Dates of the information given below: (a) 1993 est.; (b) 1998 est.; (c) 1995 est.; (d) 1989; (e) 1990 est.; (f) 1997 est.; (g) 1996 est.; (h) Financial Year 1996/97 est.
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The
Land
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| Country Area: | 386,659 sq.mi. (1,001,450 sq.km.), 384,343 sq.mi. (995,450 sq.km.) land and 2,316 sq.mi. (6,000 sq.km.) of water. |
| Land Use: | 95% desert except for the Nile valley and delta. 2% is arable and 12,532 sq.mi. (32,460 sq.km.) is irrigated (a) |
| Country Borders: | total of 1,038 mi. (2,689 km.) with the Gaza Strip, Israel, Libya, and the Sudan. |
| Elevation Extremes: | the Qattâra Depression -436 ft (-133 m.) below sea level is the lowest point and Mount Catherine 8,668 ft. (2,642 m.) the highest. |
| Climate: | desert with hot, dry summers, moderate winters. The average annual rainfall is 1.2 in. (30 mm.) in Cairo and 7.9 in. (200 mm.) on the Mediterranean coast. The average daily maximum temperatures are 96.8¡f (36¡C), lowest 46.4¡f (8¡C). |
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The
People
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| Population: | 66,050,004 (61,400,000 World Bank [b]). 99% of Egyptians live on 4% of the land. Africa's second most populous country, after Nigeria, with an urban population of 45% (b). |
| Capital: | Cairo (est. inhabitants 6,850,000 and greater Cairo 20 million). |
| Age Structure: | 0-14 years: 36%. 15-64 years: 60%. 65 years and over: 4%. (b) |
| Birth Rate: | 27.31 births/1,000 population (b) |
| Death Rate: | 8.41 deaths/1,000 population (b) |
| Infant Mortality Rate: | 69.23 deaths/1,000 live births (b) |
| Life Expectancy at Birth: | 62.07, years male 60.09 years, female 64.14 years (b) |
| Literacy Rate: | 51.4% (male 63.6%, female: 38.8%) (c) |
| Languages: | Arabic (official), English and French also understood. |
| Religions: | Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94% (official estimate, other 88%), Christian (Coptic majority) 6% (official estimate, other 11%), traditional religions 1%. |
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The
Major Ethnic Groups
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| Ethnic Groups: | Eastern Hamitic stock (Berbers, Bedouins, and Egyptians) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (mainly Italian and French) 1%. |
| Armenians: | 12,000 in Alexandria and Cairo, has declined since the '1952 Revolution'. (d) |
| Greeks: | 350,000 mainly in Alexandria and Cairo. (d) |
| Groups of Berber Origin: | 6,000 in the Western Desert, the largest at Siwa Oasis, though they are a distinct group with their own language, which is not related to Arabic, and culture. |
| Nubians: | 160,000 (e) the majority live in the cities of Lower Egypt and in villages along the Nile in Upper Egypt, from Aswan into the Sudan. There were three linguistically separate groups of Nubians living in the Nubian Valley before the Aswan High Dam was built and they were forceably resettled. They were the Kenuzi (north), the Beduin-descended Arabs (central), and the Fadija-speaking (south). |
| Bedouins: | between 500,000 and 1 million (e) and are the largest ethnic minority in Egypt and speak an Arabic dialect. They are nomadic and are found in Western and Eastern Deserts and the Sinai Peninsula. The Bedouins have never been fully assimilated into Egyptian society but since the nineteenth century some have settled down to an agricultural way of life. At present they make up about 1% of the population - in the 1890s they were as many as 10%. |
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Christianity
Fact and Figures
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| 1) The Orthodox Churches: | Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox and Apostolic Armenians. |
| Copt Orthodox Church: | According to official Government statistics they number 3.3m (1986), but Baptismal registers say 10m., therefore the figure is probably around 6m. There are about a million living outside the country. 93% of Egyptian Christians are Copts. 30 dioceses. Shenouda III has been the Pope since the 11th. November, 1971. Shenouda III, Nzir Gayed, was born in 1923 and studied at Cairo University. He went to the Serian Monastery in 1954 and was ordained Bishop there in 1962. He is the 117th. successor of St. Mark. Since the 11th. century the Patriarchate of Alexandria has had its See in Cairo. There are three main Liturgies in the Coptic Church, they are: the Liturgy of St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea; the Liturgy of St. Gregory of Nazianzus; and The Liturgy of St. Cyril I (24th. Pope). The Coptic Church is a founder member of the World Council of Churches (1948). It is a member of the All African Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches. |
| Greek Orthodox Church: | Mostly of Greek origin they numbered 150,000 in 1930. Due to political changes they have become less - 80,000 in 1953 and 30,000 in 1970, to a few thousand now. Their head is the Patriarch of Alexandria. |
| Armenian Church: | number about 10,000 (Gregorian and Catholics). |
| 2) The Catholic Churches: | 7 rites: Maronites, Chaldeans, Greek (Melkite) Catholics, Catholic Copts, Armenian Catholics, Syrian and Latin Catholics. |
| Copt Catholic Church: | It is a small Eastern Catholic Church of the Alexandrian rite with about 200,000 people today. It has seven dioceses and a Patriarchal diocese. The Patriarchate was officially founded in 1895 but there have been Apostolic Vicars, and the Church has been in communion with Rome since 1741 when Athanasius, a Coptic Bishop, became a Catholic. They were looking after the Copts who had become Catholics. Since 1986 it has been led by Patriarch Stephanos II Ghattas. |
| Latin Church: | The Latin (Roman) Catholic Church is looked after by the Vicar Apostolic at Alexandria. There are very few Catholics in Egypt and they are represented by the different congregations (Comboni Fathers and Sisters, Franciscans, Jesuits, Salesians, Brothers of Christian Schools) who are involved in pastoral, educational and social work. The Comboni run 'Dar Comboni Arabic Study Centre', Cairo. The Franciscans founded the Copt-Catholic Church. Their role is unique as they follow the Coptic (14 parishes) and Latin (11 parishes) rites. |
| Greek-Catholic Church: | In 1940 they numbered 35,000, today about 9,000. They are of Syrian-Lebanese or Palestinian origin and come under the jurisdiction of a Vicar General of the Melkite Patriarch of Antioch Maximos V Hakim. |
| Maronite Church: | It was re-established in 1986. The believers are descendants of Lebanese who migrated to Egypt in the 19th. century. |
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The
Economy
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| Gross Domestic Product: | US$84.3 bn. (b) - military expenses: 5.7% of GDP |
| GDP | per capita: US$1,290 |
| GDP | average growth rate 5.7% (b) |
| GDP | by sector: agriculture - 16.7%, industry - 33%, services - 50.3% (b) |
| Inflation: | 5.6% (b) (in 1991 it was 19.7%), Inflation rate-consumer price index: 4.9% (f) |
| GNP: | US$36.7 billion; US$660 per capita. (a) |
| Labour Force: | 17.4 million. (g) By occupation: agriculture 40% (an estimated 3.5 m. farmers cultivate small holdings in the Nile Valley and Delta), services, including government 38%, industry 22% (e) |
| Unemployment rate: | 9.4% (f) |
| Industries: | textiles, food processing, tourism, paper, chemicals, fertilizers, petroleum products, construction, cement, metals. The industrial production growth rate is 8.5% (g) |
| Agriculture Products: | cotton, rice, wheat, corn, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats. The annual fish catch is about 140,000 metric tons. |
| Exports: | a total value of US$5.1 bn. (h) and US$5.3 bn. (b) including: crude oil and petroleum products (50%), cotton yarn textiles and fabrics, raw cotton, corn, sorghum, potatoes, wheat, rice, oranges livestock, engineering and metallurgical goods (11%), chemicals. Exports go to Italy 19.8%, USA 9.7%, Greece 8.8%, UK 6.3%, Spain 4.8% & Germany 4.7%. |
| Imports: | total value of US$15.5 bn. (h) and US$16.5 bn. (b) including: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, chemicals, wood and paper products, oils and lubricants, metal products, durable consumer goods, capital goods. Imports are from USA 20.4%, Italy 9.7%, Germany 9.2%, UK 4.1%, Spain 1.7%, Greece 0.6%. The main sources of foreign currency are remittances from workers abroad (est. 2.5 million), Suez Canal fees, tourism, and oil. |
| External Debt: | US$30.5 bn. (h) |
| Currency: | 1 Egyptian pound (£E), 100 piasters. |
| Natural Resources: | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc. |
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The
Government
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| Type of Government: | Presidential Republic. |
| Independence: | 28th. February, 1922. |
| National Holiday: |
The Anniversary of the Revolution,
23 July (1952).
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| Constitution: | 11th. September, 1971. |
| Executive Branch: | Head of State President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak (since 14 October, 1981). The Cabinet is appointed by the President. |
| Legislative Branch: | bicameral system consists of the People's Assembly (Majlis al-Sha'b) (454 seats) and the Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) which has a consultative role (264 seats). |
| Judicial Branch: | Supreme Constitutional Court. The legal system is 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. |
| Political Parties: | Democratic Peoples' Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Dia' al-din DAWUD, The Greens Party, Misr al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), Nasserist Arab Democratic Party, National Democratic Party (NDP), National Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), National Umma Party, New Wafd Party (NWP), Social Justice Party, Socialist Labour Party (SLP), Socialist Liberal Party. |