Egypt
Arab Republic of EgyptJumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
republicIndependence 28 February 1922 (from UK)
Egypt as the 1996 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 90 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, | between Libya and the Gaza Strip
15 fieldsLand useshare of 1,001,450 sq km
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, tensions over this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high
Terrain
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
- lowest point:
- Qattara Depression -133 m
- highest point:
- Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
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, raw sewage, and industrial effluents;
- very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source;
- rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources
- natural hazards:
- periodic droughts;
- frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity;
- hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring;
- dust storms, sandstorms
- international agreements:
- party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling;
- signed, but not ratified - Tropical Timber 94
Geographic 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 Sea;
- size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1996 est.)
Male · female(1996 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 37% (male 11,970,197; female 11,462,689)
- 15-64 years:
- 60% (male 19,127,696; female 18,738,304)
- 65 years and over:
- 3% (male 1,028,916; female 1,247,305) (July 1996 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.02 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.82 male(s)/female
- all ages:
- 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
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)
Government
Republic; President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (sworn in as president 14 October 1981, eight days after the assassination of President SADAT); Prime Minister Kamal Ahmed al-GANZOURI (since 4 January 1996) was appointed by the president
22 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Name of country
- conventional long form:
- Arab Republic of Egypt
- conventional short form:
- Egypt
- local long form:
- Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
- local short form:
- none
- former:
- United Arab Republic (with Syria)
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, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id, Dumyat, Janub Sina, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina, Suhaj
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
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (sworn in as president 14 October 1981, eight days after the assassination of President SADAT);
- national referendum held 4 October 1993 validated MUBARAK's nomination by the People's Assembly to a third six-year presidential term;
- note - the president is nominated by the People's Assembly and that nomination must then be validated by a national, popular referendum
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Kamal Ahmed al-GANZOURI (since 4 January 1996) was appointed by the president
- cabinet:
- Cabinet was appointed by the president
Legislative branch
bicameral
- People's Assembly (Majlis al-Cha'b):
- elections last held 29 November 1995 (next to be held NA 2000);
- results - NDP 72%, idependents 25%, opposition 3%;
- seats - (454 total, 444 elected, 10 appointed by the president) NDP 317, independents 114, NWP 6, NPUG 5, Nasserist Arab Democratic Party 1, Liberals 1
Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura)
- functions only in a consultative role;
- elections last held 7 June 1995 (next to be held NA);
- results - NDP 99%, independents 1%;
- seats - (264 total, 176 elected, 88 appointed by the president) seats by party NA
Political parties and leaders
National Democratic Party (NDP), President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader, is the dominant party;
- legal opposition parties are as follows:
- New Wafd Party (NWP), Fu'ad SIRAJ AL-DIN;
- Socialist Labor Party (SLP), Ibrahim SHUKRI;
- National Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), Khalid Muhi al-DIN;
- Socialist Liberal Party, Mustafa Kamal MURAD;
- Democratic Unionist Party, Mohammed 'Abd-al-Mun'im TURK;
- Umma Party, Ahmad al-SABAHI;
- Misr al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), leader NA;
- Nasserist Arab Democratic Party, Dia' al-din DAWUD;
- Democratic Peoples' Party, Anwar AFIFI;
- The Greens Party, Kamal KIRAH;
- Social Justice Party, Muhammad 'ABD-AL-'AL
note: formation of political parties must be approved by government
Other political or pressure groups
- despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes MUBARAK's potentially most significant political opposition;
- MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but has moved more aggressively in the past year to block its influence;
- trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
International organization participation
ABEDA, ACC, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AG (observer), AL, AMF, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Ahmed Maher El SAYED
- chancery:
- 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 895-5400
US diplomatic representation
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Edward S. WALKER, Jr.
- embassy:
- (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo
- mailing address:
- APO AE 09839-4900, Unit 64900, Cairo
- telephone:
- [20] (2) 3557371
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
Economy
Half of Egypt's GDP originates in the public | sector, most industrial plants being owned by the government. | Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign | investment.
21 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 11,830,000 kW
Economic overview
Half of Egypt's GDP originates in the public sector, 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 enough momentum to tackle the growing problem of unemployment. Egypt made uneven progress in implementing the successor programs it signed onto in late 1993 with the IMF and World Bank; currently it is negotiating another successor program with the IMF. President MUBARAK has cited population growth as the main cause of the country's economic troubles.
The addition of about 1.2 million people a year to the already huge population of 63 million exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the land area available for agriculture along the Nile.
Labor force
16 million (1994 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; 2.5 million Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states (1993 est.)
Agriculture
- cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables;
- 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
Exports
$5.4 billion (f.o.b., FY94/95 est.)
- commodities:
- crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
- partners:
- EU, US, Japan
Imports
$15.2 billion (c.i.f., FY94/95 est.)
- commodities:
- machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods
- partners:
- US, EU, Japan
Exchange rates
Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1 - 3.4 (November 1994), 3.369 (November 1993), 3.345 (November 1992), 2.7072 (1990);; market rate: 3.3920 (January 1996), 3.3900 (1995), 3.3910 (1994), 3.3718 (1993), 3.3386 (1992), 3.3322 (1991)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 80 in all
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 4,751 km
- standard gauge:
- 4,751 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 951 km double track)
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 m of water
Merchant marine
- total:
- 164 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,187,290 GRT/1,833,108 DWT
- ships by type:
- bulk 22, cargo 74, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 14, passenger 33, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 15, short-sea passenger 4 (1995 est.)
Communications
Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
9 fieldsTelephone system
large system by Third World standards but inadequate for present requirements and undergoing extensive upgrading
- domestic:
- principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay
- international:
- satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat;
- 5 coaxial submarine cables;
- tropospheric scatter to Sudan;
- microwave radio relay to Israel;
- participant in Medarabtel
Manpower availability
- males age 15-49:
- 16,530,460
- males fit for military service:
- 10,723,011
- males reach military age (20) annually:
- 660,453 (1996 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Egypt.” The World Factbook 1996. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/egypt/1996.