Egypt is bisected by the highly fertile Nile valley, where most economic activity takes place. The Egyptian economy relies heavily on tourist revenues. Egypt is the most populated Arab country, it counts about 82.1 million people, with $2,922 GDP per capita.

The contribution of the Egyptian economy is about 0.3% of the emerging markets index MSCI. Egyptian population is rather young. The aged 15 years or less, about 34%, and the age group of youth from 15-35 years old about 35%.  The people who represent the workforce in the category of 15-65 years old represent 62%, which requires a clear map to take advantage of the power work in economic activity.
The services sector is the owner of the largest share in terms of its contribution to the GDP of the acquisition of more than 50%, while the contribution of industry and agriculture, two sectors that offers a real job opportunities, permanent and constitute a measure of value added is 37.7% and 13.1% subsequently. The rising contribution of services sector because of its education and health services, provided by public institutions. On the other hand, the tourism sector is considered historically a main source of Egypt’s national income with some 12 million tourists visiting Egypt and spending about $11 billion annually.

Egypt’s economy is still suffering from a severe downturn and the government faces numerous challenges as to how to restore growth, market and investor confidence. Political and institutional uncertainty, a perception of rising insecurity and sporadic unrest continue to negatively affect economic growth. Real GDP growth slowed to just 2.2 percent year on year in October-December 2012/13 and investments declined to 13 percent of GDP in July-December 2012. The economic slowdown contributed to a rise in unemployment, which stood at 13 percent at end-December 2012, with 3.5 million people out of work. Foreign exchange reserves have continued to decline to reach about 3 months of imports.

Essential Information 

Area: 1,002,000 sq km
Population: 85,3 Million (2012 est.)
Capital: Cairo
Principal Towns: Alexandria, Tanta, Damietta, Suez, Port Said.
Languages: Arabic is the official language; French and English are both widely used, particularly in business circles.
Gross Domestic Product: $255billion (2012 est.)
GDP per capita: $2,989
International Reserves: $15.72 billion
Climate: Generally warm and dry from November to March although day temperatures can rise to over 38°C. April to October can see periods of intense heat in Cairo and Upper Egypt. Rainfall is limited to the northern, coastal region. A hot and dusty desert wind, the Khamaseen, blows in April/May and August/September.
Currency: 1$ ≈ 6.8 Egyptian Pound (EGP)

DEMOGRAPHY
Age Distribution (2012 est.)
0-14 years: 32.5%
15-24 years: 18.2%
25-54 years: 38.1%
55-64 years: 6.5%
65 years and over: 4.7%
 
Population Growth 1.92% (2012 est.)

Education
71.4% of the total population age 15 and over can read and write
 
NATURAL RESOURCES
Fossil Fuel
Petroleum, natural gas
Minerals
Iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc  
Hydro-electric
Assuan and Nasser Dams

Visa: All visitors must be in possession of a valid passport and a visa. Travellers should ensure that their passports extend for three months from the date of the visa being issued. Where this date may be exceeded intending visitors are advised to renew their passports beforehand as persons found with non-registered passports can be liable to a £E 20 fine.
One-month tourist and seven-day transit visas are available at Egyptian ports, airports and frontier posts; even so it is preferable to obtain visas before travelling.

 National Day 23 July.

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Diplomatic representation of Egypt in Switzerland