Egypt is located at the northeastern tip of Africa and is surrounded by Libya to the west, Israel and Palestine to the east, Sudan to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. Egypt's population in 2004 was estimated at 76 million people, 90 percent of whom are Sunni Muslims and 10 percent Coptic Orthodox Christians. Most of the country is desert, and virtually the entire population lives in the valley of the Nile River, which has been the central feature of Egyptian geography and civilization for many centuries.

Egypt gained its independence from Britain in 1922 and for the next thirty years functioned as a constitutional monarchy. In July 1952 a group of Egyptian army officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918–1970) and Anwar el-Sadat (1918–1981) overthrew the monarchy, and in 1953 they made Egypt a republic. Nasser ruled Egypt until his death in 1970. In September 1970, Sadat assumed power until his assassination in October 1981. Since...