a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and Saudi Arabia do not share a land border with Egypt.
Egypt has among the longest histories of any modern country, emerging as one of the world’s first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilization, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanization, organized religion and central government. Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnack, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of archaeological study and popular interest worldwide.
Capital: Cairo
Population: 91,975,000
Currency: Egyptian pound
Official languages: Modern Standard Arabic
Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East…
…and the third most populous on the African continent, with about 88 million inhabitants as of 2015. Its population grew rapidly from 1970 to 2010 due to medical advances and increases in agricultural productivity enabled by the Green Revolution. Egypt’s population was estimated at 3 million when Napoleon invaded the country in 1798.
Egypt is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country with Islam as its state religion. The percentage of adherents of various religions is a controversial topic in Egypt. An estimated 90% are identified as Muslim, 9% as Coptic Christians, and 1% as other Christian denominations. Non-denominational Muslims from roughly 12% of the population.
My ministry in Egypt provided me an opportunity to work with some amazing Christian women in that country. We held a conference for women in Alexandria that grew to several hundred by the time we ended. I taught in underground home churches as well as in an independent church and the national Coptic Church. It was a profound experience and my prayer is for those doors to open again to me.
