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#CARD:Egypt:Geography
#WORD 42 68 142 141 0
Egypt Click Here for Country List
#IMAGE 44 61 TWPCX \maps\EGYPT.PCX
Geography Click Here for MAP
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea,
between Sudan and Libya
Map references:
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
1,001,450 sq km
land area:
995,450 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total 2,689 km, Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan
1,273 km
Coastline:
2,450 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
not specified
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with
international boundary creating the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area
of 20,580 sq km; the dispute over this area escalated in 1993, this
area continues to be in dispute
Climate:
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain:
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone,
gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
95%
Irrigated land:
25,850 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands;
increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; desertification;
oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats;
other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, untreated sewage,
and industrial effluents; water scarcity away from the Nile which is
the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population
overstraining natural resources
natural hazards:
periods of drought; subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides,
volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in
spring
international agreements:
party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and
remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea
link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; size, and juxtaposition
to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics
#CARD:Egypt:People
People
Population:
60,765,028 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.95% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
28.69 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
8.87 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
76.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
60.79 years
male:
58.91 years
female:
62.76 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.77 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Egyptian(s)
adjective:
Egyptian
Ethnic divisions:
Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek,
Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
Religions:
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94% (official estimate), Coptic Christian and
other 6% (official estimate)
Languages:
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated
classes
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
48%
male:
63%
female:
34%
Labor force:
15 million (1992 est.)
by occupation:
government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces 36%,
agriculture 34%, privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises
20% (1984)
note:
shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states (1993 est.)
#CARD:Egypt:Government
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Arab Republic of Egypt
conventional short form:
local long form:
Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
local short form:
none
former:
United Arab Republic (with Syria)
Digraph:
EG
Type:
republic
Capital:
Cairo
Administrative divisions:
26 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al
Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah,
Al Isma'iliyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al
Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyu't,
Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id, Dumyat, Janub Sina, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh,
Qina, Shamal Sina, Suhaj
Independence:
28 February 1922 (from UK)
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)
Constitution:
11 September 1971
Legal system:
based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes;
judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees
validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (was made acting President on 6
October 1981 upon the assassination of President SADAT and sworn in as
president on 14 October 1981); national referendum held 4 October 1993
validated Mubarak's nomination by the People's Assembly to a third
6-year presidential term
head of government:
Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY (since 12 November 1986)
cabinet:
Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
bicameral
People's Assembly (Majlis al-Cha'b):
elections last held 29 November 1990 (next to be held NA November
1995); results - NDP 86.3%, NPUG 1.3%, independents 12.4%; seats -
(454 total, 444 elected, 10 appointed by the president) NDP 383, NPUG
6, independents 55; note - most opposition parties boycotted; NDP
figures include NDP members who ran as independents and other
NDP-affiliated independents
Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura):
functions only in a consultative role; elections last held 8 June 1989
(next to be held NA June 1995); results - NDP 100%; seats - (258
total, 172 elected, 86 appointed by the president) NDP 172
Judicial branch:
Supreme Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders:
National Democratic Party (NDP), President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK,
leader, is the dominant party; legal opposition parties are; New Wafd
Party (NWP), Fu'ad SIRAJ AL-DIN; Socialist Labor Party, Ibrahim
SHUKRI; National Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), Khalid
MUHYI-AL-DIN; Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Mustafa Kamal MURAD;
Democratic Unionist Party, Mohammed 'Abd-al-Mun'im TURK; Umma Party,
Ahmad al-SABAHI; Misr al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), Ali al-Din
SALIH; Nasserist Arab Democratic Party, Dia' al-din DAWUD; Democratic
Peoples' Party, Anwar AFIFI; The Greens Party, Kamal KIRAH
note:
formation of political parties must be approved by government
Other political or pressure groups:
the constitution bans religious-based political parties; nonetheless,
the government tolerates limited political activity by the technically
illegal Muslim Brotherhood, which constitutes Mubarak's chief
political opposition; trade unions and professional associations are
officially sanctioned
Member of:
ABEDA, ACC, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AG (observer), AL, AMF,
CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM, OAPEC,
OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNOMOZ, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, UNRWA, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ahmed Maher El SAYED
chancery:
2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 232-5400
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Edward WALKER
embassy:
(North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Saleh Street, Garden City, Cairo
mailing address:
APO AE 09839-4900
telephone:
[20] (2) 355-7371
FAX:
[20] (2) 357-3200
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the
national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the
hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic)
centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a
plain white band; also similar to the flag of Syria that has two green
stars and to the flag of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an
Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band
#CARD:Egypt:Economy
Economy
Overview:
Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all the Third World
economies, most industrial plants being owned by the government.
Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign
investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s
and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an
increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin
negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. Egypt's
first IMF standby arrangement concluded in mid-1987 was suspended in
early 1988 because of the government's failure to adopt promised
reforms. Egypt signed a follow-on program with the IMF and also
negotiated a structural adjustment loan with the World Bank in 1991.
In 1991-93 the government made solid progress on administrative
reforms such as liberalizing exchange and interest rates but resisted
implementing major structural reforms like streamlining the public
sector. As a result, the economy has not gained momentum and
unemployment has become a growing problem. Egypt probably will
continue making uneven progress in implementing the successor programs
with the IMF and World Bank it signed onto in late 1993. In 1992-93
tourism plunged 20% or so because of sporadic attacks by Islamic
extremists on tourist groups. President MUBARAK has cited population
growth as the main cause of the country's economic troubles. The
addition of about 1.4 million people a year to the already huge
population of 60 million exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the
land area available for agriculture.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $139 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
0.3% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
$2,400 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
20% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$16.8 billion
expenditures:
$19.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (FY94
est.)
Exports:
$3.5 billion (f.o.b., FY93 est.)
commodities:
crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles,
metal products, chemicals
partners:
EC, Eastern Europe, US, Japan
Imports:
$10.5 billion (c.i.f., FY93 est.)
commodities:
machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable
consumer goods, capital goods
partners:
EC, US, Japan, Eastern Europe
External debt:
$32 billion (March 1993 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -0.4% (FY92 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
14,175,000 kW
production:
47 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
830 kWh (1992)
Industries:
textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum,
construction, cement, metals
Agriculture:
accounts for 20% of GDP and employs more than one-third of labor
force; dependent on irrigation water from the Nile; world's
sixth-largest cotton exporter; other crops produced include rice,
corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food for
a rapidly expanding population; livestock - cattle, water buffalo,
sheep, goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons
Illicit drugs:
a transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian heroin and
opium moving to Europe and the US; popular transit stop for Nigerian
couriers; large domestic consumption of hashish from Lebanon and Syria
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15.7 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $10.1
billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist
countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion
Currency:
1 Egyptian pound (#E) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates:
Egyptian pounds (#E) per US$1 - 3.369 (November 1993), 3.345 (November
1992), 2.7072 (1990), 2.5171 (1989), 2.2233 (1988), 1.5183 (1987)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
#CARD:Egypt:Communications
Communications
Railroads:
5,110 km total; 4,763 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km
0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified
Highways:
total:
45,500 km
paved:
18,300 km
unpaved:
gravel 12,503 km; earth 14,697 km
Inland waterways:
3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway,
and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long
(including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1
meters of water
Pipelines:
crude oil 1,171 km; petroleum products 596 km; natural gas 460 km
Ports:
Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta
Merchant marine:
171 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,08,208 GRT/1,617,890 DWT,
bulk 16, cargo 88, container 1, oil tanker 14, passenger 27,
refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 15, short-sea passenger 7
Airports:
total:
92
usable:
82
with permanent-surface runways:
66
with runways over 3,659 m:
2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
45
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
23
Telecommunications:
large system by Third World standards but inadequate for present
requirements and undergoing extensive upgrading; 600,000 telephones
(est.) - 11 telephones per 1,000 persons; principal centers at
Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia Suez, and Tanta are connected
by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; international traffic is
carried by satellite - one earth station for each of Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT, Indian Ocean INTELSAT, ARABSAT and INMARSAT; by 5 coaxial
submarine cables, microwave troposcatter (to Sudan), and microwave
radio relay (to Libya, Israel, and Jordan); broadcast stations - 39
AM, 6 FM, and 41 TV
#CARD:Egypt:Defense Forces
Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 15,335,889; fit for military service 9,961,128; reach
military age (20) annually 625,748 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $2.05 billion, 6% of GDP (FY92/93)
EGYPT.0