CIA World Factbook – Egypt – Welcome to the CIA Web Site
Posted By admin on October 13, 2015
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; later that same year, Mohammed MORSI won the presidential election. Following often violent protests throughout the spring of 2013 against MORSI's government and the Muslim Brotherhood, and massive antigovernment demonstrations, the Egyptian Armed Forces intervened and removed MORSI from power in July 2013 and replaced him with interim president Adly MANSOUR. In January 2014, voters approved a new constitution by referendum and in May 2014 elected Abdel Fattah Al SISI president. Legislative elections are expected by the end of 2015.
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
27 00 N, 30 00 E
Africa
total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
more than eight times the size of Ohio; slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
total: 2,612 km
border countries (4): Gaza Strip 13 km, Israel 208 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,276 km
2,450 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or the equidistant median line with Cyprus
continental shelf: 200 nm
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc
agricultural land: 3.6%
arable land 2.8%; permanent crops 0.8%; permanent pasture 0%
forest: 0.1%
other: 96.3% (2011 est.)
34,220 sq km (2003)
57.3 cu km (2011)
total: 68.3 cu km/yr (8%/6%/86%)
per capita: 973.3 cu m/yr (2000)
periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorms called khamsin occur in spring; dust storms; sandstorms
agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees from Sudan and the Palestinian territories
noun: Egyptian(s)
adjective: Egyptian
Egyptian 99.6%, other 0.4% (2006 census)
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 90%, Christian (majority Coptic Orthodox, other Christians include Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, Maronite, Orthodox, and Anglican) 10% (2012 est.)
88,487,396 (July 2015 est.)
0-14 years: 31.89% (male 14,430,312/female 13,790,448)
15-24 years: 17.64% (male 7,985,589/female 7,620,404)
25-54 years: 38.45% (male 17,307,230/female 16,715,153)
55-64 years: 6.86% (male 2,971,475/female 3,100,747)
65 years and over: 5.16% (male 2,058,911/female 2,507,127) (2015 est.)
total dependency ratio: 62.3%
youth dependency ratio: 53.8%
elderly dependency ratio: 8.5%
potential support ratio: 11.8% (2015 est.)
total: 25.3 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 25.6 years (2015 est.)
1.79% (2015 est.)
22.9 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
4.77 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
-0.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
urban population: 43.1% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 1.68% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
CAIRO (capital) 18.772 million; Alexandria 4.778 million (2015)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
total: 21.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 20.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)
total population: 73.7 years
male: 71.06 years
female: 76.47 years (2015 est.)
2.83 children born/woman (2015 est.)
60.3% (2008)
5.1% of GDP (2013)
2.83 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
0.5 beds/1,000 population (2012)
improved:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 99% of population
total: 99.4% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0% of population
rural: 1% of population
total: 0.6% of population (2015 est.)
improved:
urban: 96.8% of population
rural: 93.1% of population
total: 94.7% of population
unimproved:
urban: 3.2% of population
rural: 6.9% of population
total: 5.3% of population (2015 est.)
0.02% (2014 est.)
8,800 (2014 est.)
300 (2014 est.)
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)
See the original post:
CIA World Factbook - Egypt - Welcome to the CIA Web Site
Comments