What are the Key Facts of Egypt?

Where is Egypt?

Egypt is a Mediterranean country. It is a transcontinental nation that is located in both Africa (northeast corner) and Asia (southwest corner) with a land bridge called the Isthmus of Suez (formed by the Sinai Peninsula) connecting the two.

The country shares its borders with Libya (1,115 km or 693 mi) to the west, Sudan to the south (1276 km or 793 mi), and Gaza Strip (13 km or 8 mi), and Israel (208 km or 129 mi) to the northeast. In the eastern direction, Egypt is bordered by the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea.

Egyptian Flag

The Egyptian flag is a tricolor with three equal horizontal bands of red, white, and black, from top to bottom. The national emblem, the Eagle of Saladin, is placed in the center of the white band. The eagle is guarded by a shield and holds a scroll on which the name of the state (Arab Republic of Egypt) is etched in Arabic script. The Eagle of Saladin represents authority, beauty, and sovereignty.

What is the Geography of Egypt?

Egypt is spread across 1,001,450 sq. km (386,662 sq. mi), out of which 995,450 sq. km (384,345 sq. mi) land area and 6,000 sq. km (2,317 sq. mi) is water area. The total land boundary of the country is 2,612 km (1,623 mi) and the total coastline is 2,450 km (1,522 mi).

Broadly, the landscape of Egypt can be characterized by low-lying sand dunes. Depressions are present in the Western and Libyan Deserts. The semi-arid Arabian Desert to the eastern direction of the Nile River extends to the edges of the Red Sea. The land rises to the far southwest into the Gilf Kebir Plateau having around 609 m (2,000 ft) elevation. In front of the Nile as well as the Red Sea, the Sandstone plateaus (having 548 m or 1,800 ft elevation) are present. The Ethiopian Highland’s extension, the Red Sea Mountains, is located in the far southeast of Egypt.

Moreover, the Nile River is the main river in Egypt. Two major distributaries of the Nile are the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The river is surrounded by fertile land (called Nile Valley) spread over a width of 8-16 km (5-10 miles). The lowest elevation point of Egypt is the Qattara Depression at 133 m (436 ft). The mean elevation point of the country is 321 m (1053 ft).

Other major mountains of the country are Jabal Zubayr, Jabal Umm Shuma, Jabal Abu Rumayl, Jabal ath Thabţ, Jabal al Li‘dah, Jabal al Khala, and others. The largest lake in the country is Lake Nassar (a man-made lake) which was created at the time of the construction of the Aswan dam.

Furthermore, the man-made Suez Canal extends the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. To the east of the canal, the Sinai Peninsula (a limestone plateau) is located. In the south of the canal, the Sinai Peninsula rises to Mount Catherine. It has an elevation of 2,637 m (8,652 ft), making Mt Catherine the highest point in Egypt.

The winter months get the maximum rainfall in Egypt. The average rainfall in the South of Cairo is only 2-5 mm (0.1-0.2 in) per annum. However, precipitation can be very high during October-March on a very thin strip of the northern coast, which can go up to 410 mm (16.1 in). The mountains of Sinai, as well as some cities (Sidi Barrani, Baltim, and Damietta) on the northern coast, get snowfall. Mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt also get frost.

Be that as it may, Egypt is one of the sunniest and driest countries in the world. During summer, the average temperature in the northern parts of the country remains high. However, the average temperature varies from very high to extremely high in the rest of the country. The northern sea coast gets a more moderate temperature, thanks to the cooler Mediterranean winds. The hot, dry winds called Khamaseen to increase daytime temperatures to over 40 °C (104 °F). In the interior region, the temperature sometimes reaches over 50 °C (122 °F). The Khamaseen winds also bring down the overall humidity to just 5% or even less.

What is the Economy of Egypt?

Actually, the economy of Egypt mainly depends upon agriculture, tourism, natural gas, petroleum imports, and media. Remittances plan an important part in the economy as over 3 million Egyptians work abroad, especially in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Libya, and Europe. In 2016, the Government of Egypt started an economic reforms program to stabilize the economy and rectify macro and microeconomic imbalances. The government is trying to improve manufacturing and initiate an export-led growth model. As per a World Bank report, the country’s GDP increased at an annual rate of 5.314% in FY2018, which is significantly higher than the average growth rate of 4.3% in the last 3 years before. Enhanced public investment, exports of goods & services, and private consumption accelerated the growth rate. The national GDP in the same year was US$242.8 billion.

Though inflation has come down significantly from 33% in mid-2017 to 12.7% in January 2019, still remains a worrisome factor. The external position of the economy improved mainly because of the policy reforms and macroeconomic tightening.

Similarly, the unemployment rate was 12.6% in 2016. It came down to 12.2% in 2017, 9.9% in 2018, and 8.1% in Q1 2019. The national poverty rate was estimated at 27.8% in 2018. Egypt has made it a national priority to bring down the poverty level by 2030.

What is the Transportation System of Egypt?

The transportation system in Egypt is mainly centered in Cairo. The rail system operated by Egyptian National Railways is based mainly along the Nile River. 5,085 km (3,160 mi) of railway tracks are there. While all of them are standard gauges, just 62 km (39 mi) are electrified. Egypt has 72 airports (only 11 unpaved) and 7 heliports. Cairo International Airport is the main airport in the country.

In addition, 65,050 km (40,420 mi) of roadways are present in the country. While 48,000 km (29,826 mi) are paved, 17,050 km (10,594 mi) are unpaved. Some of the important road networks are the Trans-African Highway network, Arab Mashreq International Road Network, 4-lane freeways, and other motorways (including Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, Geish Road, International Coastal Road, Ring Road, and Regional Ring Road).

Out of the total 3,500 km (2,175 mi) of waterways, 193.5 km (120 mi) of the Suez Canal is used by the vessels going to the sea. They are mainly present on the Nile, Lake Nasser, and Suez Canal. The total number of specialized ports in Egypt is 29, and there are 15 commercial ports. Egypt has 399 merchant marine ships.

What are International Organizations in Egypt part of?

WTO, ABEDA, UN, AfDB, Interpol, AFESD, AMF, IMF, AU, CAEU, CD, ILO, CICA, COMESA, IMO, D-8, EBRD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, NAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, UNESCO, IFRCS, UNIDO, IHO, UNHCR, IMSO, IOC, UNOCI, IOM, IPU, ISO, UNRWA, ITSO, ITU, LAS, UNWTO, MIGA, UNCTAD, MINURSO, MINUSMA, UNMISS, MONUSCO, OAPEC, WIPO, OIC, OIF, WMO, PCA, UNAMID, UPU, WCO, WHO, OSCE (partner), OAS (observer), ICC (national committees), WFTU (NGOs), BSEC (observer), UN Security Council (temporary)

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