Egypt (
: مصر
Miṣr
, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation:
), officially the
Arab Republic of Egypt, is a
spanning the
and
via a
formed by the
. It is bordered by the
to
, the
of
and
to
, the
to the east,
to
, and
to
. The
in the northeast separates Egypt from
and
.
is the capital and
, while
, the second-largest city, is an important industrial and tourist hub at the
.
At approximately 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the
, and the
in Africa, behind
and
.
Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage along the
back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Considered a
,
saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government.
Iconic monuments such as the
and its
, as well the ruins of
,
,
, and the
, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of scientific and popular interest. Egypt's long and rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, which reflects its unique
location being simultaneously
,
and
.
Egypt was an early and important
, but was largely
in the seventh century and remains a predominantly
country, albeit with a
, along with other lesser practiced faiths.
Modern Egypt dates back to 1922, when it gained independence from the
as a monarchy. Following the
, Egypt declared itself a
, and in 1958 it merged with
to form the
, which dissolved in 1961. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Egypt endured social and religious strife and political instability, fighting
with
in
,
,
and
, and
the
intermittently until 1967. In 1978, Egypt signed the
, officially withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and
. After the Arab Spring, which led to the
and overthrow of
, the country faced a
. Egypt's current government, a
led by
since 2014, has been described by a number of watchdogs as authoritarian and responsible for perpetuating the country's poor
.
is the
of Egypt and
is its official language.
With over 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in
, the
, and the
, the
in Africa (after
and
), and the
in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the
River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi), where the only
is found. The large regions of the
, which constitute most of Egypt's territory, are sparsely inhabited. About 43% of Egypt's residents live across the country's urban areas,
with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Egypt is considered to be a
in
, the
and the
, and a
worldwide.
It is a
, ranking 97th on the
. It has a diversified economy, which is the
, the
, and the
. Egypt is a founding member of the
, the
, the
, the
,
and the
.