Economy overview: A series of agreements with the IMF, as well as the cancellation of a significant part of the external debt brought by the country’s participation in the coalition against Iraq during the Gulf War, helped Egypt improve its macroeconomic position in the 1990s. Through sound fiscal and monetary policies, Cairo has curbed inflation, reduced its budget deficit, and built up its foreign exchange reserves, while structural reforms – such as privatization and new business legislation – have been spurred on by growing foreign investment. By mid-1998, however, structural reforms stalled and reduced hard currency inflows put pressure on the Egyptian pound and sporadic dollar shortages. The external debt service crisis did not arise, but Cairo’s attempts to limit the volume of foreign exchange transactions have reinforced the opinion of some investors and currency traders that government financial transactions lack coordination and transparency. Currency pressure has eased since then, however, thanks to high oil prices in 1999-2000, a revival in tourism and a series of small devaluations of the pound. The development of gas export trade is an important positive factor for future growth. See cheeroutdoor.com to know more about Egypt Business. GDP: Purchasing power parity -$247 billion (2000 est.). Real GDP growth rate: 5% (2000 est.). GDP per capita: Purchasing Power Parity $3,600 (2000 est.). The composition of GDP by sectors of the economy: agriculture: 17%; industry: 32%; services: 51% (1999). Proportion of population below the poverty line: 22.9% (FY95-96 est.). Percentage distribution of family income or consumption: per 10% of the poorest families: 4.4%; by the top 10% of families: 25% (1995). Inflation rate at consumer prices: 3% (2000). Labor force: 19.9 million people (2000 est.). Employment structure: agriculture 29%, services 49%, industry 22% (1999). Unemployment rate: 11.5% (2000 est.). Budget: revenues: $22.6 billion; expenditures: $26.2 billion, including capital expenditures – NA (FY99-2000). Spheres of economy: textile industry, food industry, tourism, oil production, chemical industry, construction, cement production, metallurgy. Growth in industrial production: 2.1% (2000 est.). Electricity generation: 64.685 billion kWh (1999) Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuels: 76.59%; hydropower: 23.41%; nuclear fuel: 0%; others: 0% (1999). Electricity consumption: 60.157 billion kWh (1999) Electricity export: 0 kWh (1999). Electricity import: 0 kWh (1999). Agricultural products: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; livestock, water buffaloes, sheep, goats; fish. Exports: $7.3 billion (free on board, 2000 est.) Exports: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metals, chemicals. Export partners: EU 35%, Middle East 17%, Africa and Asia 14%, USA 12% (1999). Imports: $17 billion (free on board, 2000 est.) Import items: engineering machinery and production equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, timber, various types of fuel. Import partners: EU 36%, US 14%, Africa and Asia 14%, Middle East 6% (1999). External debt: $31 billion (2000 est.) Economic aid recipient: official support – $2.25 billion (1999). Economic aid donor: Currency: Egyptian pound. Currency code: EG R. Exchange rate: EGP/USD (market rate) – 3.8400 (January 2001), 3.6900 (2000), 3.4050 (1999), 3.3880 (1998), 3.3880 ( 1997), 3.3880 (1996). Fiscal year: July 1-June 30.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications Telephone lines: 3.971 million (December 1998). Mobile cell phones: 380,000 (1999). Phone system: big system; intensively improved during the 1990s. and quite modern; there is Internet access and cellular communication; domestic: the main centers in Alexandria, Cairo, El Mansour, Ismailia, Suez and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; international: satellite earth stations – 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Oceans), 1 Arabsat and 1 Inmarsat; 5 coaxial submarine cables; communication with Sudan using tropospheric scatter; microwave radio relay to Israel; Egypt is a member of Medarabel and a subscriber of the Oxygen project (worldwide fiber optic submarine cable system). Broadcast stations: AM -42 (and 15 repeaters), FM – 14, shortwave – 3 (1999). Radio receivers: 20.5 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 98 (September 1995). Televisions: 7.7 million (1997) Internet country code: eg Internet service providers: 50 (2000). Number of users: 300,000 (2000).
Transport
Transport Railways: total length: 4,955 km; standard gauge: 4,955 km, 1.435 m gauge (42 km electrified; 1,560 km dual gauge). Roads: total length: 64,000 km; coated: 50,000 km; unpaved: 14,000 km (1996 est.). Waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, the Alexandria-Cairo Waterway and many smaller canals in the Nile Delta); Suez Canal – 193.5 km (including approaches), used by ships with a draft of up to 16.1 m. Pipelines: for crude oil – 1,171 km; for oil products – 596 km; for natural gas – 460 km. Ports and harbors: Alexandria, El Gardaka, Aswan, Assiut, Bur Safaja, Damietta, Mersa Mat Rukh, Port Said, Suez. Merchant navy: total: 181 ships (of 1,000 tons displacement and over) with a total displacement of 1,336,678 gross register tons / 1,982,220 long tons of gross tonnage; ships of various types: dry cargo ships – 23, cargo ships – 61, container ships – 2, liquefied gas tankers – 1 passenger ships – 61, oil tankers – 15, ferries – 15, coastal passenger ships – 3 (2000 est.). Airports: 90 (2000 est.). Airports with paved runways: total: 69; over 3,047 m: 12; from 2438 to 3047 m: 35; from 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17; from 914 to 1523 m:2; less than 914 m: 3 (2000 est.). Airports with unpaved runways: total: 21; from 2438 to 3047 m: 2; from 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2; from 914 to 1523 m:7; less than 914 m: 10 (2000 est.). Helipads: 2 (2000 est.).
Armed forces
Branches of the armed forces: army, navy, air force, air defense unit. Enlistment age: 20 years old. Total military manpower: men 15 to 49 pets: 18,562,994 (2001 est.). Eligible for military service: men aged 15 to 49: 12,020,059 (2001 est.). Number of persons reaching military age each year: male: 712,983 (2001 est.). Military spending in dollar terms: $4.04 billion (FY99-2000) Military spending as part of GDP: 4.1% (FY99-2000)
International Issues
International Issues International Disputes: Egypt claims ‘Halaib Triangle’, a 20,580 square kilometer barren area partly administered by Sudan, defined by an administrative boundary that replaced the boundary established by the 1899 peace agreement. Illicit drugs: transit point for heroin and opium, manufactured in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, Africa and the USA; a popular transit point with Nigerian carriers.
