|
Other
sectors
The
privatization of foodstuff industries has resulted
in a rise of 15% in equipment importation for this
sector (250 million dollars).
Pasta production covers 80% of the demand. Meat and
fish processing is developing, although still in an
artisanal way, mostly around Cairo.
The developing
sectors are equipment and intermediary goods, the
material industry, the textile and foodstuff
sectors, and also cosmetics, home decoration and
furniture. The continual valuation in the exchange
rate has progressively worn away Egypt's price
competitiveness.
Tourism went down slightly in the last quarter of
2000 due to the regional tension caused by the
Palestine-Israel confrontation. For the moment it
is mainly Israeli tourists who have stopped
visiting Egypt (150,000 a year), but a continuation
of the violence could seriously affect the Nile
valley.
The government's
objectives are to increase the receptive capacities
and the infrastructures and to develope
transport.
Investments
The 1998 law
n°8 guarantees the transfer and the
repatriation of capital and offers national and
international investors tax rebates which
accumulate over the years, with the choice of
installation in the new industrial towns and those
of the high and medium Nile valley.
France is well
represented in Egypt : the underground in Cairo is
one of the most prestigious contracts that the
French won.
Some French companies have been set up in the north
east of Cairo, in "10th of Ramadan", a modern city
where tax rebates and land prices have attracted
investors.
Schneider has been producing and assembling
electrical apparatus and equipment there for 10
years, dealing particularly with medium and very
high tension machines. The factory employs 340
people, treats 600 tons of sheet metal and produces
1400 electrical boards per year.
Population
There are
62 million inhabitants in Egypt, the population
density is 62 inhabitants per square kilometer.
47% live in towns.
0-14 year olds : 35.89%
15-64% : 59.67%
65 years and over : 4.43%
Life expectancy is 66.54 years.
Level
of developement :
demographic growth 1997 - 2015 : +1.5%
energy consumption per capita TOE : 0.64
Population without drinking water : 13%
population without sanitary installations : 12%
n° of doctors per 1000 inhabitants : 1.8
telephone lines per 1000 inhabitants : 56
mobile phones per 1000 inhabitants : 1
private cars per 1000 inhabitants : 23
n° of computers per 1000 inhabitants : 7.3
adult illiteracy : 47%
secondary schooling/age group : 75.3%
graduates/age group : 23%
Ethnic
composition :
The various ethnic groups are made up of the
oriental Hamitic group, (Egyptians, Bedouins,
Berbers), which make up 99% of the population,
Greeks, Nubians, Armenians and Europeans (Italians
and French).
Language
The
official language is Arabic, but English and French
are spoken. 53% of the adult population can read
and write.
Religion
94.1% of
the population are Muslim, mostly Sunnites.
Christian Copts number about 7 million. Other
religions practiced are Roman Catholic, Orthodox
Maronites, Greek Orthodox, Protestants and
Jewish.
Weights,
measures
and voltages
The metric
system is used.
Electrical current : 220 V., plugs are the European
kind.
Money
The
currency is the Egyptian pound, made up of 100
piastres.
1FF = 0.5 £
(approx). 1 $ US = 3.4 £
1 euro = 3.5165 £
1 £ = 1.97 FF
Credit cards are
not very widely accepted. They can mainly be used
in international hotels and to obtain cash in a
bank. It is advisable to change money little by
little, in small notes.
The Egyptian pound
is linked to the dollar.
The bank rate is the official one, but foreign
currency is difficult to obtain, the central Bank
injects dollars onto the market if the situation
becomes extreme.
Transferring and repatriating capital is
authorized.
Main
towns
Cairo
:
Cairo is the capital of Egypt, a cultural centre
and the African town with the highest population.
It has also become the biggest town in the Middle
East. There is an amazing mixture of lifestyles in
Cairo and a never ending bustle. The minarets,
citadels and church bell towers dating back to the
first epochs of Christianity, dominate the city
where everything spreads out around them. In the
"Mother of the World", thus named by the
inhabitants of the town, the poorest part of the
population have taken refuge in the cemetery.
Thousands of people "squat" in the abandonned
tombs. The city of the dead has become the city of
the living to the point where the government has
had to recognize these 'residences' and install
electricity!
In town you have to visit the big popular Khan
el-Khalili souk. Hidden behind the El Azhar mosque
are the houses of Zeina Khatoum and Harawi, which
have been splendidly restored by the French
Compagnons. There is no way you can miss the
Egyptian museum . Built under the leadership of
Gaston Maspera and inaugurated in 1902, it
exhibits, amongst so many other marvels, the
treasure of Tutankhamon. It is impossible to leave
the "light of the Orient" without paying hommage to
the sole survivor of the 7 wonders of the world :
the pyramid of Cheops, flanked by its sisters
Khephren and Mykerinos and just behind the Sphinx,
whose head on a lion's body has been turned to the
rising sun for five thousand years.
Alexandria
:
It is Egypt's biggest port and an major
Mediterranean sea resort,called the "pearl of the
Mediterranean". Alexandria's 30 kms of golden sand
can be enjoyed in its pleasant climate all year
long.
Among the many monuments to see in the town are the
Al Montazah Palace which has been reconverted into
a hotel, the Quayet Bai Fortress and the Greek and
Roman museum which contains 40,000 articles, some
of them dating from the 3rd century BC.
Assouan
:
In ancient times, it was called Syena, from the
pink granite : Syenite. Assouan with its pleasant
climate is a perfect spot for a winter
stay.
Luxor
:
Luxor is the Arabic name of Thebes, the town of
a hundred doors.
Ancient capital of Egypt until 750 BC, Luxor
displays its grandiose vestiges of the past and the
unique beauty of its landscapes.
Climate
There is a
slight climatic variation between the north and the
south of Egypt with big temperature changes between
the day and the night in the desert regions.
There is a windy season in the spring, between
March and April. The Khamesin is a strong local
wind.
Winter is short,
and the temperatures mild. The sea temperature only
falls to about 17°C from January to March.
Summer is extremely hot, especially in the north,
the south is torrid, but the dryness of the air is
harder to stand than the actual heat. The sea
temperature during August goes over
26°.
Autumn and winter
are the most pleasant seasons for a visit.
Temperature
averages (max/min)
|
|
Alexandria
|
Cairo
|
|
J
|
18/9
|
19/9
|
|
F
|
19/9
|
21/9
|
|
M
|
21/11
|
24/11
|
|
A
|
24/13
|
28/14
|
|
M
|
27/16
|
33/18
|
|
J
|
28/20
|
35/20
|
|
J
|
30/23
|
35/22
|
|
A
|
31/23
|
35/22
|
|
S
|
29/21
|
32/20
|
|
O
|
28/18
|
30/18
|
|
N
|
24/15
|
26/14
|
|
D
|
20/11
|
21/10
|
Sea
temperatures
(monthly
average)
|
|
Mediterranean
|
Red
Sea
|
|
J
|
17
|
19
|
|
F
|
16
|
20
|
|
M
|
17
|
21
|
|
A
|
18
|
23
|
|
M
|
21
|
25
|
|
J
|
23
|
26
|
|
J
|
25
|
27
|
|
A
|
26
|
27
|
|
S
|
26
|
25
|
|
O
|
24
|
23
|
|
N
|
22
|
21
|
|
D
|
19
|
20
|
Insects
Mosquitoes
(during the summer), serpents and scorpions (in the
desert during the summer), parasites in the Nile
and the canals.
|
