Location Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip

Geographic coordinates 27 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references Africa

Area
total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km

Area - comparative slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico

Land boundaries
total: 2,689 km
border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km

Coastline 2,450 km

Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Terrain vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m

Natural resources petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc

Land use
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 98% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land 32,460 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources

Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics

NOTE: The information regarding Egypt on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Egypt Geography 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Egypt Geography 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.