Economy
Economyoverview: At the end of the 1980s, Egypt faced problems of low productivity and poor economic management, compounded by the adverse social effects of excessive population growth, high inflation, and massive urban overcrowding. In the face of these pressures, in 1991 Egypt undertook wide-ranging macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform measures. This reform effort has been supported by three IMF arrangements, the last of which expired in September 1998. Egypt's reform effortsand its participation in the Gulf war coalitionalso led to massive debt relief under the Paris Club arrangements. Substantial progress has been made in improving macroeconomic performance. Cairo tamed inflation, slashed budget deficits, and built up foreign reserves to an all-time high. Although the pace of structural reformssuch as privatization and new business legislationhas been slower than envisioned under the IMF program, Egypt's steps toward a more market-oriented economy have prompted increased foreign investment. The November 1997 massacre of foreign tourists in Luxor affected tourism enough to slow the GDP growth rate for 1998 compared to earlier projections. Tourism's slow recovery, coupled with low world oil prices, caused a downturn in foreign exchange earnings in 1998, but external payments are not in crisis.
GDP: purchasing power parity$188 billion (1998 est.)
GDPreal growth rate: 5% (1998 est.)
GDPper capita: purchasing power parity$2,850 (1998 est.)
GDPcomposition by sector:
agriculture: 16%
industry: 31%
services: 53% (1997)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption
by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 26.7% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1998)
Labor force: 17.4 million (1998 est.)
Labor forceby occupation: agriculture 40%, services, including government 38%, industry 22% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 10% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $20 billion
expenditures: $20.8 billion, including capital expenditures of
$4.4 billion (FY97/98)
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals
Industrial production growth rate: 9.4% (1997 est.)
Electricityproduction: 46 billion kWh (1996)
Electricityproduction by
source:
fossil fuel: 76.09%
hydro: 23.91%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricityconsumption: 46 billion kWh (1996)
Electricityexports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricityimports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agricultureproducts: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats; fish
Exports: $5.5 billion (f.o.b., FY97/98 est.)
Exportscommodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
Exportspartners: EU, US, Japan
Imports: $16.7 billion (c.i.f., FY97/98 est.)
Importscommodities: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods
Importspartners: US, EU, Japan
Debtexternal: $28 billion (FY97/98 est.)
Economic aidrecipient: ODA, $2.4 billion (1996)
Currency: 1 Egyptian pound (£E) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (£E) per US$13.4 (November 1994); market rate3.3880 (January 1999), 3.3880 (1998), 3.3880 (1997), 3.3880 (1996), 3.3900 (1995), 3.3910 (1994)
Fiscal year: 1 July30 June