Qattara Depression, -133 meters (-436 feet)
Notable Landmarks: Take a peek...

Lack of substantial progress on economic reform since the mid 1990s has limited investment in Egypt by other countries and kept annual growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the range of 2 percent to 3 percent in 2001 to 2003. However, in 2004, Egypt implemented several measures to boost foreign investment. In September 2004, Egypt pushed through custom reforms, proposed income and corporate tax reforms, reduced energy subsidies, and made several enterprises owned by the people. The budget deficit rose to an estimated 8 percent of GDP in 2004, compared to 6.1 percent of GDP the previous year. Monetary pressures on an overvalued Egyptian pound led the government to float the currency in January 2003, leading to a sharp drop in its value. In 2004, the Central Bank implemented measures to improve the value of its money. Egypt reached record tourism levels. The development of an export market for natural gas is a bright spot for future growth prospects.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $316.3 billion (2004 est.)
GDP Per Capita: $4,200 (2004 est.)
Number of Workers: 20.71 million (2004 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 10.9 percent (2004 est.)
Industries: Textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement and metals.
Currency: Pound What does it look like?

Type of Government: Republic
Chief of State: Pres. Mohammed Hosni Mubarak (since 14 October 1981)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif (since 9 July 2004)
Capital City: Cairo
Legal Age to Vote: 18, universal and compulsory.
Flag Design: 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.
Official Language: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes.
Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94 percent; Copitic Christian and other, 6 percent.

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 great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3,200 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 about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. To protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have changed the importance of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.