BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will start a seven-nation tour of Africa on Saturday. The following is a series of key facts about the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Bordering Libya on the west, Sudan on the south, the Red Sea and the Gaza Strip on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea on the north, Egypt covers an area of 1,001,450 square km, about 96 percent of which is inhospitable desert.
Most territories belong to the northeast part of the African continent, except for the Sinai Peninsula which sits southwest of Asia.
The Suez Canal, linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, is a major waterway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
The Nile River, the longest river in the world, winds through Egypt for about 1,350 km. The regularity and richness of its annual flood, coupled with semi-isolation created by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations.
Egypt has a population of about 71,900,000. Egyptian is the country's major nationality, while its ethnic groups include Greek, Nubian, Armenian and other Europeans.
Ninety-four percent of the country's religious population is Muslim, mostly Sunni, and Arabic is the official language, with English and French being widely understood by many people.
Cairo, its capital, has a population of 7.76 million, a city with the largest population in the Arab world as well as in Africa.
Egypt has 26 administrative divisions or governorates.
A unified kingdom arose in around 3200 BC and a series of dynasties ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. In 341 BC, the last native dynasty fell to the Persians, who in turn were replaced by Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who imported Islam and the Arabic language in the seventh century and they ruled the country for the following six hundred years. The Mamluks, a local military caste, took control in around 1250 and continued to govern the country after its conquest by the Ottoman Turks in 1517.
Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but was also plunged into heavy debt. In an ostensible move to protect its investments, Britain seized control of the Egyptian government in 1882. On Feb 28, 1922, Egypt gained partial independence from Britain, and managed to acquire full sovereignty on July 23, 1952, which was the origin of the country's national holiday, the Revolution Day.
Egypt abounds in petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese and other natural resources.
As one cradle for the world's four most ancient human civilizations, Egypt boasts huge numbers of splendid historic relics and antiques, such as pyramids, the Sphinx, obelisks and mummies.
Other historic sites and attractions include Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Egypt established diplomatic ties with China in May 1956, beingthe first African and Arab country which recognized the People's Republic of China.
Cooperation between the two countries in politics, economy, science and technology and culture has become increasingly closer in recent years.
Bilateral trade volume surpassed 2.145 billion U.S. dollars in 2005, up 36.1 percent from the previous year. Enditem
