October, 29 October, 8 November 2000 (next to be heldOctober-November 2005); Advisory Council - last held May-June 2004
(next to be held May-June 2007)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - NDP 388, Tagammu 6, NWP 7, Nasserists 3, Al-Ahrar
1, independents 37 (2 seats determined by a later byelection, 10
seats appointed by President); Advisory Council - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - NA
Judicial branch:
Supreme Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders:
Al-Ahrar Party [Helmi SALEM]; Nasserist Arab Democratic Party or
Nasserists [Dia' al-din DAWUD]; National Democratic Party or NDP
[Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (governing party)]; National Progressive
Unionist Grouping or Tagammu [Rifaat EL-SAID]; New Wafd Party or NWP
[No'man GOMAA]
note: formation of political parties must be approved by the
government
Political pressure groups and leaders: despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes MUBARAK's potentially most significant political opposition; MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but moved more aggressively since then to block its influence; civic society groups are sanctioned, but constrained in practical terms; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, BSEC (observer), CAEU, EBRD,
FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory),
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS
(observer), OIC, ONUB, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador M. Nabil FAHMY
chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 895–5400
FAX: [1] (202) 244–4319
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador designate Francis J. RICCIARDONE, Jr
embassy: 8 Kamal El Din Salah St., Garden City, Cairo
mailing address: Unit 64900, Box 15, APO AE 09839–4900
telephone: [20] (2) 797–3300
FAX: [20] (2) 797–3200
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the
national emblem (a gold Eagle of Saladin facing the hoist side with
a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name
of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; design is
based on the Arab Liberation flag and similar to the flag of Syria,
which has two green stars, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus
an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white
band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band
Economy Egypt
Economy - overview:
Lack of substantial progress on economic reform since the mid 1990s
has limited foreign direct investment in Egypt and kept annual GDP
growth in the range of 2%-3% in 2001–03. However, in 2004 Egypt
implemented several measures to boost foreign direct investment. In
September 2004, Egypt pushed through custom reforms, proposed income
and corporate tax reforms, reduced energy subsidies, and privatized
several enterprises. The budget deficit rose to an estimated 8% of
GDP in 2004 compared to 6.1% of GDP the previous year, in part as a
result of these reforms. Monetary pressures on an overvalued
Egyptian pound led the government to float the currency in January
2003, leading to a sharp drop in its value and consequent
inflationary pressure. In 2004, the Central Bank implemented
measures to improve currency liquidity. Egypt reached record tourism
levels, despite the Taba and Nuweiba bombings in September 2004. The
development of an export market for natural gas is a bright spot for
future growth prospects, but improvement in the capital-intensive
hydrocarbons sector does little to reduce Egypt's persistent
unemployment.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$316.3 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17.2% industry: 33% services: 49.8% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
20.71 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 32%, industry 17%, services 51% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate:
10.9% (2004 est.)
Population
