According to businesscarriers, Egypt is one of the most economically developed countries in the Middle East and Africa. Over the past decades, the economic potential of the ARE has grown significantly. The conclusion of a peace treaty with Israel (1979) freed up resources for economic construction. Egypt began to receive significant economic assistance from the United States (up to $3 billion annually, including military assistance), as well as from other industrialized countries. Measures are being taken in the country to liberalize the economy, expand industrial production, and increase its efficiency.
GDP $84 billion, GDP per capita approx. $1,422 (2000). 73.4% of GDP is produced by the private sector, which accounts for 60% of all capital investments. GDP growth rate 6.5% (in 1999 6.2%).
Economically active population 18.8 million people, incl. women 12%. The number of officially registered unemployed 1.4 million people. (approx. 15% of the economically active population), and including hidden unemployment – St. 8.5 million people.
In the structure of GDP, the manufacturing sectors account for 49.5% (including agriculture 16.5%, industry 25.2%, construction 7.8%), the service sector 50.5% (including for trade, finance and insurance 21.9%).
Carrying out market reforms does not serve as an obstacle to the development and implementation of plans for the socio-economic development of the country. In accordance with the target figures for 1997-2007, GDP should double, the next doubling of GDP should occur in 2007-17.
In the industry of Egypt, the leading role is played by: oil and natural gas production, food, textile, cement industries, metallurgy (steel and aluminum production), some engineering industries (car assembly, production of various types of weapons), electric power industry.
A number of large-scale projects are being implemented in the ARE (the “New Valley” program – the development of desert lands, the development of Sinai, the development of gas and energy complexes, the creation of an economic zone in the northwestern part of the Gulf of Suez, the development of an iron ore deposit and the construction of a metallurgical plant near the city of Aswan, etc..).
Oil reserves – approx. 1 billion tons, production – approx. 39 million tons, gas reserves – St. 700 billion m3, production – 18 million tons (in terms of oil equivalent).
Production of raw materials and industrial goods: steel 3 million tons, aluminum 195 thousand tons (work is underway to increase production to 250 thousand tons), phosphates 1.45 million tons, oil products 25 million tons, cement 26 million tons, cotton yarn 305 thousand tons. tons, cotton fabrics 280 thousand m, cars (assembly) 48.2 thousand units, trucks 18.7 thousand units, washing machines 384.5 thousand units, refrigerators 585 thousand units, gas plates 80 thousand pieces.
Electricity generation 72.7 billion kWh.
In agriculture, the area of cultivated land is 3.45 million hectares. Climatic conditions allow two harvests per year. Land suitable for agricultural cultivation does not exceed 4% of the territory of the ARE. Almost all land is privately owned. Egypt meets no more than 40% of food needs with its own production. Development of land – an average of 70-80 thousand hectares per year. Started in 1996, the implementation of the New Valley project will increase the area of cultivated land by 1/4.
Main crops (2001-02): wheat 7.4 million tons, rice 4.0 million tons, barley 411 thousand tons, corn 6.4 million tons, beans 669 thousand tons, cotton (raw) 781 thousand tons, hibiscus 10 thousand tons, peanuts 250 thousand tons, sesame 69 thousand tons, cottonseed 502 thousand tons, sunflower seed 153 thousand tons, sugar cane 14.9 million tons, beets 3.8 million tons, winter vegetables 7.2 million tons, summer vegetables 7.9 million tons, onions 1.7 million tons, garlic 461 thousand tons, green beans 285 thousand tons, fruits and dates 9.5 million tons.
Number of livestock (heads): cattle 3.0 million, buffaloes 3.1 million, sheep 4.3 million, goats 3.2 million, pigs 29 thousand, horses 45 thousand, donkeys 2.99 million, camels 135 thousand, chickens 86 million, ducks 9 million (2000).
Livestock products (2001–02): milk 3.5 million tons, red meat 512 thousand tons, poultry meat 238 thousand tons, wool and bristle 9.5 thousand tons, honey 38 thousand tons.
Production of sea and river fish 255.7 thousand tons, crustaceans and mollusks 9.5 thousand tons. The total catch is 265.2 thousand tons, inland waters give St. 170 thousand tons, Mediterranean and Red Seas approx. 40 thousand tons and the Indian Ocean St. 50 thousand tons
The main ports of Egypt are Alexandria, Port Said and Suez. The throughput capacity of Alexandria is 13 million tons per year. It is planned to build a new port to the west of Alexandria with a capacity of 20 million tons of cargo per year. 10 miles from Damietta, a new seaport is being built with a capacity of 16 million tons.
Modernization and construction of new berths are being carried out in the Suez Canal zone, incl. for container transportation of goods. The merchant fleet consists of 378 ships, with a displacement of 1 million 288 thousand tons. Carried (2001): 2.9 million passengers, 55.9 million tons of cargo.
Much attention is paid to the development of river transport. The length of navigable waterways is approx. 3 thousand km, half of which falls on the Nile, and the rest – on the canals (Nubariya in the Nile Delta and Bahr Yusuf between El Fayoum and Asyut, connecting Alexandria with Upper Egypt through Cairo).
Egypt has 5,000 km of railways. A significant part of the rolling stock is extremely outdated and requires modernization.
Road transport is actively used for the transportation of goods and passengers. Highways connect the capital of Egypt with Alexandria, the southern regions of the country. The highway is laid along the coast of the Red Sea to the south, along the Mediterranean coast from Alexandria to the border with Libya. The highway links Cairo with the Sinai Peninsula. At the same time, it passes through the tunnel under the Suez Canal. The construction of a road and a suspension bridge across the Suez Canal is underway.
Vehicles in operation: more than 12 million cars, 44 thousand buses, 510 thousand trucks, 440 thousand motorcycles and mopeds.
Egyptian civil aviation makes regular flights both within the country and to many capitals of other countries. Egypt’s largest airport in Cairo. There are also airports in Alexandria, Suez, Aswan, Port Said, Hurghada and other cities. More than 4 million passengers and approx. 1 billion tons of cargo. Air transportation on domestic and international routes is served by the state-owned airline Egypt Air.
In the field of telecommunications, the state-owned company Telecom Egypt, an Egyptian state-controlled mobile telecommunications company (founded in 1998), operates. Since 1988, Misrfon (Clic GSM) has been operating in Cairo as a mobile phone network provider.
The Government of Egypt is pursuing a policy of developing foreign trade relations with all interested countries. The main goals of the country’s leadership in this area are to increase the share of merchandise exports, curb the growth of imports and, ultimately, reduce the huge foreign trade deficit. So far, the authorities’ success in this area is insignificant. In practice, the foreign trade deficit has persisted since the 1930s. The development of oil production to a certain extent alleviated these difficulties. This is facilitated by the export of industrial goods such as cars, some types of weapons, ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Food imports are still approx. 30% of all imports. In 2000, the volume of trade amounted to 24.2 billion US dollars: exports – 6.4 billion, imports – 17.8 billion. The main foreign trade partners are the USA, Germany, France, Italy.
