Ratio of cultivated land to the total area is 3.6%
Location
Located at the heart of the world, standing as a major trade
and crossroads destination between Europe, the Middle East,
Africa and west and south Asia. It occupies the north Eastern
corner of Africa, bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to
the south, Palestine, Israel and Jordan to the northeast.
Its north coast is on the Mediterranean Sea, while the eastern
coast is bounded by the Red Sea. The Suez canal links the
Red Sea to the Mediterranean- a linkage vital to both Egypt
and the world.
The Nile
Traverses over 1,000 miles within Egypt, from Wadi
Halfa in the South to the Mediterranean in the north, divides
the country into four broad regions; the Western Desert which
occupies almost two-thirds of the total area, the Eastern
Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Nile Valley and Delta,
which is the most densely populated region of the country.
Egypt is dependent on the Nile for nearly all its water needs.
The vast majority of the remaining land is made up of sparsely
inhabited, arid desert. Extensive land reclamation efforts
since 1947 have aimed at increasing the area of cultivable
land.
Natural Resources
Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone,
gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc, among others.
Terrain
Vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley
and delta.
Age Structure
0-14 years: 34.59% (male 12,313,585; female 11,739,072) 15-64
years: 61.6% (male 21,614,284; female 21,217,978) 65 years
and over: 3.81% (male 1,160,967; female 1,490,758) (2001 est.)
Population Growth Rate
1.69% (2001 est.)
Birth rate
24.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate
7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex Ratio
1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate
60.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 63.69 years male: 61.62 years female: 65.85
years (2001 est)
Total fertility rate
3.07 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Ethnic Groups
Eastern Hamitic Egyptians, Bedouins and Berbers representing
99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, and other European primarily
Italian and French representing 1%. Today, there are approximately
10,000 Americans, 3,500 British, 3000 French, 3000 Germans
and thousands of other Europeans and Africans living and working
in Egypt. There are also many Latin Americans and larger number
of Middle Easterns, who maintain residences and do business
in Cairo, plus Asians from India to the Philippines.
Religions
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6%
Language
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by
educated classes. The Egyptian dialect is the most widely
understood of all other Arabic dialects.
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population:
51.4% male: 63.6% female: 38.8% (1995 est.)
Human Resources
With a population of over 60 million, Egypt has the largest
single market in the region. It is rich in human resources;
its businessmen are experienced in the markets of its neighbor
countries, and it possesses a good mix of semi-skilled, skilled
and highly qualified labor force.Egypt's workforce, close
to 16 million, is an excellent source for productive inexpensive
labor. The growth of Egypt's labor force has averaged about
2.7% annually in recent years. The number of employees is
17,434 thousand employees with an annual growth rate of 3.3%.Low
prevailing wages have encouraged the use of labor-intensive
technologies. Foreign companies frequently pay higher wages
and attract workers with higher than average skills, however,
many foreign companies have expressed the need for skilled
managers in Egypt. Unemployment remains a significant problem,
as Egypt has a surplus of both skilled and unskilled labor.
Hundreds of thousands of workers from both categories seek
employment abroad on both temporary and permanent bases. Gulf
countries have attracted most of the departuring labor over
the past two decades, however, this trend started to fade
away after the Gulf war and the subsequent policies of foreign
employment reduction adopted by these countries.
Administrative Divisions
Egypt has 26 governorates, namely; Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr
al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayoum, Alexandria, Al Ismailiyah,
Giza, Al Minya, Al Minuffiyah, Cairo, Al Qalyubiah, Al Wadi
Al Gadid, Al Sharkiyah, Al Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Beni Sweif,
Port Saaid, Demiatta, South Sinai, Kafr El Sheikh, Marsa Matrouh,
Qina, North Sinai and Sohag.
Legal System
Egypt has a bicameral legislature, made up of the elected
People's Assembly (Maglis al Shaab) and the Advisory Council
( Maglis al Shura). The Advisory Council is a consultative
organ, whereas the People's Assembly functions as the main
representative law making body. The People' s Assembly elections
were held in late 2000 for a five-year term. The People's
assembly has a total of 454 seats of which 444 are filled
by popular vote, and the remaining ten are appointed by the
president. Elections for the upper house of parliament, which
only has an advisory role, took place in June 2001. In 1977,
a constitutional adjustment was made to allow for the existence
of a variety of parties with a wide spectrum of political
platforms. Currently, there are more than a dozen recognized
opposition parties, some of which have representatives in
the People's Assembly. The current ruling party is the National
Democratic Party (NDP) and it is headed by the president of
the state. The ruling NDP has been in power since 1978. It
effectively controls national government, the government-owned
media, and state owned enterprises. The NDP now holds 388
seats in the current parliament and the opposition parties
and independents hold the remaining seats. The opposition
doubled its representation and included a vocal contingent
allied to the Muslim Brotherhood, which will be determined
to scrutinize government activity more closely than was possible
in previous parliaments. The tendency towards a more critical
level of debate has already been illustrated by the relatively
tough time the government had passing the mortgage and sales
tax laws.
Judicial System
The Egyptian judicial code combines elements from the Napoleonic
Code, English Common Law and Islamic Law. The Supreme Constitutional
Court tops the judicial hierarchy that branches down into
the court of appeals and primary and summary tribunals throughout
the 26 governorates. Christians and Jews are subject to their
own jurisprudence in personal status affairs.The distinction
between civil and criminal courts exists in Egypt. In the
civil system, there are two courts of primary jurisdiction:
(i) the Summary Courts, which deal with low value matters,
urgent matters (e.g. injunctions), and matters relating to
the individual (e.g. divorce, inheritance); and (ii) the Courts
of First Instance, which handle labour and commercial issues,
and appeals from the Summary Courts. Appeals from the Courts
of First Instance are heard by the Courts of Appeal, which
are situated in main cities and will effectively involve a
rehearing of the matter. Further appeals, on points of law
only, may be made to the Court of Cassation. The Constitutional
Court is a court in charge of reviewing the constitutionality
of any law issued in Egypt. It decides whether the law in
question is in conformity with the constitution. A separate
structure under the Council of State exists for resolving
administrative disputes involving government agencies and
Ministries, such as challenges to the validity of presidential
decrees, or disputes involving government contracts.
Political System
Under the 1971 constitution, amended in 1980, Egypt is an
Arab Republic with a socialist-democratic system. The constitution
states that there should be no discrimination on the grounds
of race or religion. The country is divided into 26 governorates,
with governors appointed by the president. There is universal
suffrage with a voting age of 18.The executive power rests
with the president, who is elected by universal suffrage for
a six-year term (and may be re-elected), having been nominated
by at least one-third of the People's Assembly and approved
by at least two-thirds.The president may take emergency measures,
but these must be approved by a referendum within 60 days;
he may also dissolve the People's Assembly (the legislative
body) prematurely, but a referendum, and elections, must be
held within 60 days.
President Hosni Mubarak
Egypt's head of state, came into power in 1981, following
the assassination of former president, Anwar El Sadat. Mubarak
was the Commandor in Chief of the Air Force in the 1973 Arab
Israeli war and his last post before assuming presidency was
Vice-President to President El Sadat. President Hosni Mubarak
was re-elected in September 1999 to a fourth 6-year term.
The Egyptian Constitution grants the President the authority
to appoint one or more Vice Presidents, the Prime Minister,
the Cabinet, and Egypt's 26 provincial governors. The president
is supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the police.Mr.
Mubarak does not have a vice- president, however, the constitution
provides for a systematic transfer of power in the absence
of an appointee, until normal elections can be held.
Cabinet Reshuffles
During 2001, some cabinet reshuffles took place starting with
the appointment of Mr. Ahmed Maher as Minister of Foreign
Affairs to replace Mr. Amr Moussa who was appointed as Secretary
General of the Arab League. Then towards the end of the year,
President Mubarak appointed new ministers for the ministries
of Industry and Technological Development, Environment, State
for Foreign Affairs and Planning. The Ministry of Economy
and Foreign Trade was renamed as the Ministry of Foreign Trade
and continued to supervise the operations of the Capital Market
Authority.Political Issues Affecting Business Climate: There
have been no confirmed terrorist incidents in Egypt since
November 1997, attributable at least in part to the concerted,
successful Egyptian Government counter-terrorist campaign.
Previously, extremist groups have staged attacks on Egyptian
Government officials, security forces, and tourists. While
terrorist attacks do not pose a credible threat to Egypt's
government, they do pose a potential threat to the business
climate and Egypt's vital tourist industry. Nevertheless,
terrorism has receded since the Luxor incident in November
1997 and an active security presence is evident throughout
the country.
International Relations
Egypt will remain an important player in diplomatic efforts
to resolve the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis.
In the light of the September attacks on New York and Washington,
the US is likely to exert pressure on the hard line Israeli
prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and Palestinian Authority chairman,
Yasser Arafat, to return to the negotiating table. Concerned
that the escalation of violence may prove destabilizing for
the region, Egypt will exert even greater efforts to convince
the US to step up its involvement and at the same time push
for an expanded role for the EU. Since the election of Sharon
to the Israeli premiership, the scope for Egypt to play its
traditional role of mediator has been severely reduced, with
its attention turning from how to restart peace negotiations
to how to prevent major retaliatory strikes on the Palestinian
Territories. Should Mr. Sharon's government survive for some
time, his history of involvement in atrocities against Arab
civilian populations and uncompromising stance towards Palestinian
demands will fan anti-Israeli sentiment within Egypt.
