Egypt flag

Basic facts of Egypt
Official name: Arab Republic of Egypt
Capital: Cairo
Area 997,739 sq km,385,229 sq mi
Population: 81,713,517 (2008 estimate)
Population growth rate 1.68 percent (2008 estimate)
Population density 82 persons per sq km, 213 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution:
Share urban 42 percent
Share rural 58 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest citie: Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Port Said
Languages: Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by the educated
Religious affiliations:
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94 percent
Coptic Christian and other 6 percent
Life expectancy:
Total 71.8 years ,
Female 74.5 years
Male 69.3 years (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate:
Total 59.3 percent
Female 48.9 percent
Male 69.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Armed forces: Army, Navy, Air Force
Total number of military personnel 468,500 (2004)

Introduction:
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, country in northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia. Most of the country lies in Africa, but the easternmost portion of Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula, is usually considered part of Asia; it forms the only land bridge between the two continents. Most of Egypt’s terrain is desert, divided into two unequal parts by the Nile River. The valley and delta of the Nile are the main centers of habitation. The capital and largest city is Cairo.

Cairo,Egypt

Cairo, the capital and largest city in Egypt, lies on the Nile River in the northern part of the country. The tall Cairo Tower, right, was completed in 1957 on Zam´lik, an island in the center of the city.

Nile River, Egypt

The Nile River flows northward through Egypt, dividing the country into two arid regions. The Nile provides a vital source of transportation, and its fertile valley and delta contain most of the country’s agriculture and population.

Al-Azhar University, Cairo

Founded by a former slave, the Islamic Al-Azhar University in Cairo began as a mosque in ad 970 and emerged as a university in ad 988. The university's curriculum was expanded to include courses on nonreligious subjects in 1924, and women were first admitted in 1962. Al-Azhar is the oldest continuously operating institute of higher education in the world.

Camel Riders

Camels are no longer relied upon for transportation as they once were, and riders like the one shown here use the animals more for recreation than utility. This photo was taken at the Giza Pyramids, outside Cairo in northern Egypt.

Sinai Mountain Road, Egypt

This road at Mount Sinai winds its way to Bir Zreir, Egypt. According to the Old Testament, Mount Sinai, sometimes called Horeb, is the sacred mountain on which Moses received the Ten Commandments from Jehovah.

Aerial View of Alexandria (Egypt)

Alexandria was founded in 332 bc by Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, who planned it as one of the finest ports of the ancient world. The modern city is situated mainly on a peninsula around the mole, a breakwater built to the island of Pharos.

Mosque of Muhammad Ali, Cairo

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali stands within the walls of the Citadel in Cairo. Built between 1830 and 1857, it is the largest and grandest of the four mosques contained in the Citadel. Muhammad Ali led a resurgence of national strength which put much of Arabia in Egyptian hands and almost led to the toppling of the Ottoman Empire. However, the momentum of his conquests and his modernization efforts was not sustained by his successors after his death in 1849.

Egyptian Pyramids

Located on the west bank of the Nile River on the outskirts of Cairo, the pyramids at Giza, Egypt, rank as some of the best-known monuments in the world. The ancient Egyptians constructed the pyramids to serve as royal tombs. Built without the use of cranes, pulleys, or lifting tackle, the massive structures stand as testaments to the engineering skills of their makers.

Sudan flag

Basic facts of Sudan
Official name: Republic of the Sudan
Capital: Khartoum
Area: 2,505,800 sq km, 967,490 sq mi
Population: 40,218,455 (2008 estimate)
Population growth rate 2.13 percent
Population density:17 persons per sq km, 44 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution:
Share urban 41 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 59 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities: Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, Kassalā, Nyala
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Lotuko, English
Religious affiliations:
Muslim (in the north) 70 percent
Ethnoreligionist or Indigenous beliefs 12 percent
Christian (mostly in the south and Khartoum) 15 percent Other
Life expectancy:
Total 50.3 years (2008 estimate)
Female 51.2 years (2008 estimate)
Male 49.4 years (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate:
Total 63.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 53.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 73.3 percent (2005 estimate)
Total number of military personnel 104,800 (2004


Introduction:
Sudan, republic in northeastern Africa, the largest country of the African continent. The country’s north and south stand in stark contrast to one another: The dry, desert north is populated largely by Arab Muslims, while the wet, swampy south is populated by black African Christians and animists. The site of several powerful ancient states, Sudan was controlled by Egypt and Britain until the 20th century. An estimated 1.5 million Sudanese people died in a long and brutal civil war between the north and south, lasting from 1983 to 2004. Another conflict that erupted in the western region of Darfur in 2003 has claimed more than 200,000 lives and left more than 2 million people displaced from their homes. The conflict in Darfur continued in 2007 despite international mediation efforts.

Sudan is bounded on the north by Egypt; on the east by the Red Sea, Eritrea, and Ethiopia; on the south by Kenya, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire); and on the west by the Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. Sudan has a total area of 2,505,800 sq km (967,490 sq mi). Khartoum is the capital and largest city.

Republican Palace in Khartoum

The Republican Palace, home of the president of Sudan, stands in the capital of Khartoum. The city was founded in 1821 as an Egyptian military post. Beginning in 1899 Khartoum was developed as the capital of the Anglo-Egyptian administration of Sudan, and in 1956 it became the capital of the newly independent country.

The Nile at Khartoum

Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, is situated where the Blue Nile and White Nile merge into a single river. The Nile River and its two tributaries are important transportation routes, although less so now than in the past because of the construction of good roads. Traditional flat-bottomed Nile steamers, like the one pictured here, still carry passengers and freight along the rivers.

Village on the Nile, Sudan

The Nile River is the most dominant physical feature in Sudan. Because water is a valuable resource in the east African country’s arid regions, the Nile and its tributaries are valued for providing much of the irrigation that sustains agricultural development. Small villages, such as this Shilluk settlement, use water from the river for subsistence farming.

Refugees in Darfur, Sudan

Civil war erupted in Darfur, a region in western Sudan, in 2003. Since then more than 2 million people have fled their homes to seek shelter in refugee camps like this one at Zamzam in northern Darfur. The war has claimed more than 200,000 lives.