ne: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 2.87%
permanent crops: 0.48%
other: 96.65% (2001)

Irrigated land:
33,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides;
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 salination 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 the Nile and natural resources

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note:
controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and
remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link
between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition
to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics;
dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues;
prone to influxes of refugees

People Egypt

Population:
76,117,421 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33.4% (male 13,038,369; female 12,418,254)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 23,953,949; female 23,419,418)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 1,407,248; female 1,880,183) (2004
est.)

Median age:
total: 23.4 years
male: 23 years
female: 23.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.83% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
23.84 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
5.3 deat