The cities of the Arab Republic of Egypt and almost all the country's agricultural activities are concentrated along the banks of the Nile river. This heavy dependence on the river, together with the country's rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world) and limited arable land are overtaxing the country's resources. Egypt gained independence from the UK in February 1922, and its language is Arabic.

Chief of state: Muhammad Hosni Mubarak
Prime Minister: Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (Acting)
Capital city: Cairo

Economic profile

Monetary unit: Egyptian pound
Nominal GDP per capita: $6 200 (2010) (World Bank)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 13.5% (2009) (CIA)
Industry: 37.9% (2009) (CIA)
Services: 48.6% (2010) (CIA)
GDP growth rate: 5.1% (2010) (CIA)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: 28.2% of GDP (2006) (IMF)
Government expenditure and net lending: 37.7% of GDP (2006) (IMF)
Consumer price inflation: 12.2% (2010) (World Bank)
Industries: Textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light and manufactures.
Exports of goods and services: $25.34-billion (2010) (World Bank)
Imports of goods and services: $46.52-billion (2010) (World Bank)
Export commodities: Crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, and chemicals.
Import commodities: Machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, and fuels.
Current account balance: $270-million (2010) (World Bank)
Reserves: $34-billion (2006) (IMF)
Total investment: 18.4% of GDP (2010) (CIA)
Market capitalisation of listed companies: 87% of GDP (2006) (World Bank)

Social profile

Population: 83-million (2011) (World Bank)
Population growth: 1.8% (2011) (World Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 70.3 years (2011) (World Bank)
Adult literacy: 66% (2006) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 100.8% (2005) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 86.2% (2006) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 28% (2010) (World Bank)
Unemployment: 9.7% (2003) (CIA)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 11 000 (2009) (Unicef)