COUNTRY



"EGYPT"STATISTICSLand Area: 1,001,450 sq km Density; density per sq mi: 197, arable land: 2.87%Population: 76,117,421 (July 2004 est.)Crude Birth Rate: 23.84 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)Crude Death Rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)Annual growth rate (year):1.83% (2004 est.)Education: Guaranteed, free education by the constitution between the ages of 6 and 15. Primary and secondary education before and after also available. Literacy (overall): 57.7%Health (2002): Infant mortality rate--total: 33.9 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy—total: 70.71 years, male: 68.22 years, female: 73.31 years (2004 est.)Work force 20.19 million (2003 estimate); agriculture 32%, industry 17%, services 51% (2001 est.) Unemployment rate: 9.9% (2003 est.)Population below poverty line: 16.7% (2000 est.)Population Profile: Egypt’s population profile is nearly the shape of a perfect pyramid; ironic, it being Egypt! However, the consequences of such a structure are not good. This implies that the youngest generation is the largest, who will, in turn, produce a similar sized next generation, if not larger. Egypt’s current fertility rate is 2.95, signifying that at its current rate, the incoming generations at the bottom would be even larger. The upper levels of the pyramid, will, hence become larger and larger, placing even more burden on an already strained economy.Population Projection:This graph shows the projected population of Egypt until 2050 with 3 different growth rates (0.9%, 1.83%, and 3%). There is a significant difference among the three different growth rates, with the population almost growing four-fold at a high growth rate of 3%. The fertility rate of most developing countries, including Egypt, has gone down in recent years. It was 3.7 births per woman in 1995. It is now 2.95 (2004 est.). If this downward trend continues, then it is plausible that Egypt’s population will only increase by 40 to 50 million people in the next 50 years. The United States, through USAID and its generous foreign aid to Egypt every year, has been investing in Egypt’s future. The most likely population projection is that of the current rate continuing, then slowing even further to reach 126 million people by 2050. The population profile above of Egypt in 2025 shows that the fertility rate will continue to decrease until it stabilizes at around 2 as is indicated by the columnar shape of the younger generations. This shift from continued growth in the younger generations to a more stable structure would, no doubt, ease the continuing burden on Egypt’s limited resources. However, as today’s young move into their middle and elder ages, Egypt will have to vigorously reform its social security system in order to cope with the rise in elderly population. At the same time, the amount of citizens of working age will also increase, thereby bringing more income to the country. Of course, more and more jobs must be created for income to occur. If foreign investment increases, all may go well.ADDRESSING HUMAN POPULATION GROWTHCOUNTRY’S Current Situation: Egypt is currently the fastest growing population in the Arab World. However, due to its terrain being mainly desert, the population is concentrated along the Nile River Valley, making this area one of the most densely populated zones in the world, especially around the city of Cairo, which has a population density of 27,009 people per square kilometer.Challenges Facing COUNTRY: Egypt faces many challenges concerning the human population. Most of them have to do with the inequity between the rich and the poor, and the growth rate of the population. The GDP per capita of the country is $3,900, placing it in the middle-income category of the World Bank. Yet close to a fifth of the population lives below the poverty line. Cairo’s streets are lined with slums where literally millions live without proper sanitation, among other necessities. Among the challenges is reducing the fertility rate. While the infant mortality rate has gone down from 63 per 1,000 to 44 per 1,000 in just 5 years (from 1995-2000), the death rate has stayed around the same, meaning that the trend has been a net growth in population every year. As the fertility rate continues to drop, hopefully this will change.Strategy for Addressing Current Situation: The USAID, the Egyptian government, and other NGOs, both local and international, are helping Egyptian people with family planning initiatives including increasing the availability of contraceptives in order to control births. Education is still a major concern, as only 57.7% of Egypt’s people are literate. Even though primary education is compulsory and free, there are many young children who still do not attend school. There are three major things that need to happen for Egypt to succeed in slowing its population growth. The first is to increase the availability and proliferation of education for the people. The second is to decrease the fertility rate through contraceptives and other means. The third is to reform social security and the health system, thereby decreasing elderly dependence on their children in the next 50 years. This does not take into account the economic factors, which are discussed in the next section.Support Needed/Available: Though the Egyptian government is now putting more effort into slowing population growth, they need even more advice and financial support from foreign countries. The United States, as previously stated, is generously financing many of Egypt’s development projects. However, it seems that most of these are economic projects, such as the Aswan dam, and not those related to family planning, etc. There is still controversy in the United States over the gag rule that the current administration imposed on funding to family planning programs. Overall, sanitation, education, and health care need to improve, and can with the help of developed countries.ADDRESSING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNTRY’S Current Situation: Egypt’s current GDP is just under $300 billion per year. Much of this revenue comes from tariffs for entry through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea as well as from the large tourism industry. Unlike many other developing nations, agriculture only accounts for 17% of the GDP and 32% of employment. 60% of India’s workforce, for instance, is employed in agricultural fields. Overall, Egypt’s economy is in better shape than many other developing countries, but much needs to be done for it to alleviate the widespread poverty and overuse of resources.Challenges Facing COUNTRY: Egypt requires 11 million tons of wheat to feed its population each year, but it only produces 7 million, forcing it to import 4 million per year. In this way, a major challenge for Egypt is to have a self-sustaining economy where it relies less on foreign aid and imports. Also, Egypt’s infrastructure in terms of communications, power, etc. needs to be upgraded on a large scale. The currency was recently “floated”, which devalued it significantly. Strategy for Addressing Current Situation: Foreign aid towards the economy is helping to a certain extent. However, private foreign investment has yet to take off to its full capability because of the government’s caution in implementing policies accommodating to private investment for fear of negative public opinion. The government needs to reform their policies towards foreign investment, they need to work on balancing their budget so they do not fall into ever-increasing debt, and they need to continue developing fields such as exporting natural gas.Support Needed/Available: As stated, the United States is helping Egypt significantly through financial aid, mostly due to Egypt’s policy towards Israel, which has been non-threatening since the war in 1967. More advice is needed in terms of educating farmers, slum-dwellers, etc. Egypt can also proliferate its natural resources more effectively with the right technology and expertise. If it is open to more foreign investment, it may achieve a higher economic growth rate from the 2-3% it has been experiencing in recent years. ................
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