Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt (Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah in Arabic), 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.

Egypt has been a coherent political entity with a recorded history since about 3200 bc. One of the first civilizations to develop irrigated agriculture, literacy, urban life, and large-scale political structures arose in the Nile Valley. The annual flood of the Nile provided for a stable agricultural society. Egypt’s strategic location between Asia and Africa and on the route between the Mediterranean basin and India and China made it an important hub of international trade. Beginning in the 4th century bc, a series of conquerors brought new religions and languages to the land. However, Egypt’s rich agricultural resources, pivotal commercial position, and long-term political unity have sustained a high level of cultural continuity. Although present-day Egypt is an overwhelmingly Arabic-speaking and Islamic country, it retains important aspects of its past Christian, Greco-Roman, and ancient indigenous heritage.

Muslim Arab invaders conquered Egypt in ad 641, and Egypt has been a part of the Muslim and Arab worlds ever since. The foundations of the modern state were established by Muhammad Ali, who served as viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1849, while the country was a province of the Ottoman Empire. Britain occupied Egypt in 1882. After 40 years of direct British colonial rule, Egypt became an independent monarchy in 1922. However, British policies enforced by a continuing military occupation limited its independence. In 1952 a group of military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the monarchy and established Egypt as a republic. Nasser negotiated the evacuation of the last British troops from Egypt by 1956. In 1979, under President Anwar al-Sadat, Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state of Israel. Egypt remains an important political and cultural center for the entire Arab world.

GOVERNMENT
Egypt was a constitutional monarchy from 1923 to 1952, when military officers seized control of the government. Although Egypt became a republic in 1953, it essentially remained a military dictatorship dominated by a single political party. In 1978 a multiparty political system was instituted.

Egypt is governed under a constitution that was approved by a national referendum in 1971. The constitution, which was amended in 1977 and 1980, provides for an Arab socialist state with Islam as the official religion. It also stresses social solidarity, equal opportunity, and popular control of production.

Political power is concentrated primarily in the presidency. Since 1952 Egypt’s presidents have risen from the military, which holds considerable authority in the government. The orientation and policies of the government have shifted considerably with changes in the presidency

Executive
The head of state is the president of the republic, who is nominated by the lower house of the legislature and is elected by popular referendum for a six-year term. The president, who may serve unlimited consecutive terms, dominates the government. This official may decree emergency measures in the interests of the state, but the constitution stipulates that the president must obtain consent for any such decree by a popular referendum within 60 days. However, a state of emergency that has been in effect since 1981 has set aside the requirement of popular approval for presidential decrees. The president has the power to formulate general state policy and supervise its execution. This official can dissolve the legislature, declare war after approval by the legislature, ratify treaties, commute penalties, and order plebiscites.

The president names a prime minister and a council of ministers, or cabinet. Most ministers serve as the executive officers of the government’s various departments, including those dealing with foreign affairs, internal order, social affairs, justice, agriculture, commerce, industry, and education. Some ministers also hold the title of deputy prime minister. Egyptian cabinets help set government policy, but key decisions are often made by the president in consultation with a few close advisers, most of whom are former cabinet ministers or high-ranking military officers.

Education

Historically, religious authorities provided basic education in local mosque schools. Higher Islamic studies became available at Al-Azhar mosque (founded in 970) in Cairo. In 988 Al-Azhar University was established. This is the oldest university in the world and the leading institution of Islamic higher education in the world today. Al-Azhar University operates a network of religious schools parallel to the state system.

In the first half of the 19th century Egyptian viceroy Muhammad Ali established state-run professional, technical, and foreign-language schools for boys. A network of state-run schools for boys was established in 1867. The first state school for girls opened in 1873. Since 1923, primary and intermediate education has been free, and it is now compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14. Public secondary and university education is also free but is not compulsory.

Cairo University, established in 1908, is Egypt’s leading institution of higher education. There are 12 other state-run public universities, including Ayn Shams University (founded in 1950), located in Cairo; the University of Alexandria (1942); and the University of Asyut (1957). Al-Azhar University, renowned as an institution of higher religious studies, also offers programs in engineering, medicine, business administration, and agriculture; women have been admitted since 1962. The American University in Cairo (1919) is the only private and fee-charging institution of higher education. The Institutes of Dramatic Arts, Cinema, and Ballet, run by the ministry of culture, offer higher education in the fine arts.

Rapid population growth has severely overburdened Egypt’s educational system. Classrooms from the primary school level to the university level are overcrowded, and schools lack many resources—such as up-to-date science laboratories, audio-visual aids, and even sufficient numbers of desks and textbooks—necessary for an adequate education. Although primary school enrollment is officially 100 percent, many children attend school irregularly or not at all because they must work to help support themselves and their families. In 2001, 70.7 percent of the adult population was literate: 77.2 percent of males and 63.8 percent of females.

Legislature

Egypt has a bicameral legislature, comprising the People’s Assembly and the Advisory Council. The People’s Assembly consists of 2 elected representatives from each of 222 geographical constituencies, along with 10 members appointed by the president, for a total of 454 members, all serving five-year terms. The Advisory Council, which serves only in a consultative role, consists of 176 popularly elected members and 88 presidential appointees, all of whom serve six-year terms.
Judiciary

Egypt’s highest court, the Supreme Constitutional Court, reviews the constitutionality of laws and regulations, resolves jurisdictional conflicts, settles disputes in cases where different lower courts have made conflicting judgments, and interprets the government’s laws and decrees. Below this court are courts of general jurisdiction and administrative courts.

Courts of general jurisdiction include the Court of Cassation, the courts of appeal, the tribunals of first instance, and the district tribunals. The Court of Cassation has final jurisdiction in criminal and civil cases. The courts of appeal have jurisdiction over one or more of Egypt’s governorates, or administrative divisions, and hear appeals of decisions made by lower courts. The tribunals of first instance are the courts that hear major criminal and civil cases. The district tribunals have jurisdiction over minor criminal and civil cases. The Public Prosecution, headed by an attorney general, serves at all levels of courts of general jurisdiction in all criminal and some civil cases. The administrative courts have jurisdiction over cases involving the government or any of its agencies and may investigate administrative crimes committed by officials or civil servants. Other judicial bodies include the Council of State, which settles administrative disputes and deals with disciplinary cases within the judicial system, and the Supreme Judicial Council, which ensures the judiciary’s independence from outside interference and helps regulate other judicial bodies.

Egypt’s legal system is closely patterned on that of France. A panel of judges, as opposed to a jury, reaches verdicts. Religious courts once operated, with separate systems for Muslims, Christians, and Jews, but they were abolished in 1956. Many Muslims argue that Islamic law, or the Sharia, should be the sole basis for all Egyptian legislation. A constitutional amendment adopted in 1980 recognizes the Sharia as a principal source of Egypt’s laws, but the legal system remains secular in character.

Local Government
Egypt is divided into 26 governorates, each headed by a governor appointed by the president. Most of the governorates are subdivided into districts and subdistricts. There are local councils at each level, most of whose members are elected, but power over most political matters resides with the central government.

Political Parties
From 1923 to 1952 Egypt had a multiparty political system, but the king or his prime minister often limited the parties’ ability to compete freely for popular support or governmental power. From 1952 to 1978 Egypt’s government was effectively a military dictatorship, and the presidents used a succession of single parties to mobilize public opinion to support their policies. In 1978 a multiparty system was again instituted, but religious parties continued to be banned. The present political system tolerates greater diversity of opinion, but it is not yet fully democratic.

Since 1978 the National Democratic Party has been the dominant party. In elections in 2000 it won 353 of the 444 elected seats in the People's Assembly. The government tolerates opposition parties that are not based on religion or on ideologies hostile to the state, but it often restricts their ability to propagate their policies and to run candidates for national or local elections. Legal opposition parties include the New Wafd Party, the National Progressive Unionist Party, the Liberal Socialist Party, the Socialist Labor Party, and the Nasserist Party. Despite the constitutional ban on religious parties, many Egyptians support the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Group, or other technically illegal political movements that are not allowed to present candidates for legislative elections.

Defense
Egypt’s armed forces in 2001 totaled 443,000, with 320,000 in the army, 104,000 in the air force, and 19,000 in the navy, and the remainder in the air defense or shared commands. Affiliated with the armed forces are the reserves, the Central Security Forces, and the National Guard. Each branch is headed by a commander, above whom stands the commander in chief of the armed forces. The president has ultimate authority over the military as its supreme commander. All males except only sons serve three years of compulsory military service, while officers serve longer terms. The officer corps exercises great political influence.

International Relations
Egypt led in the formation of the Arab League and was a charter member of the United Nations (UN), both of which were formed in 1945. Egypt played a leading role in Arab opposition to Israel, participating in wars against Israel in 1948-1949, 1956, 1967, and 1973 and spearheading an Arab economic boycott against the Jewish state. In 1979, however, Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel.

From 1955 to 1972 Egypt relied primarily on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and other Communist countries for military and economic aid. More recently the Egyptian government developed close political ties with the United States, particularly after the United States helped facilitate the 1979 treaty with Israel. Egypt receives substantial economic and military aid from the United States.