Middle East, North Africa.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Friday in April to last Thursday in September).

1,002,000 sq km (386,874 sq miles).

81.7 million (2008 estimate).

81.5 per sq km.

Cairo (El Qahira). Population: 18.3 million (2008 estimate).

The Mediterranean Sea forms Egypt's northern border, bringing cooler weather to the seaboard city of Alexandria and providing a coastal getaway for Cairo's burgeoning city dwellers. To the east, lies the historic and mountainous Sinai Peninsula, significant to all three ‘religions of the book' - Judaism, Christianity and Islam; Sinai borders Israel and the Palestinian Territories, including the troubled Gaza Strip. To the south, beyond the great Aswan Dam and the now-tamed cataracts of the Nile River, the deserts of Egypt quietly roll into the deserts of Sudan while to the west, the Great Western Desert forms an almost seamless wilderness through Libya and beyond.

Sinai is divided from the main landmass of Africa by the country's busy shipping lane, the Suez Canal. For centuries, however, it was the River Nile, plied by felucca (traditional Nile sailing boats), that provided the main conduit for trade along the country's length. Railways and roads now compete for that distinction, but the Nile remains an important economic and cultural artery, contributing to the character of the settlements along the river's fertile shores from Sudan to the Mediterranean. The Nile perfuses the Delta north of Cairo, supporting 90% of the population in a flood land of cotton and rice-growing crops. The river's potency has been reduced since the building of the Aswan Dam, a building project of immense proportion that some argue has reduced the fecundity of the Nile Valley. On the positive side, the dam has at least provided the country with a safe and reliable electricity supply - and has had the side effect of keeping the crocodiles out.

Traditional home of the roaming Bedouin, most of Egypt's landmass is comprised of flat, mostly featureless desert, supportive of minimal vegetation. A few towns have grown up around the oases that dot the desert.

Republic.

President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak since 1981.

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif since 2004.

Hosni Mubarak is Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century and one of the longest-serving leaders in the Arab world. President Mubarak was re-elected in 2005 for his fifth successive term. In 2005, a constitutional amendment was passed to allow for free and direct presidential elections to be contested by multiple candidates following pressure from the US and domestic political groups. In previous elections, Egyptians voted yes or no for a single candidate appointed by Parliament.

The only opposition organisation which has broad public support, the Muslim Brotherhood, is outlawed and cannot field candidates. Mr Mubarak succeeded Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981. He is a great survivor, having escaped no fewer than six assassination attempts. The president appoints the prime minister.

Parliamentary elections in 2007 were won comfortably by the governing National Democracy Party. The recent bombing in February 2009 in the bazaar in Cairo was an isolated incident in an otherwise stable political climate.

Arabic is the official language. English and French are widely spoken.

About 90% of the population are Muslim; the majority of the rest is Christian, including followers of the Coptic Christian faith. There is also a small Jewish minority.

Most areas 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Certain rural parts still use 110 volts AC. Mostly British-style three-pin plugs.

Islam in Egypt is not a religion reserved for Fridays and holidays - it is a shaping factor in all aspects of daily life. As such, many social conventions stem from the teachings of the Koran, the Muslim holy book. People are enjoined by their religion to be courteous and hospitable and they expect similar respect from visitors. Shaking hands is the normal greeting but men should wait for a woman to offer her hand before assuming it is acceptable. Dress should be conservative and women should not wear revealing clothes, particularly when in religious buildings and in towns (although Western style of dress is accepted at the main archaeological sites and in modern nightclubs, restaurants, hotels and bars in Cairo, Alexandria and other tourist destinations). Official or social functions and smart restaurants usually require more formal wear. Smoking is very common.

Photography: Tourists will have to pay a fee to take photographs inside pyramids, tombs and museums.