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Egypt investment minister sees GDP growth of over 5 percent mid-2010
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s investment minister says the economy is projected to grow by over 5 percent in the fiscal year ending in June 2010, as the Arab world’s most populous nation continues to grapple with fallout from the global meltdown.
The projection put forward by investment minister Mahmoud Mohieddin is far below the roughly 7 percent GDP growth Egypt had enjoyed in the three years before the world’s worst financial disaster in decades hammered international markets and sent investors diving for cover.
The latest projection is higher than the 4.7 percent growth achieved in the last fiscal year, Mohieddin said, but the main engines will be just a handful of sectors including construction.
Mohieddin said the challenge confronting the government will be to help ensure that such growth rates can sustain development. He noted that the government is continuing its efforts to lure additional investments.
Economy of Egypt
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Economy of Egypt [1]
Currency Egyptian pound (EGP)
Trade organizations WTO
Arab Republic of Egypt
جمهورية مصر العربية
Capital
(and largest city)Cairo
30°2′N 31°13′E / 30.033°N 31.217°E / 30.033; 31.217
Official language(s)Arabic1
Ethnic groups 99% Egyptians, 0.9% Nubians, 0.1% Greeks
Demonym Egyptian
Government Semi-presidential republic
— President Hosni Mubarak
— Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif
Establishment
— First Dynastyc.3150 BC
— Independence from the United Kingdom28 February 1922
— Republic declared18 June 1953
— National Day23 July (to celebrate 23 July 1952)
Area
— Total1,002,450 km2 (30th)
387,048 sq mi
— Water (%)0.632
Population
— 2009 estimate77,420,000[1]
— Density82.3/km2 (120th)
214.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP)2008 estimate
— Total$443.430 billion[2] (26th)
— Per capita$5,896[2] (101st)
GDP (nominal)2008 estimate
— Total$162.617 billion[2] (49th)
— Per capita$2,162[2] (117th)
Gini (1999–00)34.5 (medium)
HDI (2007)▲ 0.703[3] (123rd)
Currency Egyptian pound (EGP)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
— Summer (DST)EEST (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD.eg
Calling code+20
1Arabic (official), Egyptian Arabic (spoken)
Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ( listen); Arabic: مصر Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Egyptian Arabic: مصر Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic, kīmi; Egyptian: Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Thereby, Egypt is a transcontinental country, and is considered to be a major power in North Africa, Mediterranean Region, African continent, Nile Basin, Islamic World and the Red Sea. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its estimated 77.4 million[1] live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt’s residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centre’s of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world’s most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and its Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East.
Egypt possesses one of the most developed and diversified economies in the Middle East, with sectors such as tourism, agriculture, industry and service at almost equal rates in national production.