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Egypt Country Guide

Explore Egypt in Africa

Egypt with the capital city Cairo is located in Africa (Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea). It covers some 1,001,450 square kilometres (slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico) with 81,713,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Egypt

The topography includes vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta. The average density of population is approximately 82 per km². The notable climate conditions in Egypt can be described as desert with hot, dry summers with moderate winters. Possible natural disasters include periodic droughts or frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring, dust storms or sandstorms.

To reach someone in Egypt dial +20 prior to a number. There are 10,313,000 installed telephones. And there are 55,352,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".eg". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Egypt

Egypt Flag Icon

Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the national emblem (a gold Eagle of Saladin facing the hoist side with a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white) note: similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band.


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. Completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 elevated Egypt as an important world transportation hub. 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 from Britain 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 population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure. Inspired by the 2010 Tunisian revolution, Egyptian opposition groups led demonstrations and labor strikes countrywide, culminating in President Hosni MUBARAK''s ouster. Egypt''s military assumed national leadership until a new parliament was in place in early 2012. The same year Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohammed MURSI, won the presidential election and a new constitution was affirmed.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Africa
Neighbours: Libya, Sudan, Israel
Capital: Cairo
Size1,001,450 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 386,662 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Population81,713,000
CurrencyName Pound, Currency Code:EGP
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).eg
Telephone Country Prefix+20
Mobile Phone Connections55,352,000
Landline Phone Connections10,313,000

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area1,001,450 (sq km)30

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population85,294,388 15
Population growth rate1.88 (%)62
Birth rate23.79 (births/1,000 population)66
Death rate4.79 (deaths/1,000 population)193
Net migration rate-0.20 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)117
Maternal mortality rate66.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)92
Infant mortality rate23.30 (deaths/1,000 live births)80
Life expectancy at birth73.19 (years)124
Total fertility rate2.90 (children born/woman)65
Health expenditures4.70 (% of GDP)150
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.10 (%)125
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS11,000 94
HIV/AIDS - deaths500 94
Obesity - adult prevalence rate33.10 (%)17
Children under the age of 5 years underweight6.80 (%)77
Education expenditures3.80 (% of GDP)117
Unemployment, youth ages 15-2424.80 (%)39

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)548,800,000,000 27
GDP - real growth rate2.20 (%)127
GDP - per capita (PPP)6,700 143
Labor force27,240,000 22
Unemployment rate12.50 (%)130
Distribution of family income - Gini index34.40 90
Investment (gross fixed)13.50 (% of GDP)141
Taxes and other revenues22.10 (% of GDP)145
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-10.40 (% of GDP)207
Public debt85.00 (% of GDP)21
Inflation rate (consumer prices)8.50 (%)189
Central bank discount rate8.50 (%)31
Commercial bank prime lending rate11.03 (%)76
Stock of narrow money47,730,000,000 48
Stock of broad money192,500,000,000 42
Stock of domestic credit178,400,000,000 42
Market value of publicly traded shares82,490,000,000 45
Industrial production growth rate0.50 (%)138
Current account balance-8,417,000,000 173
Exports28,370,000,000 67
Imports58,760,000,000 50
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold15,260,000,000 66
Debt - external38,820,000,000 67
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home73,810,000,000 48
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad6,824,000,000 60

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production136,600,000,000 (kWh)28
Electricity - consumption115,800,000,000 (kWh)28
Electricity - exports1,118,000,000 (kWh)54
Electricity - imports183,000,000 (kWh)89
Electricity - installed generating capacity24,670,000 (kW)34
Electricity - from fossil fuels86.90 (% of total installed capacity)84
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants11.40 (% of total installed capacity)113
Electricity - from other renewable sources1.70 (% of total installed capacity)65
Crude oil - production711,500 (bbl/day)28
Crude oil - exports86,720 (bbl/day)40
Crude oil - imports48,590 (bbl/day)57
Crude oil - proved reserves4,450,000,000 (bbl)28
Refined petroleum products - production628,100 (bbl/day)30
Refined petroleum products - consumption816,300 (bbl/day)24
Refined petroleum products - exports91,680 (bbl/day)44
Refined petroleum products - imports114,600 (bbl/day)45
Natural gas - production61,330,000,000 (cu m)16
Natural gas - consumption46,160,000,000 (cu m)19
Natural gas - exports15,170,000,000 (cu m)19
Natural gas - proved reserves2,186,000,000,000 (cu m)17
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy196,500,000 (Mt)28

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use8,714,000 23
Telephones - mobile cellular83,425,000 16
Internet hosts200,430 71
Internet users20,136,000 21

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports84 66
Railways5,083 (km)34
Roadways65,050 (km)69
Waterways3,500 (km)30
Merchant marine67 62

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures2.20 (% of GDP)62

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Abu Mena
The church, baptistry, basilicas, public buildings, streets, monasteries, houses and workshops in this early Christian holy city were built over the tomb of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in A.D. 296. ...
1979
Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
Thebes, the city of the god Amon, was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. With the temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor, and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, Thebes is a s ...
1979
Historic Cairo
Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden a ...
1979
Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur
The capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt has some extraordinary funerary monuments, including rock tombs, ornate mastabas, temples and pyramids. In ancient times, the site was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. ...
1979
Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae
This outstanding archaeological area contains such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae, which were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched ...
1979
Saint Catherine Area
The Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine stands at the foot of Mount Horeb where, the Old Testament records, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. The mountain is known and revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three world rel ...
2002
Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley)
Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the wha ...
2005