Economy - overview:
Occupying the northeast corner of the African continent, Egypt is bisected by the highly fertile Nile valley, where most economic activity takes place. Egypt's economy was highly centralized during the rule of former President Gamal Abdel NASSER but has opened up considerably under former President Anwar EL-SADAT and current President Mohamed Hosni MUBARAK. Cairo from 2004 to 2008 aggressively pursued economic reforms to attract foreign investment and facilitate GDP growth, but is postponing further economic reforms because of global economic turmoil. The international economic downturn slowed Egypt's GDP growth to 4.5% in 2009, predominately affecting export-oriented sectors, including manufacturing and tourism. Unemployment is rising. In 2009 the government implemented a $2.7 billion stimulus package favoring infrastructure projects and export subsidies, and is considering up to $3.3 billion in additional stimulus spending in 2010 to mitigate the slowdown in economic growth. The government of Prime Minister Ahmed NAZIF will need to restart economic reforms to attract foreign investment, boost growth, and improve economic conditions for the broader population. Despite high levels of economic growth over the past few years, living conditions for the average Egyptian remain poor.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$470.4 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$188 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4.5% (2009 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$6,000 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13.1%
industry:
37.7%
services:
49.2% (2009 est.)
Labor force:
25.8 million (2009 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 32%
industry:
17%
services:
51% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9.7% (2009 est.)
Population below poverty line:
20% (2005 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%:
27.6% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
34.4 (2001)
Investment (gross fixed):
17.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $48.86 billion
expenditures:
$61.61 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt:
79.8% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10.1% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
11.5% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)
Stock of money:
$31.72 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of quasi money:
$112.2 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$126.5 billion (31 December 2008)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$85.89 billion (31 December 2008)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats
Industries:
textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures
Industrial production growth rate:
3.9% (2009 est.)
Electricity - production:
118.4 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
104.1 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports:
814 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
251 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
630,600 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption:
697,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports:
155,200 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports:
146,200 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
3.7 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production:
48.3 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
31.38 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
16.92 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.656 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
Current account balance:
$-3.32 billion (2009 est.)
Exports:
$22.91 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
Exports - partners:
Italy 9.4%, US 7.1%, India 6.2%, Spain 6.1%, Syria 4.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.6%, Japan 4.5%, Germany 4.5% (2008)
Imports:
$43.98 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels
Imports - partners:
US 10.3%, China 9.9%, Italy 7.3%, Germany 6.8%, Saudi Arabia 4.9% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$34.99 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$28.45 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$66.43 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$12.23 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates:
Egyptian pounds (EGP) per US dollar - 5.6 (2009), 5.4 (2008), 5.67 (2007), 5.725 (2006), 5.78 (2005)
NOTE: The information regarding Egypt on this page is re-published from the 2010 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Egypt Economy 2010 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Egypt Economy 2010 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 09-Feb-10