Egypt factfile

A guide to Egypt's politics, economy and history in key facts, figures and dates.

RFI

Geography
Located between Africa and the Middle East, Egypt is a transcontinental country covering an area of more than one million square kilometers. It's bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.

Demographics

• Population: 79 million.
• Population growth: 1.74 per cent.
• Life expectancy: women, 73 years; men, 69.3 years.

Society

• Languages: Arabic (official), English, French.
• Religions: Islam (state), Coptic Christians.
• Literacy: 66.4 per cent.
• Development: ranked 101st out of 169 countries by the United Nations Development Programme in 2010.
  

Economy

• Currency: Egyptian pound.
• Main sectors: agriculture, tourism, petroleum exports, media.
• Foreign aid: has received an average of 2.2 billion dollars per year from the US since 1979.
• Growth: 5.3 per cent (2009).
• Inflation: 18.3 per cent (2009).
• GDP per capita: 2,007 euros (2010 estimate).

History

• 1922: declaration of Egypt's independence from Britain.
• 1953: declaration of the republic of Egypt. General Muhammad Neguib becomes the country's first president.
• 1954: Gamal Abdel Nasser comes to power.
• 1956: nationalisation of Suez Canal, prompting Britain, France and Israel to attack Egypt.
• 1967: Six Day War. Israel takes control of Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula. State of emergency declared. Apart from 18 months between 1980 and 1981, the Emergency Law has remained in place ever since.
• 1970: death of President Nasser. Anwar El Sadat takes office.
• 1973: Egypt and Syria launch October War on Israel.
• 1978: Camp David accords between Egypt, Israel and the US.
• 1979: Egypt signs peace treaty with Israel, in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from Sinai.
• 1981: President El Sadat assassinated. Vice President Hosni Mubarak takes over as president.
• 2005: Mubarak elected for a fifth term.
• 2010: parliamentary elections in which the opposition boycotts the second round and the ruling NDP party wins more than 80 per cent of seats.