Location of Egypt. Source: Vardion/Wikipedia

Egypt. Souce: CIA World Factbook

Egypt (officially the "Arab Republic of Egypt") is primarily a north-African nation, but also controls the Sinai Peninsula, part of the Middle East and western-Asia. Thus, Egypt controls the only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere. It also controls the Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Its size, and juxtaposition to Israel, gives it a major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics. Egypt is mostly a vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta.

Egypt's major environmental issues include: agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination 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; limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; and, rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources. Egypt is susceptible to periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, and sandstorms.

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's growing population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.

Geography

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula

Geographic coordinates: 27 00 N, 30 00 E

Area: 1,001,450 km²  (995,450 km² land and 6,000 km²  water)

arable land: 2.92%
permanent crops: 0.5%
other: 96.58% (2005)

Land boundaries: 2,665 km. Border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 266 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,273 km

Coastline: 2,450 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

Terrain: Vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta. Its lowest point is the Qattara Depression (-133 metres) and its highest point is Mount Catherine (2,629 metres).

Climate: Desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Waterways (2006): 3,500 km. note: includes Nile River, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in delta; Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches) navigable by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 17.68 m

Government

Type: republic

Capital: Cairo

Independence date: February 28, 1922

Legal system: based on Islamic and civil law (particularly Napoleonic codes); judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

International Environmental Agreements

Egypt is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, and Wetlands.

People and society

Population: 83,082,869 (July 2009 est.)

Age Structure (2008):

0-14 years: 31.4% (male 13,345,500/female 12,743,878)

15-64 years: 63.8% (male 26,823,127/female 26,169,421)

65 years and over: 4.8% (male 1,701,068/female 2,299,875) (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.642% (2009 est.)

Birth rate: 21.7 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate: 5.08 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Urban population: 43% of total population (2008)

Life expectancy at birth (2008): 72.12 years

Total fertility rate: 2.66 children born/woman (2009 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes

Literacy:  71.4 years (male: 83%; female: 59.4%) (2005 est.)

Water

Total renewable water resources (1997): 86.8 cu km

Freshwater withdrawal: Total: 68.3 cu km/yr (8% domestic, 6% industrial, 86% agricultural) (2000). Per capita: 923 cu m/yr

Agriculture

GM crops in Egypt. (Source: Mansour 2005)

Agricultural products: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats

Irrigated land (2003): 34,220 sq km

Resources

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc.

Energy

Conflict

International disputes: while Sudan retains claim to the Hala'ib Triangle north of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, both states withdrew their military presence in the 1990s and Egypt has invested in and effectively administers the area; Egypt vigilantly monitors the Sinai and borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip to deter terrorist, smuggling, and other illegal activities; Egypt does not extend domestic asylum to some 70,000 persons who identify themselves as Palestinians but who largely lack UNRWA assistance and, until recently, UNHCR recognition as refugees

Refugees and internally displaced persons (2006): refugees (country of origin): 60,000 - 80,000 (Iraq), 70,255 (Palestinian Territories), 13,446 (Sudan)

Economy

Occupying the northeast corner of the African continent, Egypt is bisected by the highly fertile Nile valley, where most economic activity takes place. In the last 30 years, the government has reformed the highly centralized economy it inherited from President Gamel Abdel NASSER. In 2005, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif's government reduced personal and corporate tax rates, reduced energy subsidies, and privatized several enterprises. The stock market boomed, and GDP grew about 5% per year in 2005-06, and topped 7% in 2007. Despite these achievements, the government has failed to raise living standards for the average Egyptian, and has had to continue providing subsidies for basic necessities. The subsidies have contributed to a sizeable budget deficit - roughly 7.5% of GDP in 2007 - and represent a significant drain on the economy. Foreign direct investment has increased significantly in the past two years, but the Nazif government will need to continue its aggressive pursuit of reforms in order to sustain the spike in investment and growth and begin to improve economic conditions for the broader population. Egypt's export sectors - particularly natural gas - have bright prospects.

GDP (purchasing power parity, 2007): $431.9 billion

GDP (official exchange rate, 2007): $127.9 billion

GDP - real growth rate (2007): 7.2%

GDP - per capita (PPP,2007): $5,400

GDP - composition by sector (estimated as of 2007):

agriculture: 13.8%
industry: 41.1%
services: 45.1%

Population below poverty line (2005): 20%

Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures

Exports: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals

Export partners (2006): Italy 12.1%, US 11.3%, Spain 8.7%, UK 5.5%, France 5.4%, Syria 5.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.3%, Germany 4.2%

Imports: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels

Imports partners (2006): US 11.4%, China 8.3%, Germany 6.6%, Italy 5.4%, Saudi Arabia 5%, France 4.6%

Economic aid recipient (2005): ODA, $925.9 million

Currency: Egyptian pound (EGP)

Ports and terminals: Ayn Sukhnah, Alexandria, Damietta, El Dekheila, Sidi Kurayr, Suez

Further Reading

1. CIA World Factbook