- Population: 84,500,000
- Capital: Cairo;
- Area: 1,002,000 square kilometers
- Religious Breakdown: about 90% Sunni Muslim, about 10% Coptic Christian
- Industry: Textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals
- Agriculture: Cotton, rice, corn, wheat; cattle
- Exports: Crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
24 million Egyptians live on less than $2 US per day.
~Wallstreet Journal
- Egypt has a colorful history of ancient empires, epic battles, and fantastic monuments. Despite long being a regional super power, it was taken over by foreign powers, starting with Alexander the Great. Changing hands a few times over the millennium, Egypt eventually won its independence from the British Empire in 1953.
- In the 1970s, President Anwar al-Sadat signed an historic peace agreement with Israel, becoming the first Arab state to officially recognize Israel's existence. Ever since then, Egypt has been important in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, as well as an important partner in the United States-Middle Eastern diplomacy.
- President Sadat was assassinated in 1981 and was replaced by President Hosni Mubarak, who has remained in power ever since. At first, Mubarak helped to modernize his state, but as decades passed, there arose growing corruption in the government.
- Extremely high poverty and economic stagnation in recent years lead to an extreme discontent among the populace towards Mubarak and his regime. In early 2011, neighboring Tunisia rose up against their government, causing a completely new government to be formed. A week or so later, demonstrations in Egypt, organized with the aid of Facebook and Twitter, escalated into demands for Mubarak's resignation.
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