Country Profile:
Egypt
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Map of Egypt and surrounding countries.
Borders:
North- Mediterranean Sea
East- NE: Gaza strip, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. SE: Red Sea
South- Sudan
West: Libya
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Political map of Egypt
II. General Statistics
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country located in Northern Africa bordering Libya to the West, Sudan to the South, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the East. Its northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea on the eastern coast. One of the most populous countries in Africa, it is estimated that approximately 81.7 million people (CIA Factbook) currently inhabit the land, a great majority near the banks of the Nile River, where the only arable land is located.
The Sahara Desert and its surrounding areas are basically uninhabited. About half of Egypt’s population lives in urban areas, the majority spread across densely populated centers of greater Cairo (Egypt’s capital), Alexandria, and other major cities surrounding the Nile Delta (where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea).
Population: July 2008 est. 81,713,517 residents*
Population Growth Rate: 1.682% (2008 est.)*
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 31.9%, 15-64 years: 63.5%, 65+ years: 4.7%
Life Expectancy: male 60-67 years, female 64-70 years
Ethnic Groups: Egyptian 98%, Berber, Nubian, Bedouin, and Beja 1%, Greek, Armenian, other European (mainly Italian and French) 1%*
*CIA World Factbook
Although on a global scale, Egypt is considered a less developed country, it is one of the more economically “developed” countries in the Middle East. Education and literacy levels in Egypt are high compared to its surrounding countries.
Primary Education enrollment; 6-11 years: 97%
Secondary Education: 81%
Tertiary Education: 20-24 years
Adult Literacy: defined as age 15 and over can read and write 71.4%
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*shows Egypt as having 50-69% literacy (orange). Higher than...