lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
95%
Irrigated land:
25,850 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands;
increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; desertification;
oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats;
other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, untreated sewage,
and industrial effluents; water scarcity away from the Nile which is
the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population
overstraining natural resources
natural hazards:
periods of drought; subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides,
volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in
spring
international agreements:
party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and
remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea
link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean; size, and juxtaposition
to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics

@Egypt, People

Population:
60,765,028 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.95% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
28.69 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
8.87 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
76.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
60.79 years
male:
58.91 years
female:
62.76 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.77 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Egyptian(s)
adjective:
Egyptian
Ethnic divisions:
Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek,
Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
Religions:
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94% (official estimate), Coptic Christian and
other 6% (official estimate)
Languages:
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated
classes
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
48%
male:
63%
female