The Geopolitical Review of Egypt

Egypt is a country located in the northeast of Africa. It is bordered by Israel to the north, the Red Sea in the east, Sudan in the south and Libya in the west. The Sinai Peninsula connects southwest Asia to northeast Africa and it is part of the country of Egypt. As of July 2017 the population is 97,041,072. According to census 99.6% of the people who live there are Egyptian, 0.4% are other nationalities. Egypt is the 15th most populous country in the world. The capital city is Cairo and is home to 9.1 million people. The official language of Egypt is Arabic. English and French are widely understood by educated classes. The majority of the people who live there, approximately 90 percent, are Muslim. About 10 percent of the Egyptians are Copts, one of the oldest branches of the Christian religion.

The economy in Egypt is diverse with various categories employing the following amounts of people: agriculture 32%; industry 17%; services 39% and tourism 12%. The main industries in Egypt are textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals and light manufactures. The country's main exports include oil, food products, cotton, and aluminum. Egypt's imports include machinery and manufacturing equipment. The country has to import all of its industrialized machinery. Also imported is refined fuels. The Egyptian tourism industry is one of the most important sectors in the economy, it employs many people and brings in foreign currency.

The transportation in Egypt is made up of the road system, railways, waterways and airports. There are few, if any road markings on the roads in Egypt, this contributes to a high rate of fatalities on the roadway. Most traffic lights in Cairo appear not to function and are staffed by policeman who direct traffic. Traffic rules are routinely ignored by drivers, vehicles travel at high rates of speed and the wrong way on one-way streets. Pedestrians dodge in and out of traffic and animals are commonly found on the roads. A popular form of transportation is by boat, people travel on the Nile to get from place to place.

Ancient Egyptian architecture is one of the most recognizable throughout history. Due to the lack of wood, the two predominantly used building materials in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud and stone. Pyramids, tombs and temples were built with these materials. Ancient Egyptian houses were made of mud collected from the damp banks of the Nile River. Many of the Egyptian towns have disappeared due to being situated near Nile Valley and were flooded as the river bed slowly rose. Ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile River flooded each year due to the goddess Isis crying. Therefore her and the floods were celebrated each year in a festival. Fortunately the dry, hot climate of Egypt preserved some mud, brick structures. Also, many temples and tombs have survived from being built on higher ground and were constructed of stone.

Without the Nile River, every single part of Egypt would be nothing but desert. They only have about an inch [2.5 centimeters] of rain that falls throughout Egypt each year. In the summer, the river rises because of rains at its source far to the south in Ethiopia. Southern Egypt's landscape is made up of short mountains and desert. North of Cairo, is the sprawling, triangular Nile River Delta. The Ancient Egyptians invented the clock and were the first to have 365 day calendars. They were also responsible for inventing paper, pens, locks, and toothpaste. Egyptians were known for wearing makeup, both men and women. They used lead, copper, and other natural materials to create makeup, which was used to offer protection from the sun and was thought to have healing powers.

Even though archaeologists and anthropologists know a lot about ancient Egypt today, there is still a lot of mystery. Much of Egypt’s culture today can be traced back to ancient traditions and festivals since many generations have lived in the country. Today, Egypt is unified and independent with a thriving economy and is rich with culture and history.