Egypt - officially the Arab Republic of Egypt is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa. While the country is geographically situated in Africa, the Sinai Peninsula, east of the Suez Canal, is a land bridge to Asia.
Covering an area of about 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,560 square miles), Egypt borders Libya to the West, Sudan to the South, and Israel and the Gaza Strip to the North-East; on the North and the East are the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, respectively.
Egypt is the sixteenth most populous country in the world. The vast majority of its 78.8 million population live near the banks of the Nile River (about 40,000 sq. km or 15,450 sq. miles), where the only arable agricultural land is found. Large areas of land are part of the Sahara Desert and are sparsely inhabited. About half of the Egyptian people today are urban, living in the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East, and Alexandria.
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most ancient and important monuments, including the Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza; the southern city of Luxor contains a particularly large number of ancient artifacts such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Today, Egypt is widely regarded as the main political and cultural centre of the Arab and Middle Eastern regions.
Politics - Egypt has been a republic since 18 June 1953. President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14, 1981, following the assassination of former-President Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party.
The Egyptian military is the strongest military power on the African continent, and perhaps the second largest in the Middle East. The Egyptian Armed forces have also had more battle-field experience than most armies in the region. The Egyptian Armed forces has combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel.
Religion - According to the constitution, any new legislation must implicitly agree with Islamic laws. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at approximately 90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. Christians represent about 10% of the population, with the largest being the Coptic denomination at 9%, while the remaining 1% include Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, and Armenian Orthodox, largely found in Alexandria and Cairo.
Economy - Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than 5 million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf area like UAE, and Europe. The United States as well has a large population of Egyptian immigrants.
Culture - Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. The Egyptian Academy of the Arabic Language is responsible for regulating the Arabic Language throughout the world. Egypt has had a thriving media and arts industry since the late 19th century, today with more than 30 satellite channels and over 100 motion pictures produced each year. Cairo in fact has long been known as the "Hollywood of the East." To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Egypt is also the only Arab country with an opera house.