Egypt 2016 Country Review http://www.countrywatch.com Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Country Overview 1 Country Overview 2 Key Data 5 Egypt 6 Africa 7 Chapter 2 9 Political Overview 9 History 10 Political Conditions 11 Political Risk Index 134 Political Stability 148 Freedom Rankings 164 Human Rights 175 Government Functions 179 Government Structure 184 Principal Government Officials 207 Leader Biography 214 Leader Biography 214 Foreign Relations 227 National Security 243 Defense Forces 248 Chapter 3 250 Economic Overview 250 Economic Overview 251 Nominal GDP and Components 254 Population and GDP Per Capita 256 Real GDP and Inflation 257 Government Spending and Taxation 258 Money Supply, Interest Rates and Unemployment 259 Foreign Trade and the Exchange Rate 260 Data in US Dollars 261 Energy Consumption and Production Standard Units 262 Energy Consumption and Production QUADS 264 World Energy Price Summary 265 CO2 Emissions 266 Agriculture Consumption and Production 267 World Agriculture Pricing Summary 270 Metals Consumption and Production 271 World Metals Pricing Summary 274 Economic Performance Index 275 Chapter 4 287 Investment Overview 287 Foreign Investment Climate 288 Foreign Investment Index 292 Corruption Perceptions Index 305 Competitiveness Ranking 317 Taxation 326 Stock Market 326 Partner Links 327 Chapter 5 328 Social Overview 328 People 329 Human Development Index 331 Life Satisfaction Index 335 Happy Planet Index 346 Status of Women 355 Global Gender Gap Index 359 Culture and Arts 368 Etiquette 369 Travel Information 372 Diseases/Health Data 382 Chapter 6 388 Environmental Overview 388 Environmental Issues 389 Environmental Policy 390 Greenhouse Gas Ranking 391 Global Environmental Snapshot 403 Global Environmental Concepts 414 International Environmental Agreements and Associations 428 Appendices 452 Bibliography 453 Egypt Chapter 1 Country Overview Egypt Review 2016 Page 1 of 465 pages Egypt Country Overview EGYPT With a population exceeding 80 million, Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and one of the most populous countries in Africa (Nigeria and Ethiopia being some of the others). Its recorded history began in around 3100 B.C. when King Menes united the region, beginning a series of dynasties. The last dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. The Ottoman Turks controlled Egypt from 1517 until 1882 when Britain seized control of Egypt. In deference to growing nationalism, the United Kingdom declared Egyptian independence in 1922, but British influence continued to dominate Egypt's political life. In 1952 Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy, and it became a republic in 1953. Egypt has played a central role in Middle East politics in modern times. Its three wars with Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973, followed by peace with its adversary in 1979, have transitioned Egypt from being a warring nation to becoming a key representative in the peace process. However, peace with Israel led to Egypt being expelled from the Arab League until 1989, and in 1981 President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists. Since then, President Hosni Mubarak took a more moderate line, but Islamic groups have continued their campaigns sporadically, forging deadly attacks that have often targeted tourists and resort areas. The 2011 Arab Spring, manifest in Egypt by the Nile Revolution, radically changed the landscape in Egypt and resulted in the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak from power. The election of an Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, followed by his removal from power at the hands of the military, further shifted the landscape. Elections in 2014 brought a more secular but military- backed president to power in the form of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Now, the focus was to return the country to stable governance. Egypt’s economy is the second largest in the Arab world -- following only Saudi Arabia. The country is a significant producer of oil and is a rapidly growing gas producer. Its economy is highly dependent on tourism revenues, oil and gas exports, remittances from Egyptian workers abroad, and revenue from the Suez Canal tolls. Editor's Note Ultimately, it is to be determined if the democratic ambitions of the Egyptian people will be Egypt Review 2016 Page 2 of 465 pages Egypt realized. The "Nile Revolution" in 2011 -- a key development in the so-called "Arab Spring" -- had resulted in the exit of the key figure of the Mubarak "old guard," with possibilities ripe for a reformist agenda. This historic moment of change in Egypt was achieved by the people -- not with the typical weapons of conflict and confrontation, but with relentless determination, via the Internet and telecommunications devices, which were used as organizing mechanisms to advance grassroots transformation. As the spirit of regional unrest transfixed the region, the final chapter in this story was yet to be written. That being said, the post-colonial structure of the Arab world in the Maghreb and the Middle East would be affected by the pro-democracy wave washing over the region. Ultimately, Egypt in 2011 had traversed a similar path as Tunisia and Libya, with regime change simply opening the door to further transformational action. Actual change, though, has been harder to accomplish due to the entrenched dynamics of power. The result has been a sense of anger and frustration by the people that the transformations sought have not yet been achieved, thus driving them back into the streets to register their discontent. The people of the region have been explicit in expressing their high expectations that actual policy reforms will ensue, that greater freedom will win the day, and that rule by the prevailing political elites in Arab countries will end. Nevertheless, as has been seen by similar popular uprisings that brought down regimes in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan (notably out of the Middle East but still subject to post-uprising political discontent), celebration today can often be followed by disappointment and disillusionment tomorrow over the slow pace of change. The important parliamentary elections and landmark presidential elections of 2012 offered Egypt a pathway to realizing its democratic ambitions. However, the autocratic and pro-Islamist stances taken by Egypt's new President Mohammed Morsi threatened to -- at best -- set up a power battle between the executive and judicial branches of government, and -- at worst -- reverse the democratic and progressive gains made in the immediate aftermath of the "Nile Revolution." The economic crisis in 2013 significantly pushed the country to the brink of default -- with deleterious effects in the offing as a result. Not surprisingly, a fresh "Rebellion," known as Tamarod, emerged in mid-2013, followed by the military takeover in which Morsi was ousted from office. It was clear that Egypt's revolutionary path was not yet over. Indeed, the events of 2013, initiated by the General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the military, could be viewed either as a short-circuiting of the people-powered movement -- or -- another chapter in the same story of transformation in Egypt. In 2014, a new constitution was ratified and Sisi garnered an overwhelming victory at the polls thanks to a citizenry weary of turbulence and turmoil. By the start of 2015, former President Hosni Mubarak was cleared of the charges against him. It was clear that the Egyptian citizenry was less interested in the Mubarak factor and much more concerned with stability and moving the country forward. Egypt Review 2016 Page 3 of 465 pages Egypt Egypt Review 2016 Page 4 of 465 pages Egypt Key Data Key Data Region: Africa Population: 88487392 Climate: Desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters. Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes Currency: 1 Egyptian pound = 100 piasters Anniversary of the Revolution is 23 July (1952), Sham al-Naseem is 21 Holiday: March, Evacuation Day/Republic Day is 18 June Area Total: 1001450 Area Land: 995450 Coast Line: 2450 Egypt Review 2016 Page 5 of 465 pages Egypt Egypt Country Map Egypt Review 2016 Page 6 of 465 pages Egypt Africa Regional Map Egypt Review 2016 Page 7 of 465 pages Egypt Egypt Review 2016 Page 8 of 465 pages Egypt Chapter 2 Political Overview Egypt Review 2016 Page 9 of 465 pages Egypt History Archeological findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long before the dynastic history of the Pharaohs began. By 6000 before the common era, or B.C.E., organized agriculture had appeared. In about 3100 B.C.E., Egypt was united under a ruler known as Mena, or Menes, who inaugurated the 30 Pharaonic dynasties into which Egypt's ancient history is divided, the Old and the Middle Kingdoms and the New Empire. For the first time, the use and management of vital resources of the Nile River came under one authority. Egypt's well-know landmark, the pyramids at Giza (near Cairo), were built in the fourth dynasty, demonstrating the power of the Pharaonic religion and state. The Great Pyramid, the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops), is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that has survived to the present day. Ancient Egypt reached the peak of its power, wealth and territorial extent in the period called the New Empire (1567-1085 B.C.E.). Authority was again centralized, and a number of military campaigns brought Palestine, Syria and northern Iraq under Egyptian control. In 525 B.C.E., Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, led a Persian invasion force that dethroned the last Pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. The country remained a Persian province until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.E. The Macedonian king founded the city of Alexandria, which with its 500,000 volume library, its magnificent port and Egypt's second of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pharos Lighthouse, became the scientific, literary and commercial center of the Greek world.