Country name:
conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt
conventional short form: Egypt
local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
local short form: Misr
former: United Arab Republic (with Syria)
etymology: the English name "Egypt" derives from the ancient Greek name for the country "Aigyptos"; the Arabic name "Misr" can be traced to the ancient Akkadian "misru" meaning border or frontier

Government type:
presidential republic

Capital:
name: Cairo
geographic coordinates: 30 03 N, 31 15 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: from the Arabic "al-Qahira," meaning "the victorious"

Administrative divisions:
27 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah (Alexandria), Al Isma'iliyah (Ismailia), Al Jizah (Giza), Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah (Cairo), Al Qalyubiyah, Al Uqsur (Luxor), Al Wadi al Jadid (New Valley), As Suways (Suez), Ash Sharqiyah, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id (Port Said), Dumyat (Damietta), Janub Sina' (South Sinai), Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina' (North Sinai), Suhaj

Independence:
28 February 1922 (from UK protectorate status; the military-led revolution that began on 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn on 18 June 1956); note - it was ca. 3200 B.C. that the Two Lands of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt were first united politically

National holiday:
Revolution Day, 23 July (1952)

Constitution:
history: several previous; latest approved by a constitutional committee in December 2013, approved by referendum held on 14-15 January 2014, ratified by interim president on 19 January 2014
amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by one fifth of the House of Representatives members; a decision to accept the proposal requires majority vote by House members; passage of amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote by House members and passage by majority vote in a referendum; articles of reelection of the president and principles of freedom are not amendable unless the amendment "brings more guarantees;" amended 2019 (2019)

Legal system:
mixed legal system based on Napoleonic civil and penal law, Islamic religious law, and vestiges of colonial-era laws; judicial review of the constitutionality of laws by the Supreme Constitutional Court

International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: if the father was born in Egypt
dual citizenship recognized: only with prior permission from the government
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Abdelfattah ELSISI (since 8 June 2014)
head of government: Prime Minister Mostafa MADBOULY (since 7 June 2018)
cabinet: Cabinet ministers nominated by the executive branch and approved by the House of Representatives
elections/appointments: president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for 3 consecutive terms); election last held on 26-28 March 2018 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of Representatives; note - following  a constitutional amendment approved by referendum in April 2019, the presidential term was extended from 4 to 6 years and eligibility extended to 3 consecutive terms
election results: Abdelfattah ELSISI reelected president in first round; percent of valid votes cast - Abdelfattah ELSISI (independent) 97.1%, Moussa Mostafa MOUSSA (El Ghad Party) 2.9%; note - more than 7% of ballots cast were deemed invalid

Legislative branch:
description:
unicameral House of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nowaab) (596 seats; 448 members directly elected by individual candidacy system, 120 members - with quotas for women, youth, Christians and workers - elected in party-list constituencies by simple majority popular vote, and 28 members appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms; note - inaugural session held on 10 January 2016

note: a referendum held in April 2019, approved a constitutional amendment - effective following the 2020 election - to restore the upper chamber of the legislative body, designated the Senate, with 180 seats - 60 members to be appointed by the president and 120 members to be directly elected; the amendment also calls for the reduction of the existing People's Assembly from 596 to 450 seats
elections: multi-phase election completed on 16 December 2015 (next to be held in 2020)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -- Free Egyptians Party 65, Future of the Nation 53, New Wafd Party 36, Homeland's Protector Party 18, Republican People's Party 13, Congress Party 12, Al-Nour Party 11, Conservative Party 6, Democratic Peace Party 5, Egyptian National Movement 4, Egyptian Social Democratic Party 4, Modern Egypt Party 4, Freedom Party 3, My Homeland Egypt Party 3, Reform and Development Party 3, National Progressive Unionist Party 2, Arab Democratic Nasserist Party 1, El Serh El Masry el Hor 1, Revolutionary Guards Party 1, independent 351; composition - men 507, women 89, percent of women 14.9%
Note: a referendum held in April 2019 approved a constitutional amendment - effective for the next election - allows the executive branch to restore the upper chamber of the legislative body with 180 seats - 60 members to be appointed by the president and 120 members to be directly elected; the amendment also calls for the reduction of the existing House of Representatives membership from 596 to 450 seats

Judicial branch:
highest courts: Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) (consists of the court president and 10 justices); the SCC serves as the final court of arbitration on the constitutionality of laws and conflicts between lower courts regarding jurisdiction and rulings; Court of Cassation (CC) (consists of the court president and 550 judges organized in circuits with cases heard by panels of 5 judges); the CC is the highest appeals body for civil and criminal cases, also known as "ordinary justices"; Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) (consists of the court president and NA judges and organized in circuits with cases heard by panels of 5 judges); the SAC is the highest court of the State Council
judge selection and term of office: under the 2014 constitution, all judges and justices selected and appointed by the Supreme Judiciary Council and approved as a formality by the president of the Republic; judges appointed for life; under the 2019 amendments, the president has the power to appoint heads of judiciary authorities and courts, the prosecutor general, and the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; courts of limited jurisdiction; Family Court (established in 2004)

Political parties and leaders:
Al-Nour [Yunis MAKHYUN]
Arab Democratic Nasserist Party [Dr. Mohamed ABDUL ELLA ]
Congress Party [Omar Al-Mokhtar SEMIDA]
Conservative Party [Akmal KOURTAM]
Democratic Peace Party [Ahmed FADALY]
Egyptian National Movement Party [Gen. Raouf EL SAYED]
Egyptian Social Democratic Party [Farid ZAHRAN]
El Ghad Party [Moussa Mostafa MOUSSA]
El Serh El Masry el Hor [Tarek Ahmed Abbas NADIM]
Freedom Party [Salah HASSABALAH]
Free Egyptians Party [Essam KHALIL]
Homeland’s Protector Party [Lt. Gen. (retired) Galal AL-HARIDI]
Modern Egypt Party [Nabil DEIBIS]
Nation's Future Party (Mostaqbal Watan) [Mohamed Ashraf RASHAD]
My Homeland Egypt Party [Gen. Seif El Islam ABDEL BARY ]
National Progressive Unionist (Tagammu) Party [Sayed Abdel AAL]
Reform and Development Party [Mohamad Anwar al-SADAT]
Republican People’s Party [Hazim AMR]
Revolutionary Guards Party [Magdy EL-SHARIF]
Wafd Party [Bahaa ABU SHOKA]

International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CD, CICA, COMESA, D-8, EBRD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
Ambassador Yasser REDA (since 19 September 2015)
chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400
FAX: [1] (202) 244-5131
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jonathan R. COHEN (since 17 November 2019)
telephone: [20-2] 2797-3300
embassy: 5 Tawfik Diab St., Garden City, Cairo
mailing address: Unit 64900, Box 15, APO AE 09839-4900; 5 Tawfik Diab Street, Garden City, Cairo
FAX: [20-2] 2797-3200

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the national emblem (a gold Eagle of Saladin facing the hoist side with a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white)
note: similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band

National symbol(s):
golden eagle, white lotus; national colors: red, white, black

National anthem:
name: "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady" (My Homeland, My Homeland, My Homeland)
lyrics/music: Younis-al QADI/Sayed DARWISH
note: adopted 1979; the current anthem, less militaristic than the previous one, was created after the signing of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel; Sayed DARWISH, commonly considered the father of modern Egyptian music, composed the anthem