Egypt

Egypt

Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, tourism and traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy.

 

The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. After a period of stagnation, from the adoption of more liberal economic policies as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market, the conditions are starting to improve considerably.

 

In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms.

 

Total GDP: $443.7 billion (2008 est.)

 

GDP Growth Rate: 7.2% (2008 est.)

 

GDP Per Capita: $5,400 (2008 est.)

 

Population: 83,082,869 (July 2009 est.)

 

Population Growth Rate: 1.642% (2009 est.)

 

Fertility Rate: 2.66 children born/woman (2009 est.)

 

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 31.4% (male 13,345,500/female 12,743,878)

15-64 years: 63.8% (male 26,823,127/female 26,169,421)

65 years and over: 4.8% (male 1,701,068/female 2,299,875)

(2009 est.)

 

Source: CIA World Factbook