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Economy
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Location
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
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Area
total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
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Climate
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
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Coastline
2,450 km
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Elevation extremes
lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
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Environment current issues
air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities
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Environment international agreements
agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources
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Freshwater withdrawal domestic industrial agricultural
total: 68.3 cu km/yr (8%/6%/86%)
per capita: 923 cu m/yr (2000)
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Geographic coordinates
27 00 N, 30 00 E
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Irrigated land
35,300 sq km (2008)
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Land use
arable land: 2.92%
permanent crops: 0.5%
other: 96.58% (2005)
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Natural hazards
periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms; sandstorms
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Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc
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Terrain
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
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Total renewable water resources
86.8 cu km (1997)
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Source: CIA World Factbook
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