LAND USE: 3% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; NEGL% forest and woodland; 95% other; includes 5% irrigated
ENVIRONMENT: Nile is only perennial water source; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; water pollution; desertification
NOTE: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; size and juxtaposition to Israel establishes its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics
RELIGION: (official estimate) 94% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 6% Coptic Christian and other
LANGUAGE: Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by educated classes
LITERACY: 45%
LABOR FORCE: 15,000,000 (1989 est.); 44% agriculture; 36% government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces; 20% privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises (1984); shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.)
ORGANIZED LABOR: 2,500,000 (est.)
.GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT
LONG-FORM NAME: Arab Republic of Egypt
TYPE: republic
CAPITAL: Cairo
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Ismailiyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Said, Dumyat, Janub Sina, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina, Suhaj
INDEPENDENCE: 28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic
CONSTITUTION: 11 September 1971
LEGAL SYSTEM: 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
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)
BRANCHES: executive power vested in president, who appoints Cabinet; People's Assembly is principal legislative body, with Shura Council having consultative role; independent judiciary administered by minister of justice
CHIEF OF STATE: President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (was made acting President on 6 October 1981 upon the assassination of President Sadat and sworn in as President on 14 October 1981)
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY (since 12 November 1986)
SUFFRAGE: universal over age 18
ELECTIONS: regular elections to People's Assembly every five years (next slated for April 1992); two-thirds of Shura Council is elected for six-year term (next elections to be held in October 1989), with remaining members appointed by president; presidential election every six years; last held October 1987
POLITICAL PARTIES AND LEADERS: formation of political parties must be approved by government; National Democratic Party, led by Mubarak, is the dominant party; legal opposition parties are Socialist Liberal Party, Kamal Murad; Socialist Labor Party, Ibrahim Shukri; National Progressive Unionist Grouping, Khalid Muhyi-al-Din; Umma Party, Ahmad al-Sabahi; and New Wafd Party, Fuad Siraj al-Din
VOTING STRENGTH: 458-seat People's Assembly, including 448 elected seats and 10 presidential appointees; NDP, 358 seats; Labor-Liberal-Muslim Brotherhood Alliance, 60 seats (about 36 belong to the Muslim Brotherhood); New Wafd, 36 seats; Independents, 4 seats
DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION: Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY; Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-5400; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco
U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE POST: Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at 5 Sharia Latin America, Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is FPO New York 09527); telephone [20] [2] 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in Alexandria
FLAG: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flags of the YAR which has one star, Syria which has two stars, and Iraq which has three stars--all green and five-pointed in a horizontal line centered in the white band
.ECONOMY OF EGYPT
OVERVIEW: The economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to conduct negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. As part of the agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute a long-term reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming, however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past three years. Real GDP was up only 0.5% in FY87 after increasing only marginally during 1985-1986. Slow growth is an especially serious problem for a country with a high population growth rate of 2.6% annually. With 1 million people being added every eight months to Egypt's population, urban growth exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the land available for agriculture.
GNP: $25.6 billion, per capita $490; real growth rate 0.5% (1987)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 25% (1988)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 17% (mid-1988)
BUDGET: revenues $15 billion; expenditures $23 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (FY88)
EXPORTS: $4.4 billion (f.o.b., 1987); commodities-- raw cotton, crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, textiles; partners-- US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe
IMPORTS: $11.9 billion (c.i.f., 1987); commodities-- foods, machinery and equipment, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods; partners-- US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe
EXTERNAL DEBT: $40.4 billion (December 1988)
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: growth rate 2.2% (1987)
ELECTRICITY: 9,673,000 kW capacity; 42,367 million kWh produced, 790 kWh per capita (1988)
RAILROADS: 4,857 km (3,016 mi) total; 4,510 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km 0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified
HIGHWAYS: 49,025 km (30,444 mi) total; 15,000 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500 km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth
INLAND WATERWAYS: 3,500 km (2,173 mi) (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, the Ismailia Canal, and numerous smaller canals in the Delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km (120 mi) long (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water
PIPELINES: crude oil, 1,171 km (727 mi); refined products, 596 km 370 mi); natural gas, 460 km (286 mi)
PORTS: Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta
AIRPORTS: 95 total, 86 usable; 66 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 46 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: system is large but still inadequate for needs; principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, and Tanta; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations--25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT station; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; radio relay to Libya
.DEFENSE FORCES OF EGYPT
BRANCHES: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
MILITARY MANPOWER: males 15-49, 12,890,103; 8,393,908 fit for military service; 530,283 reach military age (20) annually
MILITARY BUDGET: $2.099 billion, 5.1% of central government budget (FY88)
.TRAVEL IN EGYPT
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Passport and visa required. Transit visa for stay up to 48 hrs. available. Tourist visa, valid 3 months, $11 visa fee (cash or money order), 1 photo. Visa may be issued at airport upon arrival for fee of $15. Nonofficial travelers are required to exchange $150 in hard currency upon arrival. Maximum Egyptian currency allowed into and out of Egypt is LE20. Individuals must register within 7 days of arrival with local authorities or at a hotel where they are staying. A company letter is required for business travel. Vaccination certificate not required unless arriving from an area infected with yellow fever or cholera.
HEALTH: Cholera, typhoid, tetanus, polio and hepatitis immunizations recommended. Be aware of rabies hazards and malaria in some outlying areas. Health requirements change; check latest information.
U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Marriott Hotel, Suite 1541, [P.O.Box 33], Zamalek, Cairo; Tel 3408888 ext 1541.
FOREIGN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Egyptian-American Chamber of Commerce, One World Trade Center, Suite 8741, New York, NY 10048.
TOURIST OFFICES: Egyptian Tourist Authority: 630 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10111, Tel 212-246-6960; 323 Geary St., San Francisco CA 94102, Tel 415-781-7676. Egyptian Tourist Information: 5 Adly St., Cairo, Tel 923000, 913454.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING: Dress for hot summers and moderate winters. Modest dress is appropriate.
TELEPHONE: When direct dialing to Egypt from the U.S., dial 011 (international access code) + 20 [country code] + (city code) + local number.
TIME: 7 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
ELECTRIC CURRENT: 220V, 50-CYCLES, AC
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS: Sham el Nessin (variable); Sinai Liberation Day (Apr 25); Labor Day (May 1); Id al-Fitr (variable); Evacuation Day (Jun 18); National Day (Jul 23); Id al-Adha (variable); Islamic New Year (variable); Armed Forces Day (Oct 6); Mouled al Nabi (variable).
IMPORTANT!! All requirements/recommendations are subject to change. Be sure to check latest information.
