Partially located in North Africa and Southwest Asia, Egypt or Kemet, as called in the Egyptian language, is one of the most densely inhabited countries of the Middle East and Africa, with a population of nearly 80 million. Officially known as the Arab Republic of Egypt, it is located north of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Red Sea; while Sudan is situated at its south and Libya along its western border.
Egypt has an area of nearly 1,001,449 square kilometres, making it the world's 38th largest country. It is normally characterised as a desert country and with a total land boundary of almost 2,665 kilometres, which it shares with Sudan, Libya, Israel and the Gaza Strip. Whereas Egypt's coastline covers an area of 2,450 kilometres which is alongside the Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt has 26 provinces, also called governorates. These include four city governorates which are Alexandria or Al Iskandariyah, Cairo or Al Qahirah, Port Said or Bur Said and Suez. It also includes nine governorates of Lower Egypt in the Nile Delta region. Lower Egypt, however, is situated in Egypt's north and refers to the fertile region of the Nile Delta. It expands from Zawyet Dahshur, a royal burial ground, situated in the southern parts of Cairo and the Mediterranean Sea. These provinces also include eight governorates of the Upper Egypt and five governorates that cover Sinai, an Egyptian peninsula, and the deserts that are situated to the east and west of River Nile.
Through centuries, four major physical areas have been created due to geological changes. These are the areas of Nile Delta and Nile Valley; the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert and the Sinai Peninsula. The Nile Valley and the Nile Delta are the most important regions of Egypt, although they cover only about five per cent of the country.
They are important for being the only regions suitable for cultivation and almost 99 per cent of the total population lives in these areas. Egypt's Western Desert has an area of almost 700,000 square kilometres which covers Egypt's two-third area. On the other hand, the Eastern Desert of Egypt is located between the Red Sea and River Nile, which also includes parts of Ethiopia and Sudan. The Sinai Peninsula, however, is located east of Cairo, which is famous for Mount Catherine or Gebel Katherina, Egypt's highest point having a height of 8,651 feet.
As far as the desert regions of Egypt are concerned, the famous deserts of Egypt are the Libyan Desert, Egyptian Sand Sea and the Qattara Depression. In the northern and eastern parts of the Sahara Desert, there lies the Libyan Desert, which extends into Egypt from its west, which is why it is also called Egypt's Western Desert. The Egyptian Sand Sea, on the other hand, is a part of the Libyan Desert and occupies almost 25 per cent of its total area. In Egypt's north-western side of the Libyan Desert, there is a point called the Qattara Depression which is nearly 199 metres below sea level and is also Africa's second lowest point.
