Economy - overview 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 successive IMF arrangements, the last of which was concluded in October 1996. Egypt's reform efforts - and its participation in the Gulf war coalition - also led to massive debt relief under the Paris Club arrangements. Although the pace of reform has been uneven and slower than envisaged under the IMF programs, substantial progress has been made in improving macroeconomic performance. Budget deficits have been slashed while foreign reserves in 1997 were at an all-time high. And Egypt has been moving toward a more decentralized, market-oriented economy. These economic reforms and growing investment opportunities have prompted increasing foreign investment, but incoming capital has largely been concentrated in stock market portfolio flows. Egypt's economy also has been hit by a sharp downturn in tourism - a key foreign exchange and job producing sector - following the 17 November 1997 massacre of foreign tourists at Luxor. Although Egypt will probably regain these revenues over time, the slump in tourism is likely to slow the GDP growth rate in 1998.

GDP purchasing power parity - $267.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 5.2% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,400 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 17%
industry: 32%
services: 51% (1996)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 4.9% (1997)

Labor force
total: 17.4 million (1996 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 40%, services, including government 38%, industry 22% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate 9.4% (1997 est.)

Budget
revenues: $19.2 billion
expenditures: $19.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY96/97 est.)

Industries textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum, construction, cement, metals

Industrial production growth rate 8.5% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity 13.04 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production 48.5 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 778 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons

Exports
total value: $5.1 billion (f.o.b., FY96/97 est.)
commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
partners: EU, US, Japan

Imports
total value: $15.5 billion (c.i.f., FY96/97 est.)
commodities: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods
partners: US, EU, Japan

Debt - external $30.5 billion (1996/97 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $1.713 billion (1993)

Currency 1 Egyptian pound (£E) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates Egyptian pounds (£E) per US$1 - 3.4 (November 1994), 3.369 (November 1993), 3.345 (November 1992); market rate - 3.3880 (January 1998), 3.3880 (1997), 3.3880 (1996), 3.3900 (1995), 3.3910 (1994), 3.3718 (1993)

Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Egypt on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Egypt Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Egypt Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.