International disputes: administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary creating the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high
Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 95%
Irrigated land: 25,850 sq km (1989 est.)
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
natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash
floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called
khamsin occurs in spring; duststorms, sandstorms
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified
- Desertification, Tropical Timber 94
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
@Egypt:People
Population: 62,359,623 (July 1995 est.)