1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
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
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
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
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
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
Birth rate
28.69 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Budget
revenues: $16.8 billion expenditures: $19.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (FY94 est.)
Capital
Cairo
Climate
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Coastline
2,450 km
Constitution
11 September 1971
Currency
1 Egyptian pound (#E) = 100 piasters
Death rate
8.87 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $2.05 billion, 6% of GDP (FY92/93)
Digraph
EG
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
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
Electricity
capacity: 14,175,000 kW production: 47 billion kWh consumption per capita: 830 kWh (1992)
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
Ethnic divisions
Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
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)
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
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
External debt
$32 billion (March 1993 est.)
FAX
[20] (2) 357-3200
Fiscal year
1 July - 30 June
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
Highways
total: 45,500 km paved: 18,300 km unpaved: gravel 12,503 km; earth 14,697 km
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
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
Independence
28 February 1922 (from UK)
Industrial production
growth rate -0.4% (FY92 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP
Industries
textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals
Infant mortality rate
76.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
11% (1993 est.)
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
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
Irrigated land
25,850 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Supreme Constitutional Court
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.)
Land boundaries
total 2,689 km, 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: 0% other: 95%
Languages
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
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
bicameral
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 60.79 years male: 58.91 years female: 62.76 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 48% male: 63% female: 34%
Location
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, between Sudan and Libya
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.)
Map references
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
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
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
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
Names
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)
National holiday
Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $139 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$2,400 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
0.3% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Egyptian(s) adjective: Egyptian
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Net migration rate
-0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
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
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
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.
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
Pipelines
crude oil 1,171 km; petroleum products 596 km; natural gas 460 km
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
Population
60,765,028 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
1.95% (1994 est.)
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
Religions
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94% (official estimate), Coptic Christian and other 6% (official estimate)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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
Terrain
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Total fertility rate
3.77 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
republic
Unemployment rate
20% (1993 est.)
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