Egypt (2001) | Swaziland (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Isma'iliyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id, Dumyat, Janub Sina', Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina', Suhaj | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
34.59% (male 12,313,585; female 11,739,072) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 21,614,284; female 21,217,978) 65 years and over: 3.81% (male 1,160,967; female 1,490,758) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 90 (2000 est.) | 18 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
69 over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
Area | total:
1,001,450 sq km land: 995,450 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Nominally independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. 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 society. The government has struggled to ready the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, the world's last absolute monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. A constitution came into effect in 2006, but political parties remain banned. The African United Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully to register as an official political party in mid 2006. Talks over the constitution broke down between the government and progressive groups in 2007. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. |
Birth rate | 24.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$22.6 billion expenditures: $26.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99) |
revenues: $1.216 billion
expenditures: $1.15 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Cairo | name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) |
Climate | desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 2,450 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 11 September 1971 | signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Arab Republic of Egypt conventional short form: Egypt local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah local short form: Misr former: United Arab Republic (with Syria) |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
Currency | Egyptian pound (EGP) | - |
Death rate | 7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $31 billion (2000 est.) | $538.6 million (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER embassy: 5 Latin America St., Garden City, Cairo mailing address: Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900 telephone: [20] (2) 795-7371 FAX: [20] (2) 797-2000 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Maurice S. PARKER
embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Nabil FAHMY chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4319, 5131 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
Disputes - international | Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899 | in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $2.25 billion (1999) | $46.03 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | A series of IMF arrangements - along with massive external debt relief resulting from Egypt's participation in the Gulf war coalition - helped Egypt improve its macroeconomic performance during the 1990s. Sound fiscal and monetary policies through the mid-1990s helped to tame inflation, slash budget deficits, and build up foreign reserves, while structural reforms such as privatization and new business legislation prompted increased foreign investment. By mid-1998, however, the pace of structural reform slackened, and lower combined hard currency earnings resulted in pressure on the Egyptian pound and sporadic US dollar shortages. External payments were not in crisis, but Cairo's attempts to curb demand for foreign exchange convinced some investors and currency traders that government financial operations lacked transparency and coordination. Monetary pressures have since eased, however, with the 1999-2000 higher oil prices, a rebound in tourism, and a series of mini-devaluations of the pound. The development of a gas export market is a major plus factor in future growth. | In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. In 2007, the sugar industry increased efficiency and diversification efforts, in response to a 17% decline in EU sugar prices. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union, which may equal as much as 70% of government revenue this year, and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland is not poor enough to merit an IMF program; however, the country is struggling to reduce the size of the civil service and control costs at public enterprises. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate, Swaziland's need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and attract foreign direct investment is acute. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 60.157 billion kWh (1999) | 1.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2007) |
Electricity - production | 64.685 billion kWh (1999) | 460 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
76.59% hydro: 23.41% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Qattara Depression -133 m highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1% | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | Egyptian pounds per US dollar - market rate - 3.8400 (January 2001), 3.6900 (2000), 3.4050 (1999), 3.3880 (1998), 3.3880 (1997), 3.3880 (1996) | lilangeni per US dollar - 7.4 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (since 14 October 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Atef OBEID (since 5 October 1999) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president nominated by the People's Assembly for a six-year term, the nomination must then be validated by a national, popular referendum; national referendum last held 26 September 1999 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: national referendum validated President MUBARAK's nomination by the People's Assembly to a fourth term |
chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among the elected members of the House of Assembly |
Exports | $7.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | EU 35%, Middle East 17%, Afro-Asian countries 14%, US 12% (1999) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and to the flag of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $247 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
17% industry: 32% services: 51% (1999) |
agriculture: 11.8%
industry: 45.8% services: 42.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 1.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 27 00 N, 30 00 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Heliports | 2 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
64,000 km paved: 50,000 km unpaved: 14,000 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.4% highest 10%: 25% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.7% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | a transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian heroin and opium moving to Europe, Africa, and the US; popular transit stop for Nigerian couriers | - |
Imports | $17 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 3,530 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 36%, US 14%, Afro-Asian countries 14%, Middle East 6% (1999) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006) |
Independence | 28 February 1922 (from UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.1% (2000 est.) | 1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals | coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | 60.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000) | 6% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACC, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 50 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 32,460 sq km (1993 est.) | 500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court | High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 19.9 million (2000 est.) | 300,000 (2006) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 29%, services 49%, industry 22% (FY99) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
2,689 km border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km |
total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral system consists of the People's Assembly or Majlis al-Sha'b (454 seats; 444 elected by popular vote, 10 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) and the Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura - which functions only in a consultative role (264 seats; 176 elected by popular vote, 88 appointed by the president; members serve NA-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - three-phase voting - last held 19 October, 29 October, 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2005); Advisory Council - last held 7 June 1995 (next to be held NA) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NDP 88%, independents 8%, opposition 4%; seats by party - NDP 398, NWP 7, Tagammu 6, Nasserists 2, LSP 1, independents 38, undecided 2; Advisory Council - percent of vote by party - NDP 99%, independents 1%; seats by party - NA |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.69 years male: 61.62 years female: 65.85 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 32.23 years
male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 51.4% male: 63.6% female: 38.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
181 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,336,678 GRT/1,982,220 DWT ships by type: bulk 23, cargo 61, container 2, liquefied gas 1, passenger 61, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 15, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.04 billion (FY99/00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.1% (FY99/00) | 4.7% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
18,562,994 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
12,020,059 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
712,983 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 23 July (1952) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Egyptian(s) adjective: Egyptian |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms | drought |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,171 km; petroleum products 596 km; natural gas 460 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Nasserist Arab Democratic Party or Nasserists [Dia' al-din DAWUD]; National Democratic Party or NDP [President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader] - governing party; National Progressive Unionist Grouping or Tagammu [Khalid MUHI AL-DIN]; New Wafd Party or NWP [No'man GOMA]; Socialist Liberal Party or LSP [leader NA]
note: formation of political parties must be approved by government |
the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes MUBARAK's potentially most significant political opposition; MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but moved more aggressively since then to block its influence; civic society groups are sanctioned, but constrained in practical terms; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned | NA |
Population | 69,536,644 (July 2001 est.) | 1,133,066
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22.9% (FY95/96 est.) | 69% (2006) |
Population growth rate | 1.69% (2001 est.) | -0.337% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alexandria, Al Ghardaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur Safajah, Damietta, Marsa Matruh, Port Said, Suez | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 42 (plus 15 repeaters), FM 14, shortwave 3 (1999) | AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004) |
Radios | 20.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
4,955 km standard gauge: 4,955 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 1,560 km double track) (2000) |
total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6% | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment:
large system; underwent extensive upgrading during 1990s and is reasonably modern; Internet access and cellular service are available domestic: principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat; 5 coaxial submarine cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to Israel; a participant in Medarabtel and a signatory to Project Oxygen (a global submarine fiber-optic cable system) |
general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity about 25 telephones per 100 persons; telephone system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,971,500 (December 1998) | 44,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 380,000 (1999) | 250,000 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 98 (September 1995) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
Terrain | vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 3.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.5% (2000 est.) | 40% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | 3,500 km
note: including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta; Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 m of water |
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