With and area measuring 1,010,408 square kilometers or 390,121 square miles, Egypt is world 29th, Africa’s 12th and North Africa fourth largest country after Algeria, Libya and Mauritania. The country’s highest point is Mount Sinai which stands at an altitude of 2885 meters or — feet above sea level.
Its capital city is Cairo which is Africa’s most populous city, surpassing other major and populous cities in Africa like Nigeria’s Lagos, Ethiopian Addis Ababa and Kenya’s Nairobi. The country’s official language is Arabic and English, while Egyptian Arabic is country’s national language.
This ancient nation lies between latitudes 22 degrees and 32 degrees north of the Equator and longitudes 25 and 35 degrees east of the Prime Meridian.
Egypt has one of the world’s greatest histories which go back to 6th and 4th millennia; this was long Before the Christ Era (BCE). Egypt is one of the world’s cradles for Civilization together with Mesopotamia in Middle East, Indus River in India and China’s.
The country was former British Colony and gained its independence in 1922. However this was a sham independence granting the monarchs some leeway and hence, the king was a puppet of the colonial masters. While the real power resided in the British military who controlled and continued to occupy the country. It was in the 1952 revolution under Gamal Abdel Nasser that saw the British soldiers expelled from the country and the monarch overthrown.
Early Egypt’s civilizations were centers of innovation in agriculture, writing, religion, organized politics, science and technology. These led to establishment of central governments as well as urbanization among other developments. These historical achievements have undisputed evidence which includes:
- Giza Necropolis
- Great Sphinx
- Ruins which includes Memphis, Thebes, and Karnak
- The Valley of Kings and Queens
- Old cities like Alexandria
Many civilizations adopted or were assimilated by Egypt’s culture and these included:
- Greeks, Persians, Romans, Arabs, Turkey’s Ottoman Empire, Ethiopia and Nubians.
At one point, Egypt was a center of Christianity but the Muslim conquest changed that and today the country is predominantly Muslim. Egypt has been colonized by many powers including Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantine, Arabs, Ottomans and finally British.
Egypt is one of the most populous nations in Africa with a population of about 95 million people. Besides, Egypt is a transcontinental country, the only one in Africa as its spans two continents, Africa and Asia. The Suez Canal, that link Mediterranean and Red Sea is major transport corridor and this has resulted to Egypt becoming a North Africa and Middle East regional power. Besides, Egypt is a powerhouse in Muslim world and world’s middle power. Its economy is the most diversified in both Africa and Middle East and is expected to become one of the largest in the world in the 21st century. Since 2016, Egypt has been the second largest economy in Africa after overtaking South Africa. Africa largest is Nigeria, while South Africa is third largest.
Egypt has been playing a key role in geopolitics both in the world and regional and hence it’s a founder member of:
- United Nations
- Non-Alignment Movement
- Arab League
- Africa Union
- Organizations of Islamic Corporation
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