Region
Middle East

Population
67,273,906
(July 2000 Estimate)

Area Total
1,001,450 km

Area Land
995,450 km

Coastline
2,450 km

Climate
Desert; hot,
dry summers with
moderate winters.

Languages
Arabic (official),
English and French
widely understood
by educated classes

Currency
1 Egyptian pound = 100 piasters

Holiday
Anniversary of the Revolution,
23 July (1952)


Boundaries
Sudan
1,273 km

Libya
1,150 km

Israel
255 km

Ethnic Divisions
Eastern Hemitic stock 99 %

Greek, Nubian,
Armenian,
and other Europeans 1 %

Religions
Muslim 90 %
Coptic Christian
and others 10 %

Largest Cities
City Population
Cairo 6,452,000
Alexandria 3,170,000
Giza (Al-Jizah) 2,156,000


People
Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world.

History
Archeological findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long before the dynastic history of the pharaohs began.

Economy
At the beginning of the 1990s, Egypt was plagued by continuing softness in world oil markets and was struggling to serve a foreign debt totaling about $50 billion.

Agriculture
The agriculture sector in Egypt contributes 17.7% of the GDP and employs an estimated 35.0% of the labor force.

Energy
Egypt produced an average 866,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of crude oil during 1998.

Metals
In addition to hydrocarbons, Egypt produced a wide variety of metals and industrial minerals.

Environment
With the exception of its northern and eastern coastlines, as well as the Nile Valley, Egypt is predominantly desert.