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| Egypt
: Geography |
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| Location: |
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 |
| Geographic
coordinates : |
27 00 N,
30 00 E |
| Map
references: |
Africa |
| Area: |
total:
1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km |
| Population: |
81,713,520
(July 2008 est.) |
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| Economy
- overview: |
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| Occupying
the northeast corner of the African continent, Egypt is bisected by the
highly fertile Nile valley, where most economic activity takes place. Egypt's
economy was highly centralized during the rule of former President Gamal
Abdel NASSER but has opened up considerably under former President Anwar
EL-SADAT and current President Mohamed Hosni MUBARAK. Cairo has aggressively
pursued economic reforms to encourage inflows of foreign investment and
facilitate GDP growth. In 2005, Prime Minister Ahmed NAZIF's government
reduced personal and corporate tax rates, reduced energy subsidies, and
privatized several enterprises. The stock market boomed, and GDP grew about
7% each year since 2006. Despite these achievements, the government has
failed to raise living standards for the average Egyptian, and has had to
continue providing subsidies for basic necessities. The subsidies have contributed
to a sizeable budget deficit - roughly 7% of GDP in 2007-08 - and represent
a significant drain on the economy. Foreign direct investment has increased
significantly in the past two years, but the NAZIF government will need
to continue its aggressive pursuit of reforms in order to sustain the spike
in investment and growth and begin to improve economic conditions for the
broader population. Egypt's export sectors - particularly natural gas -
have bright prospects. |
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| GDP
(purchasing power parity): |
$452.5
billion (2008 est.) |
| GDP
(official exchange rate): |
$158.3
billion (2008 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
7%
(2008 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita (PPP) |
:
$5,500 (2008 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
Agriculture:
13.4%
Industry: 37.6%
Services: 48.9% (2008 est.) |
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