Egypt (i/ˈiːdʒɪpt/; Arabic: مِصر‎ Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: مَصر Maṣr) is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia, making it an Afro-Asiatic country via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Most of Egypt''s territory of 1,010,000 square kilometres (390,000 sq mi) lies within the Nile Valley of North Africa, but it is also considered a Mediterranean country as well, as Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north. It''s also bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.

With over 87 million inhabitants, Egypt is a large country in Eastern North Africa and the Arabic speaking countries with its smaller part in the Middle East, making it the third-largest African country, and the fifteenth-most populous nation in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large regions of the Sahara Desert, which constitute most of Egypt''s territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt''s residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.

Egypt has one of the longest histories of any modern country, arising in the tenth millennium BCE as one of the world''s first nation states. Considered a cradle of civilization, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government in history. Its iconic monuments, such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings outside Luxor, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of archaeological study and popular interest all over the world. Egypt''s rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, having endured and at times assimilated various foreign influences, including Greek, Persian, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and European.

Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Its economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, with sectors such as tourism, agriculture, industry and services at almost equal production levels.

• 1 Names
• 2 History
  • 2.1 Prehistory and Ancient Egypt
  • 2.2 Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt
  • 2.3 Middle Ages
  • 2.4 Egypt Eyalet
  • 2.5 Muhammad Ali dynasty
  • 2.6 Republic
    • 2.6.1 The reign of president Nasser
    • 2.6.2 The reign of president Sadat
    • 2.6.3 The reign of president Mubarak
  • 2.7 Revolution
• 3 Geography
  • 3.1 Climate
  • 3.2 Biodiversity
• 4 Politics
  • 4.1 Law
  • 4.2 Military
  • 4.3 Human rights
  • 4.4 Foreign relations
• 5 Administrative divisions
• 6 Economy
  • 6.1 Tourism
  • 6.2 Transport
    • 6.2.1 Railway
    • 6.2.2 Metro
    • 6.2.3 Air Transport
    • 6.2.4 Suez Canal
• 7 Demographics
  • 7.1 Languages
  • 7.2 Religion
  • 7.3 Largest cities
• 8 Culture
  • 8.1 Arts
  • 8.2 Literature
  • 8.3 Popular culture
  • 8.4 Cinema in Egypt
  • 8.5 Music of Egypt
  • 8.6 Dance in Egypt
  • 8.7 Museums
  • 8.8 Festivals
  • 8.9 Cuisine
  • 8.10 Sports
• 9 Telecommunication
  • 9.1 Cellular
  • 9.2 Post
• 10 Education
• 11 Healthcare
  • 11.1 Health Insurance
• 12 See also
• 13 Notes
• 14 References
• 15 External links

The English name Egypt is derived from the Ancient Greek Aígyptos (Αἴγυπτος), via Middle French Egypte and Latin Aegyptus. It is reflected in early Greek Linear B tablets as a-ku-pi-ti-yo. The adjective aigýpti-, aigýptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, and from there into Arabic as qubṭī, back formed into قبط qubṭ, whence English Copt. The Greek forms were borrowed from Late Egyptian (Amarna) Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hwt-ka-Ptah (⟨ḥwt-k-ptḥ⟩), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis. Strabo attributed the word to a folk etymology in which Aígyptos (Αἴγυπτος) evolved as a compound from Aigaiou huptiōs (Aἰγαίου ὑπτίως), meaning "below the Aegean".

Miṣr (IPA: ) is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern official name of Egypt, while Maṣr (IPA: ) is the Egyptian-local pronunciation in the Egyptian Arabic. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם (Mitzráyim). The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and means "country", or "frontier-land".