Country Overview
Population: 114,716,598
Population Growth Rate: 1.5% (2023 est.)
Religious Groups Breakdown: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 90%, Christian (majority Coptic Orthodox) 10%
Youth Unemployment: 19%
UNDP HDI: 0.728 (105/189)
Life Expectancy (Male Life Expectancy & Female Life Expectancy): 75 (M: 73.8, F: 76.2)
Literacy Rate (Male Literacy Rate & Female Literacy Rate): 73.1% (M: 78.8%, F: 67.4%)
Primary School Completion Rate: 97.5%
Median Age: 24.4
Capital: Cairo
Largest City: Cairo
Nationality: Egyptian
Currency: Egyptian Pound
Languages: Arabic (official), English, and French widely understood by educated classes
Agriculture: Sugar cane, sugar beet, wheat, maize, tomatoes, rice, potatoes, oranges, onions, milk
Industries: Textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures
Geography
Egypt (Arabic: Masr) is located in northeast Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the north; the Red Sea, Gaza Strip, and Israel in the east; Libya in the west; and Sudan in the south. Egypt also notably controls the Sinai Peninsula, the only land bridge between Africa and Asia. Summers are usually very hot, with high temperatures averaging between 97°F and 108°F. The highest summer temperatures can reach up to 122°F. Winters average between 73°F and 75°F during the day. Temperatures at night, however, are significantly lower during the wintertime, with the coldest nights reaching freezing at 32°F.
The Nile River winds blow from south to north in the central part of the country, creating a narrow, 20 km region of arable land around the river and its delta where approximately 95% of the population lives. Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions, namely Upper and Lower Egypt. To the north was Lower Egypt, where the Nile stretched out, with its several branches to form the Nile Delta. To the south was Upper Egypt, stretching to Syene. These geographical divisions are still used today. The Nile is the longest river in the world. It is one of the few freshwater resources in Egypt and an important transportation network.
Climate Change
Climate change poses concerns for Egyptians who live and farm in the area around the Nile River, particularly the Nile Delta, where the river empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Sea level rise is already impacting the River’s salinization levels, rendering it impossible to grow crops in affected areas. This problem is exacerbated by irrigation techniques that locals use. For instance, the Aswan High Dam, the largest dam in the world, has increased soil salinization. This is due to its man-made nature and subsequent inability to maintain equilibrium with the surrounding natural waters. Farmers have reported that saltwater intrusion from a one-meter rise in sea level could jeopardize more than a third of the freshwater.
Water in Egypt is also facing increasing levels of pollution. Oil traffic along and around the Suez Canal creates oil pollution that threatens coral reefs, beaches, marine habitats, and local fishing activities. The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency responds to approximately four oil spills per year. Egypt’s waters also suffer from pollution by pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents. In the Nile's 225 km long and 150 m wide Rosetta Branch, increased levels of heavy metal contamination have recently been recorded. The El-Rahawy drain is the main source of pollution as it dumps around 1.5 million cubic meters of sewage from the Giza Governorate Into the water branch every day.
Warming temperatures and desertification have had a serious impact on Egypt as well. In recent years, routine annual flooding no longer occurs. These floods were crucial to clean the water of human and agricultural waste. This waste has also led to the cultivation of water-borne diseases in the River with 2 million deaths and 4 billion cases of diarrhea annually in 2015 alone.
Resource strain and water availability per capita represents another major environmental issue for Egypt. Water poverty is defined as having less than 1000 cubic meters available per person, and in 2022, Egypt had only between 550 and 560 cubic meters of water available per person. According to UNICEF, by 2025, Egypt could run out of water. These water shortages have led to significant conflicts with nearby countries, such as disputes over water sovereignty with Ethiopia surrounding the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Cairo has created the Egypt Vision 2030 plan which sets environmental goals for the country in-line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as well as the AU’s Sustainable Development Strategy for Africa 2063. This plan was heavily inspired by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 project, which has similar goals of moving away from depending on the extraction and export of hydrocarbons.
The loss of agricultural land due to waves of urban and suburban development, windblown sands, and population growth has also been a significant issue. In 2021, only 4% of Egypt’s land is suitable for agriculture, a number which has shrunk in recent years, with food insecurity becoming a more prevalent threat. With 87,000 hectares of land transitioning from agricultural land to urban areas alone by 2030, efforts to preserve fertile land surrounding the Nile will be imperative to maintain an adequate food supply.
Geography Resources
History
Ancient Egyptian History
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest human settlements in prehistoric Egypt date to around 30,000 BCE, when nomadic groups began to settle, take up farming, and form villages. Some evidence suggests these villages engaged in sporadic warfare with each other. This state of affairs is thought to have lasted for around 27,000 years until the ancient Egyptian dynasties unified all of Egypt under one ruler, the pharaoh. Ancient Egypt was characterized by the rule of the pharaohs, who built large stone pyramids to serve as their tombs.
For the 2,500 years following the rise of the pharaohs, Egypt was ruled by a succession of dynasties. Ancient Egyptian history saw the rule of 31 dynasties. Dynastic succession could sometimes be violent. With the death of a ruler and the end of a dynasty, it was not always clear who the next ruler should be, causing Egypt to fall into a state of warfare known as “intermediate periods.” Historians use these periods as dividing markers that separate Egyptian history into kingdoms.
Egypt Under Empires & A Transition From Dynastic Rule
The dynastic pattern was not broken when the Persian Achaemenid Empire conquered Egypt during the 26th dynasty in 525 BCE. Egypt even briefly regained independence in 401 BCE under Pharaoh Amyrtaeus, but it was reconquered by the Persians in 343 BCE. Greeks led by Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BCE, an event that marked not only the end of the Late Period but also the end of Egypt’s dynastic rule. Egypt was conquered again by the Romans under Caesar Augustus in 30 BCE and by the Persian Sassanids in 619 CE.
In 641, the Arabs conquered Egypt and brought Islam to the region. Control of Egypt shifted amongst different Islamic groups for the next six centuries. The Righteous Caliphs ruled for a short period. The Ummayad Caliphs, the next four rulers, quickly replaced them, though their rule only lasted until 747. Smaller groups scrambled to control Egypt until 1174 when the Kurdish Ayyubids came to power. In 1252, the Ayyubids were overthrown by the Mamluks, who had previously formed the bulk of the Ayyubid military. Mamluk dominance of the country lasted until 1517 when Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. However, instead of deposing the Mamluks, the Ottomans declared Egypt a semi-autonomous province, allowing the Mamluk military regime to stay in power and granting them some control over Egypt.
British and French Intervention in Ottoman-Controlled Egypt
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt, intending to block British trade routes to India. Mamluk troops met the French at the pyramids, where the Mamluk forces were destroyed within an hour. Napoleon continued to Cairo, but was unable to defeat the Ottoman forces there. The French army retreated, and in 1805 Muhammad Ali Pasha, took control of the country. He convinced the Ottomans to declare Egypt an autonomous vassal state, meaning that legally Egypt still belonged to the empire, yet it could manage its own affairs without interference from the Ottomans. Ultimately, European powers forced Ali to return the land.
In 1867, Khedive Ali’s grandson, Ismail Pasha, became the Khedive of Egypt. He enacted bold initiatives such as constructing the modern railway, establishing the cotton and sugar industry, and building the Suez Canal.Even with aid from Britain and France, put Egypt on the brink of bankruptcy.
France and Britain used this indebted status as a tool to leverage over Egypt.This led Egypt into a financial crisis. Fearing they would not be repaid with Khedive Ismail in charge, the two powers convinced the Ottoman Empire to remove him from power and to replace him with his son Tewfik Pasha, who was predicted to be a weak ruler, likely susceptible to European influence.
Egypt as British Protectorate
Nationalist sentiment in Egypt had been growing due to increased European influence and Tewfik’s appointment.In 1882, violent riots broke out in Alexandria and Egyptian Colonel, Ahmed Urabi, seized the opportunity to incite a nationalist uprising, the Urabi Revolution.The British sent in military that crushed the uprising, securing Khedive Tewfik’s authority and making Egypt an unofficial British protectorate later becoming an official protectorate in 1914, and changing the Egyptian leader’s name from khedive to sultan.
In 1919, during the reign of Sultan Fuad I, a group called the Wafd Party began challenging British control over the country through means of demonstrations, strikes, and riots. The Wafd Party enjoyed high levels of support from the Egyptian population. The British exiled Wafd Party leaders, hoping to prevent social unrest, but this backfired, sparking riots in which British institutions were attacked. In response, the British offered to make Egypt a sovereign nation, with a few conditions. The offer was accepted, and Sultan Fuad changed his title to King of Egypt.
Independent Egypt & the Suez Crisis
King Faud I ruled until he died in 1936, when his son, Farouk I, became the king at the age of 16. Also during this year, Egypt and Britain signed a Treaty of Friendship, mandating the withdrawal of the remaining 10,000 British troops.This would have been satisfactory, if it weren’t for Farouk I’s extravagant lifestyle which soon quashed any excitement the Egyptians had for their new young king. In 1942, he was forced into a coalition government with the Wafd Party after the British army surrounded his palace.
Farouk I remained king until 1952 when the Free Officers Movement (FOM), led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, staged a military coup and Farouk I was forced to abdicate. In 1953, the FOM abolished the monarchy and formed the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). They declared the RCC would govern the country for a three-year transitional period. In 1954, the RCC demanded that the British and French relinquish control of the Suez Canal. After an initial refusal, Egypt signed a treaty for the removal of foreign control of the Suez Canal by 1956.
In 1956, a new constitution was announced and Egypt became a republic; Abdel Nasser was elected president, and the Suez Canal was nationalized. The Canal’s nationalization came after the Suez Crisis.
President Nasser and Sadat’s Interventions in the Middle East
In the 1960s, Egypt was involved in two wars. The first was the North Yemen Civil War that pitted royalists from the Kingdom of Yemen against factions from the Yemen Arab Republic, who wanted Yemen to be a republic instead of a monarchy. Nasser had been waiting for a regime in Yemen that would support and align itself with Egypt because he felt the need to reassert his power in the Middle East, which he perceived as waning after the dissolution of the United Arab Republic in 1961. Thus, in a show of support, Nasser sent them as many as 70,000 troops, along with a supply of chemical weapons.
Egypt had also gathered intelligence of an imminent Israeli attack on Syria. Although the report was false, Nasser sent 100,000 troops to the Sinai Peninsula in preparation. Fearing they would be invaded, Israel launched a preemptive strike against the Jordanian, Syrian, and Egyptian air forces on June 5, 1967, an event that officially began the Six-Day War. A UN ceasefire agreement halted the conflict on June 10, but Israel was in possession of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, areas which Egypt had held since 1948.
With the death of Nasser in 1970, Anwar Sadat became president. Egypt, along with Syria, attacked Israel in 1973 in an effort to regain the Sinai Peninsula in the Yom Kippur War. Their efforts failed, although the Israelis returned after peace talks in 1979. Sadat then implemented the Infitah, an economic policy to promote foreign investment to modernize Egypt. Due to the elimination of food subsidies , prices went up 50%, and the lower class rioted. The government repealed this policy, leading to the end of the riots.
President Sadat made history in 1977 by going to Israel for the Sinai Peninsula peace talks and joining the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and US President Jimmy Carter to sign the Camp David Accords. These Accords established a framework for a historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Other Arab countries were infuriated by these actions, as it was the first time that an Arab state officially recognized Israel.
Egypt & the Arab Spring
On October 6, 1981, an Islamic extremist assassinated Sadat and Vice President Hosni Mubarak became the new president just as a new, turbulent period in Egypt’s history began. The period from 1980 to 2000 saw a rise in terrorist activity by groups like Tanzim al-Jihad and Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya. Both the government and the tourist industry were targeted.
Mubarak enacted limitations on freedom of speech and expression and eliminated parliament’s role in government. Protests began against Mubarak’s government, demanding freedom of expression and solutions for high unemployment rates and rising food prices. These protests were collectively named the January 25 Revolution and were inspired by the Jasmine Revolution protests in Tunisia and are considered to be a part of the Arab Spring uprisings. In response, Mubarak resigned in February 2011 and the military took control.
President Morsi, the 2013 Coup D’État, & the Rise of President Al-Sisi
In June 2012, Mohamed Morsi from the Muslim Brotherhood became the first democratically-elected president in Egypt. Morsi began to strengthen Egypt’s relations with other Middle Eastern countries, and draft a new constitution. Morsi drew heavy criticism for the November 2012 decree that shielded him from any legal challenge and sparked nationwide protests.
By June 2013, mass protests erupted and called for Morsi’s resignation. Protesters were frustrated with the economic crisis, the new constitution supporting Sharia law, and Morsi granting himself temporary unlimited power. The Egyptian military issued an ultimatum: Morsi was to resign by July 3rd or face military intervention. Morsi refused so on July 3, General Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi removed him from power in a 2013 coup d’état. Chief Justice Adly Mansour was appointed interim president, and Morsi was put under house arrest. In September 2013, Egyptian courts banned the Muslim Brotherhood from political participation and confiscated all their assets. On January 14-15, 2014, Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, politically legitimizing Al-Sisi.
Al-Sisi was elected with 96.1% of the vote in 2014. The election was denounced as “unfair.”. Nevertheless, he took office in 2014 and has presided over Egypt since.Al-Sisi called for the Egyptians to brace for “hard work.” He has attempted to spur economic growth and slash deficits by eliminating long-popular fuel and food subsidies, liberalizing the economy, investing in infrastructure projects, and seeking foreign investment. Initially these projects were not successful with foreign reserves being at $15.5 billion during July 2016; however they have since increased to $35.3 billion during February 2024. 
Hopes for future economic growth seem pessimistic as revenues from the Suez Canal have declined and national industry is almost nonexistent. What economic growth has been achieved is attributed to the huge amounts of capital inflows from the Gulf States.
The security situation under current leadership has steadily worsened. Al-Sisi faces a worsening terrorist insurgency in the Sinai with two downed jets and multiple terror attacks. He relies on heavy-handed methods to quell opposition to policies, often inciting complaints from human rights monitors. He has conducted raids on the journalists’ union, imprisoned over 41,000 people, and allowed widespread abuse of the population by the police. Nonetheless, public approval of Al-Sisi has remained high, according to the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research. However, Al-Sisi’s approval rating among young people has seen a decline since 2015. Although young people cannot organize due to restrictive laws, they have been able to express their political concerns mostly through protests and writing articles. Demonstrations have been stifled by the Egyptian protest law (act 107) which requires three days’ notice before protesting, and the government can “cancel, postpone or move” the protest.
Al-Sisi moved to prevent the military from becoming a political opposition force. In 2018, Al-Sisi won reelection with 97% of the vote after months of intimidation and arrests of other potential candidates. In a new law passed on July 6th, 2020, any military personnel who want to run for any political office must first get an endorsement from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), headed by Al-Sisi. Since April 2017, Egypt has been in a state of emergency due to a terrorist attack claimed by ISIS,only being lifted after four years of being in effect.
History Resources
Government
The Presidency
A referendum in 2014 established the current Egyptian constitution, and was modeled after the 2012 constitution. The constitution establishes Egypt as a republic governed by a popularly-elected president and parliament. The president is directly elected to serve as both the head of state and the executive. In April 2019, Egypt voted to amend its constitution through several referendum votes.
These amendments increased the president’s term duration to six years from four and allowed the president to serve up to three terms instead of two. The president is also responsible for appointing the prime minister from the parliamentary majority. The president also has the power to appoint key judicial leaders including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Council. The 2019 referendum is considered by some to be controversial.
The Egyptian Parliament
The 2019 referendums changed the Egyptian Parliament from a unicameral to a bicameral body. The new “upper house” is called the Consultative Council (or Senate) and has 180 members where one-third are directly elected by the Egyptian citizens, and two-thirds are directly appointed by the president. Senators serve a five-year term to offer opinions to maintain the goals of the 2011 and 2014 revolutions. This includes matters of social unity, national identity, constitutional amendments, and strengthening democracy. The Senate does not have major legislative responsibilities. The “lower house” or House of Representatives has 450, and they are elected through proportional representation voting systems in which smaller parties are guaranteed some sort of representation. The 2019 referendum also reserves at least 112 (¼ )of House seats for women. The House of Representatives mainly deals with creating legislation, ratifying proposed laws, and approving the national budget.
Government Resources
International & Regional Issues
Border Disputes, the Hala’ib Triangle, & the Tiran and Sanafir islands
The Hala’ib Triangle is a 20,500 square km swath of land on the Red Sea that has been disputed between Sudan and Egypt since the 19th century. In 1899 and 1902 the United Kingdom drew 2 different boundaries as it related to the area, handing authority to Egypt and Sudan. The Hala’ib Triangle has become controversial because of the manganese in the area with studies estimating the region contains about 700,000 tons of the chemical.
Furthermore, there are also prospects of oil and natural gas reserves offshore in the Red Sea. In 1902, a separate “administrative” placed the region under Sudanese control. In 1992, the issue resurfaced when Sudan allowed an oil company to work off the coast of Hala’ib. Ownershipis still disputed today, though the presence of Egyptian military units there grants Egypt de facto control over the area.
Egyptian-Ethiopian Relations & the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
The conflict over the Nile’s water allocation escalated dramatically when Ethiopia began constructing the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile. For Egypt, the dam could create a nationwide water shortage and cause serious crop failures. The Ethiopian highlands supply 85% of the water that flows into the Nile River, and Egypt sees the GERD as a major threat because it depends entirely on the Nile for household and commercial use. Egypt has successfully used old agreements (the 1929 and 1959 Nile Waters Agreements) to prevent the construction of any major infrastructure on the tributaries of the Nile River until 2011. The Blue Nile, after converging with the White Nile in Sudan, accounts for most of the Nile’s flow into Egypt and a dam could cause Egypt to lose a quarter of its water supply. Egyptcould lose one million jobs and $1.8 billion of production if Ethiopia carries out its full plans with GERD. Sudan also remains entangled in this dispute.
Ethiopian politicians argue that the dam would not create problems for Egypt because the dam’s purpose is solely to generate electricity. Additionally, Ethiopia believes that Egypt is unfairly clinging to “colonial-era” treaties that fail to reflect the current geopolitical circumstances and economic needs of the region.
In 1980, the Niger Basin Authority was established between nine countries to make full, cooperative use of the Niger River. In 1997, the United Nations passed the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourse to arbitrate equitable water use.
In response to these events, the Nile Basin Initiative was formed to improve cooperation and economic integration among the 10 countries bordering the Nile. To achieve its objectives, the NBI drafted a Strategic Action Plan that consists of two programs: the Shared Vision Program (SVP) and the Subsidiary Action Program (SAP). Each country developed their separate resources such as dams or irrigation systems for their own good, without considering the implications for neighboring countries or the effects on the Nile elsewhere. By enhancing information sharing and finding common ground, the NBI seeks to remove such communication barriers..
In July 2020, Ethiopia began to fill the dam despite no formal agreement.In January 2021, the negotiations hit a new impasse with Egypt and Ethiopia frustrated with Sudan. Sudan feared that the GERD could overwhelm the Roseires Dam if an agreement is not reached to share data. On July 19, 2021, Ethiopia completed the dam’s second filling despite the lack of an official agreement. Ethiopia began the dam’s third filling for the next rainy season in June 2022, now being 88% complete. The UN is pushing the three countries to continue negotiations under the auspices of the African Union, however; Sudan and Egypt are requesting outside mediation. There is still no agreement in place.
Refugees in Egypt
The Egyptian government does not operate refugee camps, so refugees are scattered throughout the country, making it difficult for them to receive aid. The UN Human Refugee Agency has stepped up efforts to increase refugee registration, deliver necessary aid, and help integrate them into Egyptian society. Due to Egypt’s unique geographical position, labeled as the gateway to the Middle East, it is a hub for migrants both entering and exiting the Middle East.According to a UNHCR report from June 2022, Egypt hosts 289,493 refugee asylum seekers from 65 different countries of origin. Syrians, Sudanese, South Sudanese, Eritreans, and Ethiopians comprise a majority of the asylum seekers and refugees in Egypt.
Egypt shares a both Southern border with Sudan and common history, as they have been under one rule at various points. It was under these conditions that the wadi al nil agreements were passed, which gave the Sudanese unfettered access to education and healthcare in Egypt. Egyptians in Sudan were also treated as citizens. However, after the 1995 assassination attempt on Mubarak (allegedly) by Sudanese Islamists, these rights were restricted, and today the Sudanese are treated like any other foreigners. In order to receive protection from the Egyptian government, they have to be classified as refugees, the criteria for which are very restrictive in Egypt. Thus today, there are about two million Sudanese migrants in Egypt, many of them fleeing conflicts like Darfur and the South Sudan civil war. As of March 2022, Human Rights Watch reports that there are over 52,000 Sudanese people officially registered as refugees in Egypt. The Sudanese face increasing discrimination in Egypt amid deteriorating economic conditions, often being charged exorbitant rent because they are not allowed to own property.
As of June 2022, Egypt was hosting 143,803 refugees and asylum seekers from Syria, which makes Syrian asylum seekers and refugees around 50% of the total refugee population in Egypt, as a result of the civil war, according to a UNHCR report. Similar to the Sudanese refugees, Syrians face discrimination at the hand of the Egyptian government. These economic inequalities and social discrimination have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are currently also around 70,000 refugees from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip living in Egypt, nearly 8,000 people from Somalia, and about 6,000 refugees from the Iraq conflict.
Egyptian-Gazan Relations
Egypt shares a common border with Israel and the Gaza Strip. Between 2014 and 2017, Al-Sisi’s government worked to oppose Hamas, most notably by working with Israel to impose a blockade on Gaza after Hamas made moves to take over the Gaza Strip militarily and politically. To circumvent the blockade, Hamas built a network of tunnels that extended across the Egyptian-Gaza border through the town of Rafah. These tunnels are used to smuggle everything from construction materials, food, fuel, to actual people. The purpose in using tunnels is to avoid taxes imposed by Hamas. Though many of the people crossing the border through tunnels do so because of the expense and difficulty of leaving Gaza through legal means, the tunnels have also been used to smuggle cash, drugs, and weapons.
The Egyptian and Israeli governments have opposed the tunnels. Egypt has actively searched and destroyed cross-border tunnels. Most recently, the Egyptian government has announced a buffer zone between the Rafah border crossing and Egypt itself. By 2017,the Al-Sisi government pivoted its foreign policy with Hamas to one more focused on reconciliation as well as acting as a counterweight to the Islamic State’s insurgency in Sinai.
Journalism Crackdowns
Although freedom of expression is nominally guaranteed in the constitution, in reality, the Egyptian press is fairly unfree. In 2022, Freedom House rated Egypt’s press freedoms at 0 out of 4, with 4 being “most free,” due largely to its well-documented imprisonment and forced disappearance of dissident journalists. In 2017 alone, over 90 news websites were banned and dozens of Egyptian journalists were jailed. The next year Al-Sisi signed a cybercrime law that allows the government to block any website deemed a threat to national security or the economy. The Cairo-based Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression said over 500 websites had been blocked prior to the new law. In July 2019, Parliament passed the Media Regulation Law, which further restricts journalists, allows for censorship without a judicial order, levies severe fines for violating the law, and creates prison sentences for those “inciting violence.”
COVID-19
Egypt’s Ministry of Health announced its first case of COVID-19 on February 14, 2020, and its first case of an Egyptian national contracting COVID-19 was on March 5th, 2020. As of July 27th, 2022, there have been 514,659 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 24,765 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 19 July 2022, a total of 94,288,193 vaccine doses have been administered.
Controversies have arisen in the country since the onset of the pandemic. In 2020, when the Egyptian government detained seven doctors for posting their concerns over public health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic due to their dissent for the way that COVID-19 was spreading throughout the country.The pandemic highlighted the inefficiencies in healthcare and management. At the beginning of 2021, El Husseineya Central Hospital experienced an oxygen shortage which led to four deaths. The Egyptian government also prevented medical experts from gathering during the peak of the pandemic and denied accusations that it was not acknowledging the severity of the disease. As of October 2021, the Egyptian government is allowing citizens to receive the vaccine without a prior appointment. in an effort to curtail a new wave of COVID within the country.
International & Regional Issues Resources
Economy
The economy of Egypt traditionally depends heavily on agriculture, tourism, and cash remittances from Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. Its major industries include textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures. Egypt’s economy has been criticized to be overly-reliant on oil and natural gas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country held proved reserves of 3.3 billion barrels of oil (2021 est.). Egypt also relies on foreign aid from a number of countries.
Since the tumult of the Arab Spring, the Egyptian economy has plummeted. Rapid population growth and the limited arable land are straining the country’s resources and economy, and political unrest has often paralyzed government efforts to address the problems. Weak growth and limited foreign exchange earnings have made public finances unsustainable, leaving authorities dependent on expensive borrowing for deficit finance and on Gulf allies to help cover the import bill. Tourism has been affected by the violence targeting both Egyptian citizens and foreign visitors.
In 2015-16, higher levels of foreign investment contributed to a slight rebound in GDP growth after a particularly depressed post-revolution period. In 2016, Cairo enacted a value-added tax, implemented fuel and electricity subsidy cuts, and floated its currency, which led to a sharp depreciation of the pound and corresponding inflation. In 2016, the IMF approved a $12 billion, three-year loan for Egypt and disbursed the first $2.75 billion tranche. Economists advise that the government needs the IMF loan to ensure that Egypt’s poorest people can afford to buy food and to prevent riots by frustrated citizens. The rising prices of imported goods during the summer of 2016 caused a shortage of subsidized baby formula, basic goods like sugar, and common pharmaceuticals.
According to Newsweek, many Egyptians were increasingly willing to speak out about their economic hardship, a sign of desperation. In October 2016, a taxi driver set himself on fire in Alexandria to protest rising prices; he later died. The same month, a video of an unnamed tuk-tuk driver ranting about the economy went viral.
By 2019, the economic reform program had dropped the budget deficit to 7.8% in July 2020 and the economy was growing at 5.6%. In the 2019 World Investment Report by the UN, Egypt was rated the most attractive country in Africa for direct foreign investment. However for everyday Egyptians the reform program doubled or tripled prices for everyday goods and led to a dramatic cut in fuel subsidies. During 2017-18 the percent of Egyptians living under the poverty line rose to 32.5 percent, a 4.7% rise from 2015-16, indicating a worsening standard of living for Egyptians.
Egypt was one of the few countries to see positive economic growth in 2020, despite its tourism industry being shut down.
In 2022, the economy has been growing steadily and it is predicted to continue to do so for the next three years. The country’s economy grew 6.2% from 2021-2022 and its GDP is forecast to expand a median 5.5% in the 2022 fiscal year. According to the African Development Bank, despite blows to tourism and manufacturing brought about by the pandemic, “growth was driven by sound performance in construction, communications, and agriculture on the supply side, and by private and public consumption and public investment (much on social protection and services projects) on the demand side.”
Economy Resources
Society
Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East, with over 114 million people. The official language of Egypt is Arabic, but many people (especially among the educated) also speak either French or English. 95% of the population lives in the Nile Delta area, along the Nile, or on the Mediterranean coast. 42.8% of the population lives in urban areas. Ethnic Egyptians account for 91% of the total population with Turks, Greeks, Abazas, and Bedouin Arab tribes comprising the largest minorities. There are also small pockets of Nubians around the Aswan Dam in the south and Berbers around the Siwa Oasis in Western Egypt.
Egypt is ranked fairly low on the Human Development Index, being 105 on that list. The country has seen significant improvements in the areas of child and maternal mortality rates consistent with the global trend. The total per capita expenditure on healthcare has been steadily increasing since 2004.
The public-government schools are free for all Egyptians. Private schools charge tuition but often offer subjects and curricula that government schools do not. Participation in basic level education is mandatory from ages 6-14. Students take an exam at the end of their basic education to determine which type of secondary school they will attend. General education lasts 3 years, vocational/technical three to five years, and dual-system three years. In order to get into university, students must earn their Secondary School Certificate.
Roughly 25% of Egyptians go to college, but only about half obtain their degree. QS World University Rankings judges American University of Cairo to be the best school in Egypt. Al Azhar University is the oldest university in Egypt, and it was part of the Al Azhar Mosque, one of the oldest and most respected institutions in the Islamic world. The Grand Imam there is one of the highest authorities in Sunni Islam.
Society Resources
LGBTQ+ Issues
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited in Egypt under the colonial Penal Code 1937 and Law 10/1961, which criminalizes acts of “indecency,” “scandalous acts,” and “debauchery.” People determined to have broken these laws can face maximum imprisonment of three years and a fine. Only men are criminalized under this law. However, on October 25, 2017, a draft law was discovered that would render anyone who supports LGBT individuals or their rights will be punished by imprisonment. Since 2017, no significant legal developments have occurred in relation to the LGBT+ community.
In 2017, as a part of a government censorship crackdown, more than 85 members of the LGBT community were arrested and charged with “debauchery” after photos from a Mashrou’ Leila concert went viral with people holding rainbow flags. Dozens were convicted and sentenced from 1-6 years in prison and many were tortured. The arrests of LBGT continued with 17 people arrested in 2020.
LGBT+ Resources
Religion
Ancient Egyptians believed in a multitude of gods. Ra, the sun god; Osiris, the god of the underworld; Set, the god of evil; and Isis, goddess of magic and healing, are examples of some well-known ancient Egyptian gods. The worship of Egyptian gods declined as the region was conquered, first by Christians and then by Muslims.
About 90% of the population is Sunni Muslim, with the other 10% various forms of Christianity. 90% of Christians in Egypt are Coptic Christians according to local leaders. Most scholars estimate that Shi’a Muslims comprise 1% of the population.
In 451 CE, the Egyptian Christians chose to separate themselves from mainstream Christians after the Council of Chalcedon voted on the nature of Jesus. Coptic Christians believed he had one nature, a combination of divine and human, or Miaphysitism. The council rejected this, stating that Jesus had two distinct natures, human and divine.
The Egyptian Constitution specifies Islam as the state religion, but also states that “freedom of belief is absolute.” The Constitution also prohibits discrimination based on religion and makes “incitement to hate” a crime. For Muslims, imams must be appointed by the government and are monitored by the Ministry of Awqaf . It is also important to note that religious affiliation is required on official identity documents.
The Coptic Orthodox Church and Al-Azhar, a mosque and important Islamic institution, formed the Family House (Beit Al-A’ila) in 2011. The creation of Family Houses occurred because of a terrorist attack against the Two Saints Church in Alexandria. Through the Family Houses, opposing parties meet with the goal of restoring communal peace . A criticism of the Family Houses is that they are an informal way of dealing with tension rather than in law.
In 2016, a new law passed that transferred the power to issue permits and to authorize church construction to governors rather than the president. This includes provisions to license existing unlicensed churches. Compared to the 2001 law on Muslim mosques the new one is more restrictive.
Egypt has a long history of violent attacks against Christian churches. Since 2015, over 140 Christians have died in attacks by militant groups. There have been multiple violent actions against Coptics since the rise of ISIS. In 2017, ISIS forces in the Sinai Peninsula called for attacks against Coptics in an effort to bolster recruitment. In 2018, Bedouins loyal to ISIS opened fire at a bus transporting Coptics near Cairo, wounding seven and killing seven more. In 2019, ISIS released a video threatening to take revenge on Egypt’s Christians and an IED was found at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Nasr City.
Religion Resources
Culture
Art
Much of the ancient Egyptian art that has survived to the present day consists of paintings on tomb walls often depicting Ancient Egyptian notions of life, death, and the afterlife. Sculptures of gods or rulers are also common. One of the most famous pieces of Ancient Egyptian art in the world is the bust of Nefertiti.
Hieroglyphs is the writing system used by Ancient Egyptians and is considered to be one of the earliest writing systems in the world, emerging around 3200 BCE. Many of the hieroglyphs on the walls of tombs survived because of the dry climate. The Rosetta Stone, discovered by Napoleon’s army in 1799, allowed Egyptologists to decode hieroglyphs because it featured the same lines of text written in hieroglyphs (for priests), demotic (for commoners), and Greek (for government administration).
Modern art in Egypt varies as artists often weave political and religious themes. One
form of modern art that played an important role in the Arab Spring was graffiti. Artists use this medium to express dissent with the established authority. Aya Tarek started producing graffiti in 2008 when she was 18 and is considered one of the pioneers of “urban art,”dealing with social and political issues seen around Alexandria and Cairo.
Another female artist, Nermine Hammam, has received international acclaim for works that place representations of war and conflict in bucolic, postcard-like settings. Art historian Bahia Shehab has long been fascinated with the Arabic script for ‘no.’ When revolution swept through Egypt in 2011, she began spraying the image in the streets saying no to dictators, no to military rule and no to violence.
Art Resources
Food
Much of Egyptian food is made from wheat, beans and peas, vegetables, and fruits, reflecting the diversity of crops that grow in the fertile Nile Delta. Bread is served at every meal in Egypt and sometimes can be the main dish for lower-income Egyptians. Accordingly, the name for bread in Egypt is aeesh, meaning life in Arabic. Bread has been famously subsidized by the government and its distribution has long been used to offset the political repression Egyptians face every day.
Kushari is considered one of two national dishes in Egypt and is made up of macaroni, rice, and lentils and is garnished with chickpeas, fried onions, and a tomato-vinegar sauce. Kushari originated from lower-income families who at the end of the month had a smattering of everything leftover and would create a dish made up of all the remaining ingredients. Today kushari is sold at every level, from street carts to high-class restaurants.
Ful medames is a dish made up of cooked fava beans, cumin, parsley, oil, and lemon. Ful is the second of Egypt’s two national dishes. The food itself is inexpensive and can be found all over the Middle East, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Armenia. Typically ful is eaten at breakfast but can be eaten anytime.
Food Resources
Literature & Film
Egypt has the longest literary tradition in the world. The first known book was written in Ancient Egypt on papyrus, a thick paper made from the pulp of a reed. Ancient Egyptian literature was most often instructive in nature, a notable example is The Book of the Dead, which details the afterlife. However, mythology, poetry, and stories were also featured in ancient Egyptian literature. The famous library of Alexandria was a literary hub for centuries before being burned down, possibly as part of the Roman conquest of Egypt.
After Egypt was conquered by Muslim Arabs in the 8th century, literature began to focus on Islam, though Coptic Christian literature remained prevalent. Many stories from One Thousand and One Nights, or Arabian Nights, have been attributed to stories written in Egypt at this time.
Egypt underwent a cultural renaissance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Referred to as al-nahda (the awakening), this literary movement took ideals from Western society and advocated their application in an Islamic context. Al-nahda literature was characterized by an emphasis on contemporary social and political themes, like anti-colonialism, as well as a departure from classical forms both in prose and poetry. One notable example is Khalil Gibran.
Naguib Mahfouz is Egypt’s most celebrated novelist. His stories focus on the everyday lives of modern city-dwellers. Born in 1911, Mahfouz was a civil servant who earned a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. He passed away in 2006, but not before writing over thirty novels, more than a hundred short stories, and more than two hundred articles. Half of his novels have been made into films which have circulated throughout the Arabic-speaking world.
There has also been a proliferation of printing presses, which makes publishing much more feasible. This has had a number of impacts on Egypt’s literary scene, including the growing presence of female authors. Literature written by women is often criticized by more conservative elements of society; negatively, some call it kitabat al-banat, which means “girl books.”
Graphic novels are also popular and can be politically charged and used to express injustice and repression. The government has censored these novels. A notable graphic novel is Metro, a novel where the Mubarak regime and its corruption are explored. Consequently, this book was banned in Egypt until 2012.
Cairo is the Middle East’s equivalent to Hollywood. Producing 75% of all Arab films, Egypt has long been at the center of Middle Eastern cinema and media. Egypt’s first film was produced in 1896. Egypt then began its film renaissance with the advent of sound, creating films with plot lines similar to 1950s Hollywood. After 1965, the film industry was nationalized and placed under the state’s control during Nasser’s regime. This limited the potential for political expression through the films. Some commentators believe this limited diversity in genres and plot.Today Egyptian film is venturing into more social and political commentary, with a number films receiving a wide international viewership.
Literature & Film Resources
Clothing
Modern dress in Egypt today is similar to western clothing, though it is more modest. Some women choose to wear a hijab, a scarf-like material that covers one’s hair. Others choose to wear no head covering while some opt for the more extensive coverage provided by the niqab which leaves an opening for the eyes. Some women may wear the abaya, a loose-fitting robe that covers women’s bodies completely. Men typically wear Western attire but the robe-style jalabiya remains popular particularly amongst older generations.
Clothing Resources
Music
The best record of early Egyptian music is from the Old Kingdom when Egyptians played harps, flutes, and double clarinets. Percussion instruments, lyres, and lutes were added during the Middle Kingdom. Egyptian music today is a combination of Turkish, Arabic, and Western music. Egyptian-born Umm Kulthum, who was active as a singer and actress in the early to mid-20th century, remains one of the region’s most revered singers and a national symbol of pride. Her songs of love, longing, and loss had a modern style that introduced Egypt to less traditional types of music. For much of the 20th century, Egypt was the center for Arab popular music, with only a few stars from other countries finding similar levels of international success.
Shaabi is a distinctly Egyptian genre that emerged in the 1960s. Translated as the “music of the people,” shaabi music grew in popularity because its lyrics and social commentary resonated with the working class. Ahmed Adaweyah was one of the most popular shaabi artists in Egypt due to his use of popular slang and his fervent criticism of the middle class and broader Egyptian society.
The al jeel genre developed not long after shaabi and was primarily influenced by Western pop and rock music. Similar to Algerian Rai music, al jeel draws sounds and rhythms from Bedouin and Nubian sources and brings in more modern sounds like synthesizers. Amr Diab is one of the most famous Egyptian al jeel artists. In 2017, based on his length of time in the industry, influence on pop culture, and social media following, Diab earned the top position in Forbes’ Magazine’s new Arab Celebrity 100 list. Watch the video for his hit song “Leila Nahary” below.
Music Resources
Sites & Places of Interest
The last of the seven Ancient Wonders of the World is the Great Pyramid of Giza, built by Pharaoh Khufu of the 4th Dynasty in 2550 BCE, the Great Pyramid stands at 481 feet tall. The pyramid was built using 2.3 million stone blocks. There are three burial chambers inside the pyramid, one for the king in the middle, one underground to keep supplies for the afterlife, and one above ground for a statue of the pharaoh.
The Valley of Kings was the burial place for royal members of the 18th-21st dynasties. The Valley was intended to be a more private cemetery in deliberate contrast to the visible pyramids of earlier dynasties. Hidden in the cliff sides of Thebes it holds 63 tombs and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the tombs are open to the public, including the tomb of Tutankhamen. Tutankhamen’s tomb was almost completely intact upon its discovery in 1922, a rarity. This, along with an alleged curse, has contributed to Tutankhamen’s modern-day fame.
There are a number of Islamic monuments around Egypt that also attract many visitors. The Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Alexandria is among the most important mosques in the country. Built over the tomb of Saint Abu El Abbas El Mursi in 1775, the mosque became a pilgrimage destination for those who traveled to and from Mecca through Alexandria.
Sites & Places of Interest Resources
Sports
Ancient Egyptians participated in many sports, including gymnastics, weightlifting, and wrestling. They also played a version of handball. In modern times, Egypt’s handball team became the first non-European team to reach the World Championship semi-finals in 2001. They placed first in the 2011 and 2015 Pan Arab Games, 2011 Pan African Games, and 2013 Mediterranean Games. In January 2021, Egypt hosted the World Men’s Handball Championship with an Egyptian team participating.
Football (U.S. soccer) is one of the most popular sports in Egypt. Their national team, nicknamed “The Pharaohs,” has won the African Cup seven times. Egypt first participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1912 and has competed in all but two of the games since. They have won a total of 39 medals. The majority of these medals come from weightlifting and wrestling. Weightlifting is one of the oldest sports in Egypt.
Sports Resources
Latest News & Commentary on Egypt
Egypt’s News Outlets