Facts about Egypt

Population: 82 million in the country, an estimated eight million citizens living abroad.

Religion: About 90 per cent Muslim, 10 per cent Christian.

Land Area: About one million square kilometres, bordering the Palestinian Gaza Strip, Israel, Sudan and Libya. The population is concentrated on about 7 per cent of the land, mostly along the Nile River.

GDP growth in 2011: 1.8 per cent.

Unemployment rate in 2011: 10.4 per cent.

Literacy: 71.4 per cent.

Inflation in 2012: 8.3 per cent, according to Central Bank of Egypt.

Key moments in modern history:

-- Egypt was a monarchy until a 1952 military coup. Since then Egypt's last four presidents have all been military men.

-- The late president Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by Islamist militants after signing the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state. His vice president at the time, Hosni Mubarak, assumed power.

-- Mubarak ruled for nearly 30 years, allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to contest parliamentary elections as independent candidates while banning the group from officially forming a party.

-- Thousands of people were tortured and some died in the country's prisons during Mubarak's rule. Many believe his son, Gamal, was being groomed to take over the presidency.

-- Corruption, poverty and curbs on freedoms sparked the January 25, 2011 uprising engineered by youth activists inspired by a successful revolt in Tunisia. Nearly 900 deaths and 18 days later, Mubarak was forced to step down.