Egypt has democratic structures, but the presidency and acting power in the country seem to rest in the hands of the established elite, centred around President Hosni Mubarak.Egypt has two national holidays. On February 28, the country commemorates its liberation from British control in 1922. July 23, is the most celebrated now, commemorating the Revolution Day in 1952, the day when monarchy came to an end.Geography
Water surface: 6,000 km²
Population density: 72 per kmē
Border: A total of 2,665 km. Of this, 11 km to Palestine, to Israel 266 km, Sudan 1,273 km, and Libya 1,115 km.
Coastline: 2,450 km, facing the Mediterranean Sea in the north, and the Red Sea in the east (with gulfs of Suez and Aqaba).
Highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
Arable land: 2.9%
Egypt is a country stretching over two continents, as Sinai is counted as part of Asia. Except for the Nile Valley, Egypt is almost all desert. Even the coastal areas are very dry. There are no forests.
The Nile Valley which extends at the maximum some kilometres on either side of the river, gives just about enough ground for the agriculture needed by the fast growing population in Egypt. The delta area, where the Nile divides into many smaller rivers, is of major importance to agriculture of Egypt.
The climate in Egypt is generally very hot in summer, but with big differences between the northern parts and southern areas. Winter is generally warm. Average summer temperatures can be up to 41ºC in the south, but it average 5-10 oC less in the north. Average winter temperatures are between 13 oC in the north, and 21 oC in the south. Cairo, the capital, is in the middle of these two extremes.
Life
Egypt performs quite badly on the Human Development Index where it comes in as no. 111 of the 177 states that are ranked in the world. On a scale with 1 as maximum, Egypt gains 0.702 points.
Currency: Pound (geneyh)=100 qirsh (EGP)
100 pounds=US$18.20. US$1=5.50 pounds (Sep. 2008)
Egypt's GDP/capita is US$5,400 (2008 estimate), with a fairly moderate 8-9% unemployment rate and 20% population below the poverty line (2005 estimate).
