Egypt

Country Research (Egypt) by Margaret Ho

Capital:Cairo Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula Territory:1,001,450 sq km (30th in the world) 900 times bigger than Hong KongSlightly smaller than South Africa Neighbours/Bordering Countries:Libya, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia || Egypt is not an exactly a landlocked country, as it borders the Mediterranean Sea, and it also has a strategic strip of sea beneath Cairo. It’s relatively moderate size, with the whole nation 900 times bigger than Hong Kong, and slightly smaller than South Africa. It’s the 30th largest country in the world. || Format of Government: Republic (has a president, a parliament represented by elected representatives of some sort)Legal System:Its legal system is based on the Napoleonic civil law and Islamic religious law || What does this mean for the people? For the countries neighbours?This means that there are many young people in Egypt looking for jobs, and this issue has created a revolution protesting against Mubarak that he resigned. Egypt has is republic, meaning it has a president with a parliament, and it has a mixed legal system with laws based on different nations. || Italy 8.7%, India 7.3%, Saudi Arabia 6.1%, US 5.2%, Turkey 4.9%, Spain 4.2%, France 4.2% (2011) US 10.7%, China 9.1%, Germany 6.3%, Italy 5.1%, Kuwait 4.7%, Turkey 4.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.3% (2011) || So how do your resources, or lack thereof, affect who your friends are?It has a lot of good and valuable resources. It also has many allies from all over the world including countries from Africa, North America, Asia, and Europe. || There are some street unrests and small riots, because there’s still dissatisfaction with the government. (On the news) ||
 * Country NameArab Republic of Egypt(Egypt) || Information and Data || Interpretation ||
 * LocationTerritoryNeighbours/Bordering Countries || Continent:Africa
 * Political environment Format of government || Political Environment:Just last year, there had been a revolution protesting against former president Hosni Mubarak, who had served for nearly 30 years. 18 days into the revolution, Mubarak resigned from office.
 * Economic situation || Please avoid saying 1st, 2nd, 3rd world. Are they developing? Developed? What drives the economy? Employment rates? Main trading partner? Any trade issues or disputes? What percentage of your income goes to taxes? What percentage of this goes to spending on health, military, education…?Egyptian PoundsLabor Force: agriculture (farming, fishing and forestry) 32%, industry (mining, manufacturing, energy production, construction) 17%, services (government activities, communications, transportation, finance) 51%GDP: $6500/per capita (137th)Labor Force: 26.5 millionUnemployment Rate: 12%Public Debt: 83.6% of GDP (231.9 billion USD)Budget Deficit: 9.9% (if they make 100 dollars, they spend 109.9 dollars)Education: 3.8% of GDPYouth Unemployment: 24.8%Military: 3.4% of GDP || What does this mean for the people, for the government, for its position in the world how this would affect its status, grievances, alliances or voting patterns in the UN Citizens recently just voted for their parliament. A lot of the population of Egypt depends on agriculture and services for work. Egypt is not very rich, with a low GDP per capita, and a budge deficit. It has a pretty high public debt. There’s a pretty high unemployment rate as well. They don’t spend a lot on education or military either. ||
 * Natural resources, main trading partners, economic interests || petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc
 * Social composition || Religions: 90% Muslim, Coptic 9%, and Christian 1%Literacy: 72%School Life Expectancy: 11 yearsPhysicians Density: 2.83 physicians/1000 populationHealth Expenditure: 6.4% of GDPLife Expectancy: 72 yearsAGE: 0-14 years: 32.5% 15-64 years: 62.8% 65 years and over: 4.7% || The number you decide to mention should be explained. So what does it mean if Iran’s median age is 24? Or, that half its population is under 30? What does it mean that between 60-80% of Chinese people live in rural communities. Interpreting data will need discussion between you and your partner. Egypt is still a developing country and is in stage 2 of the population pyramid. It doesn’t have a wide range of religions, most of the population is Muslim. It spends a reasonable amount on health, but there aren’t many physicians available. It has a low life expectancy, with quite a low literacy rate, which could mean that the education system could be improved to educate even more people to read and write. Most of the population is 15-64 years, and people at this age are usually working, so that could explain why there’s such a high unemployment rate – there aren’t enough jobs for people. ||
 * Recent history or history that defines current opinion and culture || - 6-day war (Israel vs United Arab Republic – Jordan, Egypt, and Syria)- President Hosni Mubarak - Egyptian Revolution || Explain how key events affected the way people might see an issue. How might events or traditions affect the way a country will vote on an issue? What policies will they support or not support?In the 6-day war, Israel won, Egyptians hold a grudge against Israel, since they took control of the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip from EgyptPresident Hosni Mubarak and the 2011 Egyptian Revolution: His dictatorship led to corruption in the government, which ultimately resulted in unrest and a revolution that toppled his position. The public is still confused with the government, because there’s no improvement in lives, and there are still many unemployed. ||
 * Recent conflicts or unresolved border disputes. Any other disputes? || 2012 Riots || How do they affect relations elsewhere? Is there domestic or external pressure to resolve this? Does anyone even care? Why or why not?
 * Membership of various organizations || These organizations might have a common policy with neighbouring countries of certain (perhaps regional) organizations may be potential allies for resolutions.United NationsArab LeagueOrganisation of Islamic ConferenceDeveloping 8 CountriesAfrican UnionGenocide Convention || Are you obligated by treaty to do something. For example, what does it mean if you signed the Genocide convention? Should you not help immediately in these scenarios? ||
 * Treaties and Agreements || Which treaties/agreements is the country in question a signatory of? Have these been ratified (i.e. has the national legislature been harmonized in accordance with the treaty)?Geneva ProtocolCamp David Accords || You need not list all, but which ones might be important in defining relationships to others in the neighborhood or in the world? Would signing some make you look better in other’s eyes? Worse? ||
 * Any interesting or fun facts about the country or culture || Did you know Egypt and Sudan are the only two nations with legal access to the water from the Nile River?Ancient Egyptians used to play a game similar to today’s bowlingEgyptians invented the 365 days calendarEgyptians created glass || Does this give us any insight into the people?They are pretty creative. ||

Links Used [] [] [] [] [] []