regain these revenues over time, the slump in tourism is likely to
slow the GDP growth rate in 1998.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$267.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 5.2% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$4,400 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 17%
industry: 32%
services: 51% (1996)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 4.9% (1997)

Labor force:
total: 17.4 million (1996 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 40%, services, including government 38%,
industry 22% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.4% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $19.2 billion
expenditures: $19.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $4
billion (FY96/97 est.)

Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, petroleum,
construction, cement, metals

Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (1996 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 13.04 million kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 48.5 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 778 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits,
vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats; annual fish catch
about 140,000 metric tons

Exports:
total value: $5.1 billion (f.o.b., FY96/97 est.)
commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw
cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
partners: EU, US, Japan

Imports:
total value: $15.5 billion (c.i.f., FY96/97 est.)
commodities: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood
products, durable consumer goods, capital goods
partners: US, EU, Japan

Debt-external: $30.5 billion (1996/97 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $1.713 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Egyptian pound (LE) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1-3.4 (November 1994),
3.369 (November 1993), 3.345 (November 1992); market rate-3.3880
(January 1998), 3.3880 (1997), 3.3880 (1996), 3.3900 (1995), 3.3910
(1994), 3.3718 (1993)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Communications

Telephones: 2.2 million (1993)

Telephone system: large system by Third World standards but inadequate
for present requirements and undergoing extensive upgrading
domestic: principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah,
Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave
radio relay
international: satellite earth stations-2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and
Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat; 5 coaxial submarine cables;
tropospheric scatter to