Economy of Egypt
Economy of Egypt [1]
Currency
Egyptian pound (EGP)
Trade
organisations
WTO
Statistics
GDP
$452.5 billion (2008 est.)
GDP growth
7% (2008 est.)
GDP per capita $5,500 (PPP) (2008 est.)
GDP by sector
agriculture (13.4%), industry
(37.6%), services (48.9%)
(2008 est.)
Inflation (CPI)
18% (2008 est.)
Gini index
34.4 (2001)
Labour force
24.72 million (2008 est.)
Labour force
by occupation
Agriculture (32%), Industry
(17%), Services (51%) (2001
est.)
Unemployment 8.7% (2008 est.)
Main
industries
Textiles, Food Processing,
Tourism, Chemicals,
Pharmaceuticals,
Hydrocarbons, Construction,
Cement, Metals, Light
Manufactures
External
Exports
$33.36 billion f.o.b. (2008
est.)
Export goods
Crude Oil and Petroleum
Products, Cotton, Textiles,
Metal Products, Chemicals
Main export
partners
United States 9.7%, Italy
9.5%, Spain 7.6%, Syria
5.5%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%,
United Kingdom 4.2% (2007)
Imports
$56.43 billion f.o.b. (2008
est.)
Import goods Machinery and Equipment,
Foodstuffs, Chemicals, Wood
Products, Fuels
Main import
partners
United States 11.7%, China
9.7%, Italy 6.4%, Germany
6.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%,
Russia 4.3% (2007)
Public finances
Public Debt
$28.84 billion (31 December
2008 est.)
Revenues
$40.46 billion (2008 est.)
Expenses
$51.38 billion (2008 est.)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US
dollars
Occupying the northeast corner of the Afric-
an continent, Egypt is bisected by the highly
fertile Nile valley, where most economic
activity takes place. In the last 30 years, the
government has reformed the highly central-
ized economy it inherited from President
Gamel Abdel Nasser.
During the 1990s, a series of International
Monetary Fund arrangements, coupled with
massive external debt relief resulting from
Egypt’s participation in the Gulf War coali-
tion, helped Egypt improve its macroeconom-
ic performance. The pace of structural re-
forms, including fiscal, monetary policies,
privatization and new business legislations,
helped Egypt to move towards a more
market-oriented economy and, since the