Egypt

republicIndependence 28 February 1922 (from UK)

Egypt as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalCairo

Area1,001,450 km2

Populationas each edition published it

54.71 million July 1990 · 112.87m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.3% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 23.1 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 60.46 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

4.7 children per woman 1990 · 2.53 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

90 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 16.4 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $730 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.1% in 1993

Geography

15 fields

Land useshare of 1,001,450 km2

arable land 3%permanent crops 2%meadows and pastures 0%other 95%NEGL% forest and woodland; includes 5% irrigated

Total area

1,001,450km2

land area: 995,450 km2Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico

Coastline

2,450km

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

2,689km total

Gaza Strip 11, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km

Disputes

Administrative Boundary and international boundary with Sudan

Climate

desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Terrain

vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

Natural resources

crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc

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

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

People

14 fields

Population

54,705,746

(July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

34Death

Ethnic divisions

Eastern Hamitic stock 90%Greek 10%Italian; Syro-Lebanese

Literacy

45%

Religion

(official estimate) 94% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 6% Coptic Christian and other

Language

Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by educated classes

Labor force

15,000,000 (1989 est.);
36% government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces;
34% agriculture;
20% privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises (1984);
shortage of skilled labor;
2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.)

Government

Republic

18 fields

People's Assembly, 509 seats, elected 6 April 1987seats by party

(458 total, 448 elected)--NDP 346Socialist Labor Party Coalition 60Labor-Liberal-Muslim Brotherhood Alliance (37 belong to the Muslim Brotherhood) 60NWP 36independents 7

Percent of vote

NDP 69.3%Socialist Labor Party Coalition 17%NWP 10.9%

Administrative divisions

26 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, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina, Suhaj

Independence

28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic

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

National holiday

Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)

Legislative branch

unicameral People's Assembly (Majlis al-Shaab); note--there is an Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) that functions in a consultative role

Judicial branch

Supreme Constitutional Court 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)

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, Khalid Muhyi-al-Din;
Umma Party, Ahmad al-Sabahi;
and New Wafd Party (NWP), Fuad Siraj al-Din

Suffrage

universal and compulsory at age 18 President--last held 5 October 1987 (next to be held October 1993);
results--President Hosni Mubarek was reelected;
People's Assembly--last held 6 April 1987 (next to be held April 1992);
results--NDP 69.3%, Socialist Labor Party Coalition 17%, NWP 10.9%;
seats--(458 total, 448 elected)--NDP 346, Socialist Labor Party Coalition 60, Labor-Liberal-Muslim Brotherhood Alliance 60 (37 belong to the Muslim Brotherhood), NWP 36, independents 7;
Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura)--last held October 1986 (next to be held October 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(210 total, 140 elected)

Other political or pressure groups

Islamic groups are illegal, but the largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government and recently gained a sizable presence in the new People's Assembly;
trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned

Member of

ACC, AfDB, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WPC, WSG, WTO;
Egypt was suspended from Arab League and OAPEC in April 1979 and readmitted in May 1989

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 5 Sharia Latin America, Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is FPO New York 09527);
telephone [20] [2] 355-7371;
there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria

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 flags of the YAR which has one star, Syria which has two stars, and Iraq which has three stars--all green and five-pointed in a horizontal line centered in the white band

Economy

Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all the Third World economies, most industrial plants being owned by the government.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$38.3billion

per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

25%

(1989 est.)

Unemployment rate

15%

(1989 est.)

External debt

$45billion

(December 1989)

Budget

Revenues

$7 billionExpenditures

$11.5 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)

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.

With 1 million people being added every eight months to Egypt's population, urban growth exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.

Exports

$2.55 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--raw cotton, crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, textiles;
partners--US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe

Imports

$10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foods, machinery and equipment, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods;
partners--US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe

Industrial production

growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.)

Electricity

11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced, 780 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals

Agriculture

accounts for 20% of GNP and employs more than one-third of labor force;
dependent on irrigation water from the Nile;
world's fifth-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

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $14.7 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.8 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $2.4 billion

Currency

Egyptian pound (plural--pounds); 1 Egyptian pound (LE) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates

Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1--2.5790 (January 1990), 2.5171 (1989), 2.2128 (1988), 1.5015 (1987), 1.3503 (1986), 1.3010 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 142 ships by type

passenger 1short-sea passenger 7passenger-cargo 2cargo 88refrigerated cargo 2roll-on/roll-off cargo 13petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 14bulk 15142 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,141,799 GRT/1,754,181 DWT

Airports, 97 total, 87 usable

permanent-surface runways

67runways over 3,659 m

2runways 2,440-3,659 m

46runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

51,925Railroads

5,110

Highways: ; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500 km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth · Railroads: ; 4,763 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km 0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified

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

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

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,171 km;
refined products, 596 km;
natural gas, 460 km

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;
4 submarine coaxial cables;
tropospheric scatter to Sudan;
radio relay to Libya (may not be operational);
new radio relay to Jordan

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49

13,271,942fit for military service

8,642,075reach military age (20) annually

547,084

Defense expenditures

7.2%of GDP

or $2.8 billion (FY90 est.)

Branches