Egyptian Flag

The Menas Associates country fact file page is devised to provide our readers with a checklist of information about the history, people, government, economy, geography, military and transnational issues affecting each one of the countries we write about.

Time: UTC+2
Area: 1,002,450 km ²
Population: 77,420,000
Currency: Egyptian pound (EGP)
Capital: Cairo
Official language: Arabic
Geography: 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
Borders: Gaza Strip (11 km), Israel (266 km), Libya (1,115 km), Sudan (1,273 km)
Government: Semi-presidential republic
Head of goverment: Prime Minister Dr Kamal Al-Ganzoury
Parliament: Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF)
Military: conscript military service for 18-30 years old males; service obligation 12-36 months, followed by a 9-year reserve obligation
Religion: Muslim (90%), Coptic (9%), other Christian (1%)
Demographics: 29 governorates
Exports: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals, processed food
Export partners: Italy (9.5%), US (7.1%), Spain (6.2%), India (6%), Syria (4.7%), Saudi Arabia (4.6%), Japan (4.5%), Germany (4.5%)
Imports: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels
Import partners: US (10.2%), China (9.9%), Italy (7.3%), Germany (6.8%), Saudi Arabia (4.8%)
Economy: from 2004 to 2008 Egypt pursued economic reforms to attract foreign investment and facilitate GDP growth, but the international economic downturn slowed Egypt's GDP growth to 4.7% in 2009, predominately affecting export-oriented sectors, including manufacturing and tourism and Suez Canal revenues
Electricity consumption/production/exports/imports: 104.1 billion kWh, 118.4 billion kWh, 814 million kWh, 251 million kWh
Oil consumption/production/exports/imports: 712,700 b/d , 690,000 b/d, 89,300 b/d, 48,450 b/d
Natural gas consumption/production/exports/imports: 42.5 billion m³, 62.7 billion m³, 8.55 billion m³, 0 m³,
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Agriculture: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables, cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats
Concerns: poverty, rapidly growing population, economic strains.

* All the above data is selected from statistical review journals, published in the latter part of 2008/9. Therefore, please note that some facts/figures may vary according to source/time of documentation.