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Turkey is home to one of the earliest settlements in the world. Built 8,800 years ago, Catal Hoyuk was a labyrinth of 150 mud homes joined together. There were no streets in between, so people had to enter the homes through holes in the roof!

About 4,000 years ago, the Hittites created an empire in the central part of what is now called Turkey in Anatolia. They ruled for hundreds of years. The Trojan War took place when the Hittites were losing power. The ruins of the city of Troy are believed to be in the city of Hissarlik in Anatolia.

King Midas ruled western Turkey around 700 B.C. In 334 B.C., Alexander the Great took Anatolia under Macedonian Greek rule until Rome took over and Anatolia became part of Roman Asia Minor. In A.D. 330, Constantine became the Roman emperor and formed a new capital called Constantinople. After the fall of the Roman Empire it became part of the Byzantine Empire.

The city of Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453 and Turkey became part of the Ottoman Empire. After World War I, the country was invaded by Greece, which led to the Turkish war of Independence in 1920, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In 1923, the Turkish assembly declared Turkey a republic.

The city formally became Istanbul in 1923. Turkey became a secular country, meaning there is a separation between religion and government. Women gained the right to vote in 1934.

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Turkey is home to one of the earliest settlements in the world. Built 8,800 years ago, Catal Hoyuk was a labyrinth of 150 mud homes joined together. There were no streets in between, so people had to enter the homes through holes in the roof!

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Egypt Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Without the Nile River, all of Egypt would be desert.

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FAST FACTS
OFFICAL NAME: Republic of Iran
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Islamic republic
CAPITAL: Tehran
POPULATION: 80,840,713
OFFICAL LANGUAGE: Farsi
MONEY: Rial
AREA: 636,372 square miles (1,648,105 square kilometers)
MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Elburz, Zagros
MAJOR RIVERS: Karun, Karkeh, Zayandeh

GEOGRAPHY
Iran (pronounced ee-RAHN), formerly known as Persia, is situated at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Arab states of the Middle East. This strategic position-and its access to the Persian Gulf in the south-have made Iran an important country throughout its history.

Much of Iran is cut off from the outside world by a beautiful but often lonely landscape. High, rugged mountains create a barrier with Iran's neighbors in the west, and the eastern region is covered by a barren, salty desert.

In Iran's north, a narrow, fertile strip borders the Caspian Sea, and in the south, lowlands rim the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Most people in Iran live along the edges of a high plateau that runs through the middle of the country.

PEOPLE & CULTURE
Strong religious beliefs have been part of Iranians' lives for thousands of years. Almost all Iranians are Muslim, or followers of Islam. The religion is central to daily life.

Iran has a long history of scholarship that has created a rich culture of art, literature, poetry, music, cuisine, and architecture. Ancient Iranian thinkers wrote influential texts on philosophy and medicine, and it was an Iranian mathematician who invented algebra. Iran's universities are among the most respected in the Middle East.

NATURE
Not long ago, Iran was home to many lions, tigers, and other big cats. Unfortunately these sleek hunters are now very rare, and some species have gone extinct. Only a handful of Asiatic cheetahs and Persian leopards remain.

Iran has several reserves and parks where wildlife thrives. One, called Kavir National Park, is located in the north-central region and is known as "Little Africa" because its plants and animals resemble those of Africa. This park is home to Iran's only cheetahs.

Iran's mountains in the north and west have dense forests that offer habitat for brown bears, wild goats, wolves, and leopards. The country's central plateau is home to deer, gazelles, hyenas, and jackals, among other animals.

Rial

Photograph by Matthew Trommer, Dreamstime

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY
Iran's government is controlled by a religious figure called the supreme leader, who is appointed by a group of Islamic clerics called the Assembly of Experts. A president, elected by the people, is second in command.

Iran has extensive oil reserves, but its economy has been hit hard by a trade ban imposed by the United States since the shah was ousted in 1979. Allegations that Iran supports terrorism and a belief that it is developing nuclear weapons has led to further isolation in recent years.

HISTORY
Iran is one of the oldest nations in the world, with a history dating back tens of thousands of years. The country's first great city, Susa, was built on the central plateau around 3200 B.C.

In 559 B.C., the Persian Empire arose in southwestern Iran and conquered the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The empire eventually extended from the Mediterranean Sea to what is now Pakistan, but it was conquered by the Greeks in 330 B.C.

Around 260 B.C., nomads called Parni ousted the Greeks and ruled for some 500 years. The Sassanids came into power in A.D. 224, and in A.D. 642, Persia became part of the Islamic Empire. In 1501, the kings, or shahs, of the Safavid Empire began their reign.

In the late 18th century, foreign powers, including Russia and Britain, took control of parts of Persia. In 1921, a Persian army officer named Reza Khan took control and sought to end outside influence. In 1935, he renamed the country Iran. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became shah in 1941.

In 1979, many Iranians who felt Pahlavi was corrupt forced him to flee, ending the reign of the shahs in Iran. Since then, religious leaders have ruled the country. The first was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose ten years in power were marked by a long war with Iraq and tensions with the United States and many other nations. Khomeini died in 1989, but much of those tensions still exist today.

Check out the interactive map and discover more countries.

Get Facts, Photos, and videos.

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Iran Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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FAST FACTS OFFICAL NAME: Republic of Iran FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Islamic republic CAPITAL: Tehran POPULATION: 80,840,713 OFFICAL LANGUAGE: Farsi MONEY: Rial AREA: 636,372 square miles (1,648,105 square kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Elburz, Zagros MAJOR RIVERS: Karun, Karkeh, Zayandeh GEOGRAPHY Iran (pronounced ee-RAHN), formerly known as Persia, is situated at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Arab states of the Middle East.

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Iraq is dominated by two famous rivers: the Tigris and the Euphrates.

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The World Bank: Turkey Water Supply and Sanitation

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The World Bank: Turkey Water Supply and Sanitation

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Reaching Compliance with the European Union's Water Framework Directive in a Sustainable Way - Challenges and Opportunities for Turkey's Water Supply and Sanitation Sector. This short animated movie presents a snapshot of the main messages of the report.

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Reaching Compliance with the European Union's Water Framework Directive in a Sustainable Way - Challenges and Opportunities for Turkey's Water Supply and Sanitation Sector. This short animated movie presents a snapshot of the main messages of the report.

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Water crisis builds in Egypt as dam talks falter, temperatures rise

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Water crisis builds in Egypt as dam talks falter, temperatures rise

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FAYOUM, Egypt (Reuters) - Ahmed Abd-Rabo used to get all the water he needed to feed his crops in northern Egypt. Then the canal linking his seven acres to the River Nile started drying up and he had to abandon half the plot.

His smallholding is one of the victims of a creeping water crisis, exacerbated by Egypt's growing population and the impacts of climate change.

Egypt fears things could get even worse as Ethiopia starts filling the reservoir behind a giant dam upriver. On Wednesday, the United States is hosting talks between the countries and their fellow Nile-user Sudan to try to restart stalled talks over the hydropower project.

But even if Washington succeeds where years of trilateral negotiations have failed, Egypt will still have broader water problems that have left it struggling to sustain food production.

"There is very little Nile water," said Abd-Rabo, standing next to the plot where he grows wheat and fodder in Fayoum, about 100km (60 miles) south of the capital, Cairo.

"In winter, sometimes there's a bit more, but mainly because the land doesn't need a lot of water in the winter. But in the summer, we don't get any."

Egyptian officials say they currently have around 570 cubic meters of water per person per year - hydrologists consider a country to be facing water scarcity if supplies drop below 1,000 cubic meters per person per year.

Graphic on the competition for water - here

MUD AND SOIL

Egypt's figure is expected to drop to 500 cubic meters by 2025. That is without taking into account the impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Egypt says will lower water levels further, though Ethiopia says it has taken the needs of Egypt and Sudan into account.

The stakes are high. Talk of physical conflict between the countries along the Nile has receded, but Egypt sees the dam as an existential threat that could decimate farming and damage power supplies.

More than 80% of its water is used for agriculture, but scarcity means Cairo already imports about half its food and is the world's largest wheat importer.

The government is urging farmers to use more efficient irrigation and plant seeds with shorter life spans that require less water. It is also trying to recycle more water.

But the water management and irrigation schemes have not reached everyone.

"We are still using old irrigation techniques, which use mud and soil, and waste water," said Aref Mohamed, a farmer near the southern city of Luxor.

Fines to stop farmers planting water-intensive rice in the northern Nile Delta are not being as strictly enforced as last year, locals say. The area under rice cultivation has shot up to 1.75 million acres from about 800,000 acres over the same period, according to irrigation ministry estimates.

TEMPERATURES

Climate change presents another risk. With temperatures rising, Egypt could lose 30% of its food production in southern areas by 2040, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.

Heatwaves have already reduced crop productivity and in Fayoum, residents say temperatures have been rising for years, forcing farmers to use more water for less land.

"We have not got any produce from this land over the past three years because of the temperature levels," said another farmer in Fayoum, asking not to be named. "Now, if I have two feddans (2.1 acres), I will plant one and leave the other one."

The effect of climate change in upstream nations is uncertain.

"It is unclear whether there will be an increase or decrease of rainfall in countries of (the Nile) source," said Tahani Mostafa Sileet of Egypt's water resources and irrigation ministry. "As such, we don't know whether to adjust our politics based on an increase or a decrease of resources."

But any alteration to Nile flows could make "huge difference", said Randa Aboul Hosn of the UN development agency UNDP. Every "2% drop of water affects one million people," she said.

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Water crisis builds in Egypt as dam talks falter, temperatures rise

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FAYOUM, Egypt (Reuters) - Ahmed Abd-Rabo used to get all the water he needed to feed his crops in northern Egypt. Then the canal linking his seven acres to the River Nile started drying up and he had to abandon half the plot.

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How decades of US sanctions decimated Iran’s economy

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How decades of US sanctions decimated Iran’s economy

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How years of US economic sanctions crushed Iran's economy

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The U.S. began sanctioning Iran in 1979, after the Iranian Revolution. Since then, those sanctions have expanded to go after businesses, governments and individuals doing business with the oil-producing state. Now its economy is in tatters. Here's why.

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Iraq is in a fragile state. The country is trying to rebuild itself after thirty years of near constant war. But a new crisis has emerged that could undermine its recovery - Iraq is running out of water.

Iraq gets the vast majority of its water from two rivers; the Euphrates and the Tigris. Both run down the length of the country supplying drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectricity to a booming population. It's hard to imagine Iraq existing without these rivers. But today, they are in peril.

The Euphrates in Iraq is down to a quarter of its normal flow. In 2018, the Tigris sunk so low that people in Baghdad could wade across it. Where these rivers combine, called the Shatt al-Arab, became so poisonous last summer that 100,000 people were hospitalized; sparking riots in the city of Basra.

This episode of Vox Atlas explains how Iraq's water crisis emerged because of geography and its violent history and it's become the most pressing issue the country faces.

You can find this video and all of Vox's videos on YouTube. Subscribe for the latest.

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Iraq is in a fragile state. The country is trying to rebuild itself after thirty years of near constant war. But a new crisis has emerged that could undermine its recovery - Iraq is running out of water. Iraq gets the vast majority of its water from two rivers; the Euphrates and the Tigris.

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79 percent of Turkish freshwater bodies polluted: Chamber report

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79 percent of Turkish freshwater bodies polluted: Chamber report

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ANKARA

Seventy-nine percent of freshwater bodies are polluted, the Chamber of Environmental Engineers has said in its report marking World Environment Day on June 5.

"Our freshwater bodies in Turkey are under serious threat. Some 79 percent of surface waters, streams, and lakes have been polluted. Of this figure, 60 percent represents the water that cannot be used for drinking water [due to the level of pollution]," said chamber head Baran Bozoğlu, while announcing the report's results on June 4 in a meeting in the capital Ankara.

Bozoğlu said especially the rivers of the Greater ("Büyük") Menderes, Sakarya, Susurluk, Little ("Küçük") Meander, Gediz, Bakırçayı, and Ergene were very polluted, having turned into an "open canalization" system.

Turkey is also not utilizing 99 percent of freshwater bodies, which have a potential to be reused through refinement, Bozoğlu said. And foremost, the pollution in our seas in the Aegean provinces of Muğla and İzmir, the Mediterranean province of Mersin, and Istanbul are worsening, according to the head of the Chamber of Environmental Engineers, a member chamber of the Ankara-based Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB).

The report also drew attention to the limited number of waste water treatment facilities in organized industrial zones across Turkey, indicating that only 44 percent of the total 186 organized industrial zones in the country were equipped with these facilities.

Another issue that was pointed out by the report was the country's failure to recycle plastic products, which are contributing to the destruction of water ecosystems.

"A total of 8.6 million tons of plastics [per year] are being used up in various sectors of Turkey. Some 1.8 million tons of plastic packages are released into the market, and only 384,000 tons of these, i.e. 21 percent, are accumulated back [for recycling]," Bozoğlu said.

The chamber's report also touched upon air pollution, saying Turkey ranks 22nd among European countries in air-pollution related deaths, with 4.7 percent of total deaths in the country attributable to air pollution.

Ankara, Istanbul, the southern province of Adana, the northern province of Amasya, and the western province of Bursa are the places that air quality is a big concern. Heating houses, cars, thermal power plants, and mining and industrial enterprises have been indicated as the major causes of air pollution in Turkey.

The report has additionally touched upon flood disasters in Turkey, saying the Black Sea region was the region among six others that was "the most affected from food disasters." In 2016, the region experienced a total of 134 flood disasters, the report said, calling out for "an immediate climate action plan."

World Environment Day occurs on June 5 every year, and is the United Nation's principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.

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79 percent of Turkish freshwater bodies polluted: Chamber report - Turkey News

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ANKARA Seventy-nine percent of freshwater bodies are polluted, the Chamber of Environmental Engineers has said in its report marking World Environment Day on June 5. "Our freshwater bodies in Turkey are under serious threat. Some 79 percent of surface waters, streams, and lakes have been polluted.

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BP has invested more money in Egypt than anywhere else in the last two years, CEO says

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BP has invested more money in Egypt than anywhere else in the last two years, CEO says

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BP has invested more money in Egypt than anywhere else in the last two years, CEO says

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BP has invested more money in Egypt in the last two years than anywhere else, the oil giant's Chief Executive Bob Dudley told CNBC.

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Iraq's agricultural and farming sectors have suffered by a prolonged reduction of water levels in rivers [Arwa Ibrahim/Al Jazeera]

Radwaniya, Iraq - The canals branching out of the Tigris river and into the adjoining farmlands are empty and dry. Devoid of water, the rice, wheat and barley fields are left without vegetation.

The Tigris today is far shallower than it was a year ago, and for farmers in Iraq, this is a catastrophe.

Omar Di'ibil, 35, has been a farmer in Radwaniya, on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad, all his life - just like his father and grandfather were before him.

Like many others across the country, this year's crippling water shortage has left him able to grow just a few hectares of wheat and barley. Soon, he says, there won't be enough water to grow anything one on his once-fertile lands.

"I used to plant 52 hectares of land or even 60. Now, I can only plant between three to five hectares of land," says Di'ibil.

Increasingly erratic rainfall across the region, along with the construction of dams in upstream Turkey and Iran, have all reduced the amount of water flowing in the key rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates by at least 50 percent in recent decades, according to Iraqi government officials.

This has hit the country's agricultural and farming sectors hard.

The prolonged reduction of water levels in rivers slashes electricity generation from hydroelectric dams, which, in turn, affects the water supply for agriculture and eventually forces the country to import more food than it already does.

According to Zafer Abdullah, an adviser to Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources, a particularly dry season and adverse regional water policies have left "Iraq with only enough water to irrigate half of its farmland this summer".

Consequently, the government has now banned the plantation of summer crops, including corn and paddy rice cultivation.

'No water, no farming'

According to official estimates, one in five Iraqis are farmers. The depleting water levels in rivers have led to a big slash to both their production and income.

"Our lands have become arid and empty [of vegetation]," laments Di'ibil.

The increasingly dry seasons have not only resulted in reduced rainfall, but also made the water that is available salty and unsuitable for farming.

"Water from the Tigris would flood our lands years ago. Then we used to pump the fresh water. But now we are having to use wells, and even they are becoming dry and salty," says Di'ibil.

When water levels are down, a phenomenon known as salt tide appears, where the lower course of a river, with its low altitude with respect to sea level, becomes salty. If dry seasons are prolonged, this phenomenon becomes harder to overcome, leaving farmers helpless and searching elsewhere for income.

Abdel Rahman al-Mashhadani, an Iraqi economic expert, says a large number of people have migrated from rural areas to the cities as a result of the water shortages.

"Our urban areas are imploding and unemployment is on the rise," he says.

From farmers to employees

Amid the worsening situation, many in recent years have been forced to find another job to supplement their income.

One of them is 23-year-old Abdelrahman Mansour, also from Radwaniya. He says he was left with no choice but to abandon farming and become a construction worker.

"We tried to keep our farms alive and well, but the salt water has killed everything," says Mansour, who used to grow various kinds of grains on a 50-hectare plot of land.

"Now half of the farmers in our area have left the industry."

Di'ibil agrees.

"Our livelihoods were always dependent on farming. Now, so many of us are becoming employees in the police or for the government," says Di'ibil, who for the past two years has been mostly working for the state.

Rice, especially the Anbar variety which is particular to the country and known for its distinct aroma, is an important commodity in Iraq. But without sufficient water, production levels are being reduced this year.

According to Abdullah, the ministry adviser, the levels of water needed by the sector in previous years are no longer available.

But in a bid to ensure that this popular strain of rice does not become extinct, Iraq has limited the number of hectares it will grow this year to the bare minimum.

"The ministry restricted paddy rice cultivation to only 5,000 hectares. Last year, we planted 270,000 hectares of paddy rice instead," said Abdullah.

This is a reflection of the wider situation when it comes to Iraq's food production and security.

Although the country has been importing most of its wheat and other basic foodstuffs for years, the continued loss of grain production means an increased need for imports to satisfy demand, according to experts.

"Since 2010, we worked on producing our own rice and wheat so that we can reduce our imports, which went down from 3.5 million tonnes to 2.5," said Mashhadani, the economist.

"But we've already gone back to importing more foodstuffs."

In addition to water shortages, food production in Iraq has been affected by ISIL's 2014 takeover of Salahuddin, Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Anbar - areas that comprise the country's cereal belt.

The lack of this territory resulted in Iraq losing the majority of its annual wheat and barley harvests from those regions, which contribute more than one-third of Iraq's cereal production, or about one million tonnes of wheat, according to reports.

Turkey and Iran are already holding back water from the Tigris and Euphrates to feed their growing population in a warming climate. Unless new deals are reached, this situation will only get worse, especially after Turkey began holding back water behind its Ilisu Dam on July 1, say officials.

"The impacts of this dam [Ilisu] are still under way. We are expecting to feel them quite strongly in the very near future," says Abdullah.

The government has responded by establishing a crisis unit and is looking into ways to support farmers who have lost income, said Abdullah.

Despite the water shortages, there is enough drinking water for all provinces, but the government needs to ensure its equal distribution, he added.
Follow Arwa Ibrahim on Twitter: @arwaib

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Iraq's farmers hit hard by water shortages

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Radwaniya, Iraq - The canals branching out of the Tigris river and into the adjoining farmlands are empty and dry. Devoid of water, the rice, wheat and barley fields are left without vegetation. The Tigris today is far shallower than it was a year ago, and for farmers in Iraq, this is a catastrophe.

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Turkey: 2019 to be another record year for Turkey's defense, aerospace exports

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Turkey: 2019 to be another record year for Turkey's defense, aerospace exports

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The year 2019 is close to going down in history as another record year for Turkish manufacturers' defense and aerospace exports.

The defense and aviation industry has left other sectors behind with its 10-month performance in exports, having made foreign sales worth some $2.14 billion, according to data compiled from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and the Defense Industries Presidency (SSB).

The sector's exports soared 38% year-on-year between January and October, followed by cement, glass, ceramics and soil products with 18.3%.

Seeing exports worth $2.19 billion in 2018, the defense and aviation industry has almost achieved this figure now, two months before the completion of this year.

The U.S. was the top export market of the sector, receiving $675.6 million worth of items from January to October.

Oman was the second largest with $213.5 million, while Germany ranked third with $185.5 million during the same period.

Thanks to the remarkable progress in reducing its dependence on foreign products in the last two decades, Turkey has become one of the growing manufacturers and exporters of military hardware of international standards.

It managed to reduce its dependence on foreign trade in the defense industry from 80% to 30%. The government aims to eliminate this dependence completely by 2023.

The country also has five firms among the world's top 100 defense companies, according to this year's Defense News Top 100, the most prestigious defense industry list.

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2019 to be another record year for Turkey's defense, aerospace exports

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The year 2019 is close to going down in history as another record year for Turkish manufacturers' defense and aerospace exports. The defense and aviation industry has left other sectors behind with its 10-month performance in exports, having made foreign sales worth some $2.14 billion, according to data compiled from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and the Defense Industries Presidency (SSB).

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Reuters: Factbox: Key facts about Ethiopia's giant Nile dam

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Reuters: Factbox: Key facts about Ethiopia's giant Nile dam

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(Reuters) - Ethiopia is building a giant dam on the Blue Nile, close to its border with Sudan.

Ethiopia says the hydropower project is crucial to its economic development. Egypt is worried the dam will affect flow of the Nile, its main source of fresh water.

THE DAM

The $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was announced in early 2011, as Egypt was in political upheaval following a popular uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

The dam is the centerpiece of Ethiopia's bid to become Africa's biggest power exporter, with a projected capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts.

Ethiopia has said it will start filling the reservoir behind the dam in 2020, though construction has been hit by delays.

The first stage of the filling process is expected to take two years and bring the water level in the reservoir to 595 meters out of an eventual 632 meters.

NILE WATERS

The Nile Basin river system flows through 11 countries. The Blue Nile and White Nile merge in Sudan before flowing into Egypt and towards the Mediterranean.

Egypt currently bases its share of the river's waters on a 1959 deal that gave it 55.5 billion cubic meters water annually, and Sudan 18.5 bcm.

Other countries were not given allocations at that time. Ethiopia was not party to the agreement and does not recognize it.

EGYPT'S POSITION

Egypt, which has a rapidly growing population nearing 100 million, relies on the Nile for around 90% of its fresh water.

Even without taking the dam into account, the largely desert country is short of water. It imports about half its food products and recycles about 25 bcm of water annually.

Egypt accuses Ethiopia of not factoring in the risk of drought conditions such as those that affected the Nile Basin in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

While acknowledging such a scenario is unlikely, Egypt says it could lose more than one million jobs and $1.8 billion in economic production annually.

It therefore wants the first, two-year stage of the filling process to be extendable, and for Ethiopia to guarantee it 40 bcm per year after the first stage is completed.

ETHIOPIA'S POSITION

Ethiopia, with a population of more than 100 million people, accuses Egypt of trying to maintain a colonial-era grip over the Nile's waters.

Addis Ababa says Cairo is trying to hold the project hostage by imposing rules over the filling and operation of the dam.

It says it is taking the interests of Egypt and Sudan - the other downstream nation - into account, and that Egypt's requirement of a guaranteed 40 bcm is unrealistic.

It also says that while it could fill the reservoir in two to three years, it made a concession by proposing a four to seven year process.

Ethiopia has repeatedly rejected Egypt's suggestion of a fourth party mediator, saying Cairo is trying to sidestep three-way discussions.

TALKS

Both sides have accused each other of delaying negotiations, which resumed in Cairo and Khartoum in September and October, before stalling again.

After Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on the sidelines of a summit in Russia in October, the two sides agreed to restart technical talks.

Egypt has enthusiastically accepted an invitation from the U.S. to separate talks in Washington.

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Factbox: Key facts about Ethiopia's giant Nile dam

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(Reuters) - Ethiopia is building a giant dam on the Blue Nile, close to its border with Sudan. Ethiopia says the hydropower project is crucial to its economic development. Egypt is worried the dam will affect flow of the Nile, its main source of fresh water.

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Iraq Sees Spike in Water-Borne Illnesses

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Iraq Sees Spike in Water-Borne Illnesses

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Iraqi health officials say that a health crisis stemming from water pollution and a shortage of clean drinking water has worsened in recent days, as hospitals in the southern port city of Basra treat more than 1,000 cases of intestinal infections on a daily basis. The problem was exacerbated several months ago when Turkey cut back on water distributed to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

A crowd of young men took to the streets on in the southern port city of Basra Tuesday, demanding the central government and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi increase the quantity of clean drinking water allotted to their province. Abadi vowed to increase spending on infrastructure for the province during a visit to Basra in July.

A young man, whose friend was killed during a rally several weeks ago, broke down and sobbed over the protesters' inability to force Iraqi leaders to improve the condition of public services in Basra, especially the region's worn-out water infrastructure and insufficient quantities of drinking water allotted by the central government.

Some health officials in Basra warn that a cholera outbreak is possible due to water pollution and water-borne parasites that have made thousands of people sick in recent days. The director general of the Basra Health department, Riad Abdul Amir, told Al Hurra TV the situation continues to worsen.

He says more than 17,500 cases of intestinal ailments, resulting from contaminated drinking water, have been treated by Basra hospitals during the past two weeks, alone.

Abdul Amir says the problem stems from insufficient fresh water supplies coming into the city via canals and water pipes from the north.

"Salty water [which has infiltrated the water network]," he asserts, "is known to reduce the efficacy of chlorine used to treat and kill bacteria in drinking water," he said.

Safaa Kazem, a docotor who has been treating dozens of cases of intestinal problems and diarrhea in Basra's Sadr Teaching Hospital each day, says water from the city's supply is not safe to drink.

She says the degree of water sterilization is minimal and that Basra's water is very salty and has an extremely high level of microbes in it, along with a high degree of chemical pollution.

Basra Governor Assad al Edani told Al Hurra TV that his province has been suffering from numerous infrastructure problems for a long time.

He says the water network in Basra hasn't been updated in at least 30 years and the old pipes often break, mixing drinking water with sewage.

Edani says "not enough fresh water is arriving via the region's only canal from Thi Qar province to the north." He thinks a "strong current of fresh water will flush out salty water seeping into the water network from the sea."

Edani adds that the population of Basra has "more than doubled since the water network was last updated in the early 1990s."

Iraq's individual provinces have been fighting for water, amid a general shortage, since Turkey in early June severely curtailed the number of cubic meters of water it funnels into both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

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Iraq Sees Spike in Water-Borne Illnesses - Iraq

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Iraqi health officials say that a health crisis stemming from water pollution and a shortage of clean drinking water has worsened in recent days, as hospitals in the southern port city of Basra treat more than 1,000 cases of intestinal infections on a daily basis.

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Spotlight: Turkey launches oil, gas drilling to reduce energy imports

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Spotlight: Turkey launches oil, gas drilling to reduce energy imports

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ANKARA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Nearly entirely dependent on foreign energy imports, Turkey has launched an oil and gas drill operation to meet growing needs and strive to become a global leader in drilling activities.

Turkey's first drilling vessel, named after Istanbul's conqueror Ottoman Sultan, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, sailed off last week to the Mediterranean to start the country's first deep-sea drilling operations.

Speaking at a ceremony organized for the occasion at the Marmara sea, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak said that Turkey has started oil and gas exploration both in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean with a seismic vessel and the drillship Fatih.

The minister announced that negotiation is underway to purchase a second drilling ship to further energy explorations.

Some experts, however, are cautious on the success of the operation announced by the Ankara government, saying that drilling operations are costly and risky.

Turkish energy expert Necdet Pamir said that as a country dependent 94 percent on oil and 99 percent on natural gas imports, Turkey needs to explore uncharted regions of the Black Sea, Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, but it is unrealistic to dismiss the current operations.

Turkey produces limited quantity of oil at Batman Province, located in the southeast, near the Syrian border.

Turkey's first drilling vessel Fatih is capable of drilling to a maximum depth of 40,000 feet. It is scheduled to conduct deep-sea drilling operations off Mediterranean shores of Antalya Province. The first drilling well will reach 2,600 meters in depth.

The project of the first ultra deep-sea drilling well was designed by Turkish engineers who will run the management of the operations, according to the energy ministry.

Pamir underlined that one single probing operation costs between 250-300 million U.S. dollars.

Nevertheless, Minister Albayrak stressed Turkey's ambition to become a global player in oil and gas drilling activities.

"We are witnessing a milestone in Turkish energy history," he said, explaining that "the dream of deep-sea drilling activities have not been accomplished since the 1970s" because of lack of trained staff and technologically adequate local machinery.

The minister emphasized that Turkey will broaden its deep-sea and land exploration and drilling operations for oil and gas as part of its National Energy and Mining Policy, announced in April 2017.

To decrease import dependency and cater to the growing needs of the market, the Turkish government has developed a national energy and mining strategy.

The strategy is based on three main pillars: localization, security of supply and predictability of market conditions with particular importance attached to regional infrastructural projects for diversification as a guiding element.

Turkey has also launched drilling of an oil well in eastern Turkey on the Iraqi border. According to energy ministry officials, technicians and engineers are collecting data by gravity surveys in a wide area covering Semdinli, Cizre in southeastern Turkey and Van and Siirt provinces in eastern Turkey.

The region has been the topic of energy discussions with its potential in underground resources for oil exploration and mining surveys. The drilling aims to reach 4,450 meters in depth and the results will be collected in the upcoming months.

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Spotlight: Turkey launches oil, gas drilling to reduce energy imports

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ANKARA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Nearly entirely dependent on foreign energy imports, Turkey has launched an oil and gas drill operation to meet growing needs and strive to become a global leader in drilling activities. Turkey's first drilling vessel, named after Istanbul's conqueror Ottoman Sultan, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, sailed off last week to the Mediterranean to start the country's first deep-sea drilling operations.

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The energy industry is Egypt's top foreign exchange earner.

Egypt is one of Africa's biggest economies, with a GDP of $1.198 trillion and a GDP per capita of $11,850. However, distribution of wealth in the country is a pressing issue, with 26% of Egyptians living below the poverty line. The official currency used in the country is the Egyptian pound. Regulation of the currency and local banks is the mandate of the Central Bank of Egypt, which is the country's national reserve bank. Annual exports from the country are valued at $20.88 billion, with the primary export commodities being petroleum products and crude oil, chemicals, and textiles. On the other hand, the country's annual imports are valued at $57.91 billion, with foodstuff, machinery, and equipment being the main import goods. The leading industries in the country are the agricultural, energy, and tourism industries.

Agriculture

The Nile Valley and Delta are the country's two most agriculturally productive lands, which covers an estimated 6 million acres when combined. Grains (rice, wheat, and corn), cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, and onions are the most important crops in Egypt. Most of Egypt sits on a desert, which expands each year, threatening the country's 3.1 million-hectare arable land. An estimated 11,736 hectares of this agricultural land is lost to desertification each year. As water is a scarce resource in the country, Egypt has invested heavily in solar-powered desalination facilities. The country relies on food imports to sustain its domestic demand. The domestic production of wheat in the country was about 8.3 million tons in 2015, against a demand of 19.6 million tons. In the same period, the country produced 6.1 million tons of corn, against a demand of 10.9 million tons. Most of the imported grain is sourced from the United States.

Energy

The performance of Egypt's economy is dictated by the country's energy industry, which is the country's top foreign exchange earner. The main sectors in this industry are oil, natural gas, hydro-power, and solar and wind power.

Oil

Oil dominates Egypt's energy industry, with the country producing as much as 0.9 million barrels of oil each day. The proven oil reserves on which Egypt sits on are among the largest globally, estimated to be 3.7 billion barrels. Egypt is a significant player in global oil production and is a member of the OAPEC (an acronym for Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries). The Gulf of Suez, the Western and Eastern Deserts, and the Sinai Peninsula are Egypt's top oil-producing regions. The biggest of all refineries in the country is the El-Nasr Refinery situated in Suez, which has a capacity of refining about 0.146 million barrels of oil each day. Cumulatively, all nine refineries in the country have a daily capacity of processing over 0.726 million barrels. The country consumes most of its oil; as much as 0.564 million barrels each day, the majority of which is used in power production.

Natural Gas

Egypt is also a major producer of natural gas, having Africa's third largest confirmed gas reserves. The country is believed to sit on 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The Zohr region sits on the largest gas field deposits in the Mediterranean region, estimated to have 30 trillion cubic feet in volume. Egypt's Eastern and Western Deserts are believed to cumulatively have 5.7 million barrels in shale oil reserves, among the highest in the region. Most of the natural gas produced in Egypt is consumed locally. In 2013, 1.9 trillion cubic feet of the total 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas produced in the country went to the domestic market. The Middle East is an important market for Egypt's natural gas, most of which is transported through the 750-mile long Arab Gas Pipeline.

Hydroelectricity

Hydropower is the number-one source of Egypt's electricity, as the country taps into the power of the Nile. There are numerous hydropower stations found along the Nile, with the Aswan High Dam, the Naga Hamady and the Esna Dam being the three major stations. Aswan High Dam is the most important of the three and has an electricity production capacity of 2,100 MW. The country is also about to venture into nuclear energy, after years of deliberations and plans are underway to establish a $1.5-billion nuclear power plant at El Dabasa.

Solar and Wind Power

Another sector in the industry is solar energy. With most of the country being a desert, and having some of the highest annual solar hours in the world, it is expected that Egypt is a major player in solar energy production. But despite increased investments from the Egyptian government in renewable energy source, solar energy accounts for only 1% of the country's electricity. Nonetheless, Egypt is home to impressive solar installation projects, including the world's largest solar installation; the Benban Solar Park. Wind energy is another area in which Egypt has great potential, particularly along the coast of the Red Sea. The country has put in place infrastructure to tap into this energy resource, which is expected to account for about 12% of the country's electricity production.

Tourism Industry

Another key contributor to Egypt's economy is the country's tourism industry. The industry employs about 12% of Egypt's labor force and accounts for 11% of Egypt's Gross Domestic Product. The Great Pyramids of Giza, are the country's star attraction. Egypt's popularity as a top tourist destination rose tremendously in the 20th century, with tourist numbers growing from 100,000 in 1951, to 5.5 million in 2000. Tourist numbers in Egypt reached their highest in 2010 when approximately 14.7 million visitors toured the country bringing in $12.5 billion in revenue. However, the industry is yet to reach such heights in revenue and tourist numbers, after the 2011 Arab Spring and the civil unrest that ensued ruined the nation's reputation internationally. To illustrate the effects of the Arab Spring on the industry tourist numbers dropped to 9 million in 2011, from the 14 million recorded in 2010, a 37% plunge, while revenue dropped from $12.5 billion to $8.7 billion in the same period. The decline in tourist numbers witnessed in the recent past has had a domino effect in other sectors of the industry such as hospitality, tours, and travel.

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Textiles, tourism, food processing, etc., are the biggest industries in Egypt.

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Read the pargraphs regarding water issues in Iraq

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Read the pargraphs regarding water issues in Iraq

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Page last updated on August 19, 2020

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 elevated Egypt as an important world transportation hub. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty from Britain in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have reaffirmed the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's fast-growing population as it implements far-reaching economic reforms, including the reduction of select subsidies, large-scale infrastructure projects, energy cooperation, and foreign direct investment appeals.

Inspired by the 2010 Tunisian revolution, Egyptian opposition groups led demonstrations and labor strikes countrywide, culminating in President Hosni MUBARAK's ouster in 2011. Egypt's military assumed national leadership until a new legislature was in place in early 2012; later that same year, Muhammad MURSI won the presidential election. Following protests throughout the spring of 2013 against MURSI's government and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Armed Forces intervened and removed MURSI from power in July 2013 and replaced him with interim president Adly MANSOUR. Simultaneously, the government began enacting laws to limit freedoms of assembly and expression. In January 2014, voters approved a new constitution by referendum and in May 2014 elected former defense minister Abdelfattah ELSISI president. Egypt elected a new legislature in December 2015, its first Hose of Representatives since 2012. ELSISI was reelected to a second four-year term in March 2018. In April 2019, Egypt approved via national referendum a set of constitutional amendments extending ELSISI's term in office through 2024 and possibly through 2030 if re-elected for a third term. The amendments would also allow future presidents up to two consecutive six-year terms in office, re-establish an upper legislative house, allow for one or more vice presidents, establish a 25% quota for female legislators, reaffirm the military's role as guardian of Egypt, and expand presidential authority to appoint the heads of judicial councils.

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula

more than eight times the size of Ohio; slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico

Area comparison map:

border countries (4): Gaza Strip 13 km, Israel 208 km, Libya 1115 km, Sudan 1276 km

desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m

highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc

arable land: 2.8% / permanent crops: 0.8% / permanent pasture: 0%

approximately 95% of the population lives within 20 km of the Nile River and its delta; vast areas of the country remain sparsely populated or uninhabited

periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorms called khamsin occur in spring; dust storms; sandstorms

agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

controls Sinai Peninsula, the only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees from Sudan and the Palestinian territories

Egyptian 99.7%, other 0.3%

note: data represent respondents by nationality

Arabic (official), Arabic, English, and French widely understood by educated classes

Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 90%, Christian (majority Coptic Orthodox, other Christians include Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, Maronite, Orthodox, and Anglican) 10%

MENA religious affiliation: PDF

Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and the third most populous country in Africa, behind Nigeria and Ethiopia. Most of the country is desert, so about 95% of the population is concentrated in a narrow strip of fertile land along the Nile River, which represents only about 5% of Egypt's land area. Egypt's rapid population growth - 46% between 1994 and 2014 - stresses limited natural resources, jobs, housing, sanitation, education, and health care.

Although the country's total fertility rate (TFR) fell from roughly 5.5 children per woman in 1980 to just over 3 in the late 1990s, largely as a result of state-sponsored family planning programs, the population growth rate dropped more modestly because of decreased mortality rates and longer life expectancies. During the last decade, Egypt's TFR decline stalled for several years and then reversed, reaching 3.6 in 2011, and has plateaued the last few years. Contraceptive use has held steady at about 60%, while preferences for larger families and early marriage may have strengthened in the wake of the recent 2011 revolution. The large cohort of women of or nearing childbearing age will sustain high population growth for the foreseeable future (an effect called population momentum).

Nevertheless, post-MUBARAK governments have not made curbing population growth a priority. To increase contraceptive use and to prevent further overpopulation will require greater government commitment and substantial social change, including encouraging smaller families and better educating and empowering women. Currently, literacy, educational attainment, and labor force participation rates are much lower for women than men. In addition, the prevalence of violence against women, the lack of female political representation, and the perpetuation of the nearly universal practice of female genital cutting continue to keep women from playing a more significant role in Egypt's public sphere.

Population pressure, poverty, high unemployment, and the fragmentation of inherited land holdings have historically motivated Egyptians, primarily young men, to migrate internally from rural and smaller urban areas in the Nile Delta region and the poorer rural south to Cairo, Alexandria, and other urban centers in the north, while a much smaller number migrated to the Red Sea and Sinai areas. Waves of forced internal migration also resulted from the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and the floods caused by the completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970. Limited numbers of students and professionals emigrated temporarily prior to the early 1970s, when economic problems and high unemployment pushed the Egyptian Government to lift restrictions on labor migration. At the same time, high oil revenues enabled Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other Gulf states, as well as Libya and Jordan, to fund development projects, creating a demand for unskilled labor (mainly in construction), which attracted tens of thousands of young Egyptian men.

Between 1970 and 1974 alone, Egyptian migrants in the Gulf countries increased from approximately 70,000 to 370,000. Egyptian officials encouraged legal labor migration both to alleviate unemployment and to generate remittance income (remittances continue to be one of Egypt's largest sources of foreign currency and GDP). During the mid-1980s, however, depressed oil prices resulting from the Iran-Iraq War, decreased demand for low-skilled labor, competition from less costly South Asian workers, and efforts to replace foreign workers with locals significantly reduced Egyptian migration to the Gulf States. The number of Egyptian migrants dropped from a peak of almost 3.3 million in 1983 to about 2.2 million at the start of the 1990s, but numbers gradually recovered.

In the 2000s, Egypt began facilitating more labor migration through bilateral agreements, notably with Arab countries and Italy, but illegal migration to Europe through overstayed visas or maritime human smuggling via Libya also rose. The Egyptian Government estimated there were 6.5 million Egyptian migrants in 2009, with roughly 75% being temporary migrants in other Arab countries (Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates) and 25% being predominantly permanent migrants in the West (US, UK, Italy, France, and Canada).

During the 2000s, Egypt became an increasingly important transit and destination country for economic migrants and asylum seekers, including Palestinians, East Africans, and South Asians and, more recently, Iraqis and Syrians. Egypt draws many refugees because of its resettlement programs with the West; Cairo has one of the largest urban refugee populations in the world. Many East African migrants are interned or live in temporary encampments along the Egypt-Israel border, and some have been shot and killed by Egyptian border guards.

approximately 95% of the population lives within 20 km of the Nile River and its delta; vast areas of the country remain sparsely populated or uninhabited

20.901 million CAIRO (capital), 5.281 million Alexandria

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

rural: 98.8% of population

total: 100% of population

rural: 1.2% of population

rural: 97.6% of population

total: 98.5% of population

rural: 2.4% of population

degree of risk: intermediate

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Egypt; as of 19 August 2020, Egypt has reported 96,753 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5,184 deaths, the second largest outbreak in Africa

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt

conventional short form: Egypt

local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah

former: United Arab Republic (with Syria)

etymology: the English name "Egypt" derives from the ancient Greek name for the country "Aigyptos"; the Arabic name "Misr" can be traced to the ancient Akkadian "misru" meaning border or frontier

geographic coordinates: 30 03 N, 31 15 E

time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: from the Arabic "al-Qahira," meaning "the victorious"

27 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah (Alexandria), Al Isma'iliyah (Ismailia), Al Jizah (Giza), Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah (Cairo), Al Qalyubiyah, Al Uqsur (Luxor), Al Wadi al Jadid (New Valley), As Suways (Suez), Ash Sharqiyah, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id (Port Said), Dumyat (Damietta), Janub Sina' (South Sinai), Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina' (North Sinai), Suhaj

28 February 1922 (from UK protectorate status; the military-led revolution that began on 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn on 18 June 1956); note - it was ca. 3200 B.C. that the Two Lands of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt were first united politically

Revolution Day, 23 July (1952)

history: several previous; latest approved by a constitutional committee in December 2013, approved by referendum held on 14-15 January 2014, ratified by interim president on 19 January 2014

amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by one fifth of the House of Representatives members; a decision to accept the proposal requires majority vote by House members; passage of amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote by House members and passage by majority vote in a referendum; articles of reelection of the president and principles of freedom are not amendable unless the amendment "brings more guarantees;" amended 2019

mixed legal system based on Napoleonic civil and penal law, Islamic religious law, and vestiges of colonial-era laws; judicial review of the constitutionality of laws by the Supreme Constitutional Court

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

citizenship by descent only: if the father was born in Egypt

dual citizenship recognized: only with prior permission from the government

residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

chief of state: President Abdelfattah ELSISI (since 8 June 2014)

head of government: Prime Minister Mostafa MADBOULY (since 7 June 2018)

cabinet: Cabinet ministers nominated by the executive branch and approved by the House of Representatives

elections/appointments: president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for 3 consecutive terms); election last held on 26-28 March 2018 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of Representatives; note - following a constitutional amendment approved by referendum in April 2019, the presidential term was extended from 4 to 6 years and eligibility extended to 3 consecutive terms

election results: Abdelfattah ELSISI reelected president in first round; percent of valid votes cast - Abdelfattah ELSISI (independent) 97.1%, Moussa Mostafa MOUSSA (El Ghad Party) 2.9%; note - more than 7% of ballots cast were deemed invalid

description:
unicameral House of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nowaab) (596 seats; 448 members directly elected by individual candidacy system, 120 members - with quotas for women, youth, Christians and workers - elected in party-list constituencies by simple majority popular vote, and 28 members appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms; note - inaugural session held on 10 January 2016

note: a referendum held in April 2019, approved a constitutional amendment - effective following the 2020 election - to restore the upper chamber of the legislative body, designated the Senate, with 180 seats - 60 members to be appointed by the president and 120 members to be directly elected; the amendment also calls for the reduction of the existing People's Assembly from 596 to 450 seats

elections: multi-phase election completed on 16 December 2015 (next to be held in 2020)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -- Free Egyptians Party 65, Future of the Nation 53, New Wafd Party 36, Homeland's Protector Party 18, Republican People's Party 13, Congress Party 12, Al-Nour Party 11, Conservative Party 6, Democratic Peace Party 5, Egyptian National Movement 4, Egyptian Social Democratic Party 4, Modern Egypt Party 4, Freedom Party 3, My Homeland Egypt Party 3, Reform and Development Party 3, National Progressive Unionist Party 2, Arab Democratic Nasserist Party 1, El Serh El Masry el Hor 1, Revolutionary Guards Party 1, independent 351; composition - men 507, women 89, percent of women 14.9%

Note: a referendum held in April 2019 approved a constitutional amendment - effective for the next election - allows the executive branch to restore the upper chamber of the legislative body with 180 seats - 60 members to be appointed by the president and 120 members to be directly elected; the amendment also calls for the reduction of the existing House of Representatives membership from 596 to 450 seats

highest courts: Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) (consists of the court president and 10 justices); the SCC serves as the final court of arbitration on the constitutionality of laws and conflicts between lower courts regarding jurisdiction and rulings; Court of Cassation (CC) (consists of the court president and 550 judges organized in circuits with cases heard by panels of 5 judges); the CC is the highest appeals body for civil and criminal cases, also known as "ordinary justices"; Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) (consists of the court president and NA judges and organized in circuits with cases heard by panels of 5 judges); the SAC is the highest court of the State Council

judge selection and term of office: under the 2014 constitution, all judges and justices selected and appointed by the Supreme Judiciary Council and approved as a formality by the president of the Republic; judges appointed for life; under the 2019 amendments, the president has the power to appoint heads of judiciary authorities and courts, the prosecutor general, and the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court

subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; courts of limited jurisdiction; Family Court (established in 2004)

Al-Nour [Yunis MAKHYUN]
Arab Democratic Nasserist Party [Dr. Mohamed ABDUL ELLA ]
Congress Party [Omar Al-Mokhtar SEMIDA]
Conservative Party [Akmal KOURTAM]
Democratic Peace Party [Ahmed FADALY]
Egyptian National Movement Party [Gen. Raouf EL SAYED]
Egyptian Social Democratic Party [Farid ZAHRAN]
El Ghad Party [Moussa Mostafa MOUSSA]
El Serh El Masry el Hor [Tarek Ahmed Abbas NADIM]
Freedom Party [Salah HASSABALAH]
Free Egyptians Party [Essam KHALIL]
Homeland's Protector Party [Lt. Gen. (retired) Galal AL-HARIDI]
Modern Egypt Party [Nabil DEIBIS]
Nation's Future Party (Mostaqbal Watan) [Mohamed Ashraf RASHAD]
My Homeland Egypt Party [Gen. Seif El Islam ABDEL BARY ]
National Progressive Unionist (Tagammu) Party [Sayed Abdel AAL]
Reform and Development Party [Mohamad Anwar al-SADAT]
Republican People's Party [Hazim AMR]
Revolutionary Guards Party [Magdy EL-SHARIF]
Wafd Party [Bahaa ABU SHOKA]

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CD, CICA, COMESA, D-8, EBRD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Ambassador Yasser REDA (since 19 September 2015)

chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400

consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission: Ambassador Jonathan R. COHEN (since 17 November 2019)

telephone: [20-2] 2797-3300

embassy: 5 Tawfik Diab St., Garden City, Cairo

mailing address: Unit 64900, Box 15, APO AE 09839-4900; 5 Tawfik Diab Street, Garden City, Cairo

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the national emblem (a gold Eagle of Saladin facing the hoist side with a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white)

note: similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band

golden eagle, white lotus; national colors: red, white, black

name: "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady" (My Homeland, My Homeland, My Homeland)

lyrics/music: Younis-al QADI/Sayed DARWISH

note: adopted 1979; the current anthem, less militaristic than the previous one, was created after the signing of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel; Sayed DARWISH, commonly considered the father of modern Egyptian music, composed the anthem

Occupying the northeast corner of the African continent, Egypt is bisected by the highly fertile Nile valley where most economic activity takes place. Egypt's economy was highly centralized during the rule of former President Gamal Abdel NASSER but opened up considerably under former Presidents Anwar EL-SADAT and Mohamed Hosni MUBARAK. Agriculture, hydrocarbons, manufacturing, tourism, and other service sectors drove the country's relatively diverse economic activity.

Despite Egypt's mixed record for attracting foreign investment over the past two decades, poor living conditions and limited job opportunities have contributed to public discontent. These socioeconomic pressures were a major factor leading to the January 2011 revolution that ousted MUBARAK. The uncertain political, security, and policy environment since 2011 has restricted economic growth and failed to alleviate persistent unemployment, especially among the young.

In late 2016, persistent dollar shortages and waning aid from its Gulf allies led Cairo to turn to the IMF for a 3-year, $12 billion loan program. To secure the deal, Cairo floated its currency, introduced new taxes, and cut energy subsidies - all of which pushed inflation above 30% for most of 2017, a high that had not been seen in a generation. Since the currency float, foreign investment in Egypt's high interest treasury bills has risen exponentially, boosting both dollar availability and central bank reserves. Cairo will be challenged to obtain foreign and local investment in manufacturing and other sectors without a sustained effort to implement a range of business reforms.

note: data are in 2017 dollars

note: data are in 2017 dollars

cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats

textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures

note: data cover central government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions

UAE 10.9%, Italy 10%, US 7.4%, UK 5.7%, Turkey 4.4%, Germany 4.3%, India 4.3%

crude oil and petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals, processed food

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels

China 7.9%, UAE 5.2%, Germany 4.8%, Saudi Arabia 4.6%, US 4.4%, Russia 4.3%

Egyptian pounds (EGP) per US dollar -

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Page last updated on August 19, 2020 The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia.