People Groups of Egypt

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Statistics about Egypt

Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip
Area:
total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum,
talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 98% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 32,460 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic
activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

People
Population: 66,050,004 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (male 12,173,882; female 11,637,239)
15-64 years: 60% (male 20,108,426; female 19,718,302)
65 years and over: 4% (male 1,074,271; female 1,337,884) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.86% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 27.31 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 8.41 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 69.23 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.07 years
male: 60.09 years
female: 64.14 years (1998 est.)
Nationality: Egyptian(s)
Ethnic groups: Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian,
Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94% (official estimate), Coptic Christian and other 6% (official
estimate)
Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes

Government
Country conventional name: Arab Republic of Egypt
former: United Arab Republic (with Syria)
Government type: republic
National capital: Cairo

Economy
GDP: purchasing power parity—$267.1 billion (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 5.2% (1997 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$4,400 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 17%
industry: 32%
services: 51% (1996)
Inflation rate—consumer price index: 4.9% (1997)
Labor force:
total: 17.4 million (1996 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 40%, services, including government 38%, industry 22% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.4% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $19.2 billion
expenditures: $19.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY96/97 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals
Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (1996 est.)
Agriculture—products: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo,
sheep, goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons
Exports:
total value: $5.1 billion (f.o.b., FY96/97 est.)
commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products,
chemicals
partners: EU, US, Japan
Imports:
total value: $15.5 billion (c.i.f., FY96/97 est.)
commodities: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer
goods, capital goods
partners: US, EU, Japan
Currency: 1 Egyptian pound (ŁE) = 100 piasters

More Information about Egypt