1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Coastline
2,450 km
Comparative area
slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Disputes
Administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary
Environment
Nile is only perennial water source; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; water pollution; desertification
Land boundaries
2,689 km total; Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km
Land use
arable land 3%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 95%; includes irrigated 5%
Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; Exclusive economic zone: undefined; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
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
Terrain
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Total area
1,001,450 km2; land area: 995,450 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
33 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Eastern Hamitic stock 90%; Greek, Italian, Syro-Lebanese 10%
Infant mortality rate
82 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
15,000,000 (1989 est.); government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces 36%; agriculture 34%; privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises 20% (1984); shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.)
Language
Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by educated classes
Life expectancy at birth
60 years male, 61 years female (1991)
Literacy
48% (male 63%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Egyptian(s); adjective--Egyptian
Net migration rate
NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
2,500,000 (est.)
Population
54,451,588 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
Religion
(official estimate) Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%; Coptic Christian and other 6%
Total fertility rate
4.5 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
24 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Ismailiyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Said, Dumyat, Janub Sina, Matruh, Shamal Sina, Suhaj
Capital
Cairo
Communists
about 500 party members
Constitution
11 September 1971
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY; Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-5400; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at Lazougi Street, Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is APO New York 09674-0006); telephone [20] (2) 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria
Elections
President--last held 5 October 1987 (next to be held October 1993); results--President Hosni MUBAREK was reelected; People's Assembly--last held 29 November 1990 (next to be held November 1995); results--NDP 78.4%, NPUG 1.4%, independents 18.7%; seats--(454 total, 444 elected)--including NDP 348, NPUG 6, independents 83; note--most opposition parties boycotted; Advisory Council--last held 8 June 1989 (next to be held June 1995); results--NDP 100%; seats--(258 total, 172 elected) NDP 172
Executive branch
president, prime minister, Cabinet
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 which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band
Independence
28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic
Judicial branch
Supreme Constitutional Court
Leaders
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); Head of Government--Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY (since 12 November 1986)
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
Legislative branch
unicameral People's Assembly (Majlis al-Chaab); note--there is an Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) that functions in a consultative role
Long-form name
Arab Republic of Egypt
Member of
ABEDA, ACC, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AG (observer), AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)
Other political or pressure groups
Islamic groups are illegal, but the largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
Political parties and leaders
formation of political parties must be approved by government; National Democratic Party (NDP), President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader, is the dominant party; legal opposition parties are Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Kamal MURAD; Socialist Labor Party, Ibrahim SHUKRI; National Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), Khalid MUHYI-AL-DIN; Umma Party, Ahmad al-SABAHI; New Wafd Party (NWP), Fuad SIRAJ AL-DIN; Misr al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), Ali al-Din SALIH; Democratic Unionist Party, Muhammad Abd al-Mun'im TURK; The Greens Party, Hasan RAJAB
Suffrage
universal and compulsory at age 18
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 20% of GNP 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; livestock--cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons
Budget
revenues $7 billion; expenditures $11.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)
Currency
Egyptian pound (plural--pounds); 1 Egyptian pound (5E) = 100 piasters
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $9.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion
Electricity
11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced, 780 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Egyptian pounds (5E) per US$1--2.9030 (January 1991), 2.7072 (1990), 2.5171 (1989), 2.2233 (1988), 1.5183 (1987), 1.3503 (1986), 1.3010 (1985)
Exports
$3.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals; partners--EC, Eastern Europe, US, Japan
External debt
$52 billion (December 1990 est.)
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GDP
$37.0 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)
Imports
$11.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods; partners--EC, US, Japan, Eastern Europe
Industrial production
growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.); accounts for 24% of GDP
Industries
textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
26% (FY90)
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. As part of the 1987 agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute a reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming, however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past three years. The addition of 1 million people every seven months to Egypt's population exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.
Unemployment rate
15% (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
91 total, 82 usable; 66 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 44 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
43 major transport aircraft
Highways
51,925 km total; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500 km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth
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
Merchant marine
144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,121,534 GRT/1,725,369 DWT; includes 5 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 85 cargo, 3 refrigerated cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 14 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 bulk
Pipelines
crude oil, 1,171 km; refined products, 596 km; natural gas, 460 km
Ports
Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta
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
Telecommunications
system is large but still inadequate for needs; principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, and Tanta; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations--25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; radio relay to Libya (may not be operational); radio relay to Jordan
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Defense expenditures
$2.8 billion, 7.3% of GDP (1991) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 13,333,285; 8,665,260 fit for military service; 584,780 reach military age (20) annually