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Home>Why invest in Egypt>General Overview
Official Languages: Arabic
Foreign languages: English and French widely understood by educated classes
Capital City: Cairo
Largest Cities: Alexandria, Port Said, Hurgada, Luxor, Sharm Elsheikh
Form of Government: Parliamentary Democratic Republic
Head of State: State President Mohamed Housny Mubarak
Head of Government: Prime Minister, Dr. Ahmed Nazif
Parliament: Peoples Assembly Consultancy Council
Administration: 29 Governorates
State Holiday: 23rd of July (Revolution Day )
6th of October (Victory Day)
Population: 78,000,000 (June 2010)
Population Growth Rate 2% (2005-2009)
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 31.71%
15-44 years: 49.85%
45-59 years: 12.36%
60 years and over: 6.08%
Labor Force  25.2 Million
Universities 33 Universities (17 Public, and 16 Private)
Main Sea Ports and Terminals Alexandria, Damietta, El Dekheila, Port Said, Suez, El-Sukhnah
Road Network: 91,173 Kilometers
Railway Network: 6,700 Kilometers
Time Zone: GMT+2
Climate: moderate climate throughout the Year (temperature degrees: Summer 25°-35°, Winter 15°-25° C)
Currency: Egyptian Pound (EGYP)
Phone Dial Code: +20
Power Voltage: 220 kw
Coastline: 2,450 km
Internet Users 16.64 Million (Q4 2009)
Mobile Users 55.35 Million (Q4 2009)
Fixed Lines Users 10.31 Million (Q4 2009)
Real GDP Growth Rate: 4.7 % (2008/2009), 5.1 % (Q3 2009/2010)
GDP Sectoral Breakdown (2008/2009) Agriculture 13.7 %
Industry 16.6 %
Services 51.4%
Construction 4.5%
Tourism 3.5 %
Finance 7.3 %
CIT 3.2 %
CPI Inflation Rate 11.4 % (April 2010), 9.99% (2008/2009)
Exchange Rate (29 June 2010) USD: Buy EGP 5.6779 – Sell EGP 5.7063
EUR: Buy EGP 6.9190 – Sell EGP 6.9565
GBP: Buy EGP 8.5463– Sell 8.5919
Net International Reserve Position 35.1 billion USD (May 2010), 31.3 billion USD (2008/2009)
Net FDI 4.3 USD Billion (Q3 2009/2010), 8.1 USD Billion (2008/2009)
Net FDI Inflows / GDP 4.3 % (2008/2009)
Unemployment Rate 9.4 % (2009)
Major Exports Crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, and chemicals, agricultural products.
Major Imports Machinery and equipment, vehicles, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, metal products, and fuels and industrial oils.
Sources:
  • Ministry of Economic Development, Official Web Site.
  • Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, ICT Sector: Main Economic Indicators, Official Web Site.
  • Central Bank of Egypt(CBE): Monthly Statistical Bulletin June.2010, Official Web Site.
  • Central Agency for Public Mobilization And Statistics: CAPMAS (Census 2006) , Official Web Site.
  • The Information and Decision Support Center : IDSC, Official Web Site.