Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt)

Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt
Status	Independent State
Capital	Cairo
Land Area	995 450km21
Location	Africa, Mediterranean, Middle East
Population	84.0m (2011)2
Life Expectancy	71.33yrs (2017)3
GNI	$10 064 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	EG, EGY, 8185
Internet Domain	.eg6
Currency	Pound (EGP)7
Telephone	+208

1. Overview
2. Egypt National and Social Development
3. Population and Demographics
4. Human Rights, Equality and Freedom
5. Religion and Beliefs
6. The Internet
7. Public Health Issues
8. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
9. Links

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1. Overview

#egypt #tunisia #UK

“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. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. 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 with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered 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 growing population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure. Egyptian youth and opposition groups, inspired by events in Tunisia leading to overthrow of the government there, organized non-violent demonstrations, marches, and labor strikes in Cairo and other cities throughout Egypt early in 2011. Protester grievances focused on police brutality, state emergency laws, lack of free speech and elections, high unemployment, rising food prices, inflation, and low minimum wages. Pledges by President MUBARAK for the formation of a new government and additional concessions failed to assuage protesters and resulted in an escalation of the number and intensity of demonstrations and clashes with police. In February 2011 MUBARAK resigned and national leadership was assumed by a Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF). The SCAF dissolved the Egyptian parliament, suspended the nation's constitution, and formed a committee to recommend constitutional changes to facilitate a political transition through democratic elections. Following some delays, elections for a new parliament took place between November 2011 and January 2012; however, the lower house of parliament was dissolved in June after a court ruling deemed its formation illegal. Presidential elections held in May and June witnessed the victory of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed MURSI, but elections to form a new lower house of parliament, scheduled spring 2013, have been put on hold by the Administrative Court in order to review legal arguments over the process used to approve the amended election law.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Perhaps no other people in the world say `Welcome´ so frequently - and mean it every time. Egypt´s ancient civilisation still awes, but today's Egyptians are pretty amazing, too. With sand-covered tombs, austere pyramids and towering Pharaonic temples, Egypt brings out the explorer in all of us. Visit the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, where Tutankhamun´s tomb was unearthed, and see the glittering finds in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Hop off a Nile boat to visit a waterside temple, or trek into the desert to find the traces of Roman trading outposts. You never know - your donkey might stumble across yet another find, just as many previous discoveries were made.

Egypt is the most traveller-friendly country in the Middle East. This means you´ll enjoy decent places to sleep and English spoken to some degree everywhere. It also means that if you ever get into a jam, an Egyptian will likely be there to help you out. Then again, an Egyptian will also be there to sell you some papyrus or perfume - an undeniable reality of travel here. But the souvenir sales are a minor irritant when compared with the chance to connect with some of the world´s most generous people.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Egypt National and Social Development

#human_development

UN HDI (2016)11
Pos.		Lower is better Rank11
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
108	Botswana	108
109	Gabon	109
110	Paraguay	110
111	Egypt	111
112	Turkmenistan	111
113	Indonesia	113
114	Palestine	114
115	Vietnam	115
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Higher is better Points12
1	Denmark	84.0
2	Sweden	83.9
3	Finland	83.5
	...
140	Laos	46.0
141	Uganda	45.8
142	Tonga	45.6
143	Egypt	45.5
144	Nauru	45.4
145	Bangladesh	45.3
146	San Marino	45.1
147	Rwanda	45.0
	World Avg	53.8
q=198.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.

3. Population and Demographics

#demographics #Egypt #health #immigration #life_expectancy #overpopulation #population

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)13
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10013
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
	...
69	Cape Verde	10.0
70	Philippines	10.3
71	Cambodia	10.4
72	Egypt	10.5
73	Libya	10.5
74	S. Africa	10.5
75	Bangladesh	10.6
76	Nepal	10.8
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Emigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Dominica	104.8
2	Palestine	68.4
3	Samoa	67.3
	...
117	Colombia	4.6
118	Sierra Leone	4.6
119	Philippines	4.6
120	Egypt	4.4
121	Germany	4.3
122	S. Korea	4.3
123	Belgium	4.2
124	Syria	4.2
	World Avg	11.5
q=192.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
	...
106	Botswana	2.64
107	Kyrgyzstan	2.64
108	Austria	1.35
109	Egypt	2.65
110	Singapore	1.35
111	Saudi Arabia	2.67
112	Portugal	1.31
113	Belize	2.70
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

Immigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Qatar	86.5
2	Monaco	71.6
3	UAE	70.0
	...
177	Afghanistan	0.3
178	Lesotho	0.3
179	Laos	0.3
180	Egypt	0.3
181	Iraq	0.3
182	Somalia	0.2
183	Colombia	0.2
184	Madagascar	0.2
	World Avg	9.2
q=192.

Life Expectancy (2015)16
Pos.		Higher is better Years16
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
106	Libya	71.76
107	Moldova	71.73
108	Belarus	71.46
109	Egypt	71.33
110	Suriname	71.28
111	Ukraine	71.13
112	Azerbaijan	70.90
113	Kyrgyzstan	70.79
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Population (2012)17
Pos.		The Overpopulation of the Earth17
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.3b
3	USA	315.8m
	...
12	Philippines	96.5m
13	Vietnam	89.7m
14	Ethiopia	86.5m
15	Egypt	84.0m
16	Germany	82.0m
17	Iran	75.6m
18	Turkey	74.5m
19	Thailand	69.9m
	World Avg	36.0m
q=195.

Egypt's population is predicted to rise to 106.5 million by 2030. These millions of extra people will all need space to live, food to eat, energy to consume, and will increase the burden on the planet's resources. This country has a fertility rate of 2.65. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

• The Overpopulation of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

4. Human Rights, Equality and Freedom

#Egypt #equality #freedom #human_rights #politics #tolerance

Egypt is amongst the worst places in the world at ensuring human rights and freedom, and it has severe cultural issues when it comes to tolerance and equality. Egypt does better than average in its nominal commitment to Human Rights₁₈. But unfortunately Egypt gets most other things wrong. Despite having over 118,000 girls in under-age marriages in 2017, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled against a 2008 law that prohibits child marriage, and violence against women is far, far too common₂₈. It does worse than average in commentary from Human Rights Watch₁₉, eliminating modern slavery₂₀, fighting corruption₂₁, its Global Peace Index rating₂₂, opposing gender inequality₂₃, supporting press freedom₂₄ and in LGBT equality₂₅. And finally, it falls into the bottom 20 in fighting anti-semitic opinions₂₆ and in supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms₂₇. Independent newspapers and news websites that the government dislike face arbitrary restrictions, confiscation of equipment and their staff are harassed - Al-Borsa, Daily News Egypt, Masry al-Arabiya and Cairo Portal were all abused in 2017₂₈. "President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi [crushes] public dissent in Egypt"₂₉ and security forces use torture to obtain confessions₂₈.

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

• Human Rights and Freedom in Egypt

5. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #egypt #god #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion

Religiosity (2009)30
Pos.		Lower is better %30
1	Estonia	16
2	Sweden	17
3	Denmark	19
	...
99	Malaysia	96
100	Afghanistan	97
101	Comoros	97
102	Egypt	97
103	Morocco	97
104	Thailand	97
105	Mauritania	98
106	Djibouti	98
	World Avg	75.1
q=114.

Disbelief In God (2007)31
Pos.		Higher is better31
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
	...
114	Kenya	0
115	Ethiopia	0
116	Afghanistan	0
117	Egypt	0
118	Liberia	0
119	Libya	0
120	Ivory Coast	0
121	Pakistan	0
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₃₂:

Christian	5.1%
Muslim	94.9%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.1%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	0.1%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%₃₃.

When it comes to religious freedom and persecution, sociologists Grim & Finke place Egypt into the worst category, along with just 13 other countries. In this category, severe restrictions on religious freedom and freedom of belief stem simultaneously from top-down pressure from government and institutionalized religion, and from bottom-up grassroots movements that often go even further than the government in harrassing those who do not believe the right things (2011)₃₄.The International Humanist and Ethical Union produced a report in 2012 entitled "Freedom of Thought" (2012)₃₅, in which they document bias and prejudice at the national level that is based on religion, belief and/or lack of belief. Their entry for Egypt states:

“The constitution and other laws and policies protect freedom of religion or belief. However, Article 98(f) of the country's penal code, as amended by law 147/2006, states that "whoever makes use of religion in propagating, either by words, in writing, or in any other means, extreme ideas for the purpose of inciting strife, ridiculing or insulting a heavenly religion or a sect following it, or damaging national unity" should be punished with between six months and five years imprisonment, and/or a fine between five hundred and one thousand pounds. The constitutional situation remains unclear and fluid with continuing political upheaval following the democratic revolution. There has been a marked increase in blasphemy charges in the past year directed at atheist and Coptic Christians, especially since the YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims" (produced by Coptic emigrants from Egypt) was publicized in the country.

Cases of Discrimination

On February 22nd, 2007 An Egyptian court sentenced a blogger, Abdel Kareem Soliman, to four years' prison for insulting Islam and the president. Soliman's trial was the first time that a blogger had been prosecuted in Egypt. He had used his web log to criticise the country's top Islamic institution, al-Azhar university and President Hosni Mubarak, whom he called a dictator.

On Oct. 27, 2007, blogger Kareem Amer was sentenced for Facebook posts deemed offensive to Islam, along with being seditious toward Hosni Mubarak. He was released on Nov. 17, 2010, upon which he was re-detained by security forces and allegedly tortured.

On Oct. 12, 2011, a court gave Ayman Yusef Mansur, 24, a three-year prison sentence with hard labor because he allegedly intentionally insulted the dignity of the Islamic religion with criticism on Facebook. The court did not make available what exactly Mansur posted on Facebook to draw the sentence.

In February 2012, a Christian school secretary named Makram Diab was sentenced to six years in prison for "insulting the Prophet Muhammad." A mob of 2,500 Muslims rallied outside the courthouse and demanded Diab be sentenced to death. Diab was apparently convicted on the testimony of Muslim colleagues, who stated he had made offensive remarks.

On 4 April 2012, An Egyptian court sentenced 17-year-old Christian boy, Gamal Abdou Massoud, to three years in jail for publishing cartoons on his Facebook page that "mocked" Islam and the Prophet Mohammad. Massoud was also accused of distributing some of his cartoons to his school friends in a village in the southern city of Assiut, home to a large Christian population. The child's court in Assiut sentenced Gamal Abdou Massoud to three years in prison "after he insulted Islam and published and distributed pictures that insulted Islam and its Prophet," the court said in a statement seen by Reuters. The cartoons, published by Massoud in December, had already prompted some Muslims to attack Christians, with several Christian houses burned and several people injured in the violence.

September 2012 also saw riots across Egypt over the YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims", which offended Muslims with its portrayal of the Prophet Mohammad. As a result, in November an Egyptian court convicted, in absentia, seven Coptic Christians, allegedly involved in the production of the movie, for "insulting the Islamic religion through participating in producing and offering a movie that insults Islam and its prophet." At the same time, the court convicted an American Christian pastor, Terry Jones, for burning the Qur'an on YouTube. All eight were sentenced to death, but they are all living abroad in countries that are not expected to extradite them to Egypt.

On September 14, 2012, during the riots over the "Innocence of Muslims", Alber Saber was arrested after a mob formed outside his home and demanded his arrest for insulting religion. Saber is a twenty-seven-year-old prominent activist for secular democracy in Egypt. Raised in a Coptic Christian household, Saber is an atheist who reportedly operates the Egyptian Atheists page on Facebook and has been a vocal critic of fundamentalist Islam. Saber was reportedly beaten after a prison guard announced his charges to others in Saber's cell. He faces between six months and five years in prison and/or a fine between five hundred and one thousand pounds. His trial is currently ongoing.

In late July 2012 a Coptic Christian teacher, Bishoy Kamel, 32, was arrested in the southern governorate of Sohag over an accusation that he posted images "insulting" to Islam on his Facebook page. Police were reported by al-Ahram newspaper as saying Kamel could be charged with blasphemy and would face up to five years in prison if convicted. The images he allegedly posted were cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohamed and Egypt's new President Mohamed Morsi. Mohamed Safwat, who filed the charges against Kamel, reportedly argued that that the teacher had also "insulted members of his own family." Kamel admitted to managing the Facebook page under investigation but denied the charges, claiming his account had been hacked. In September 2012 Kamel was sentenced to six years in prison for blasphemy

”

"Freedom of Thought" by IHEU (2012)₃₆

Freedom of Religion and Belief: Discriminatory laws serve to restrict Christian churches from operating₂₈, and there is frequently violence against churches. When attacks occur, the government has sponsored "customary reconciliation" sessions rather than conduct criminal investigations and prosecutions against Muslims₂₈.

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?
• Human Rights and Freedom in Egypt: 5. Freedom of Belief and Religion

6. The Internet

#Egypt #internet #politics #the_internet

Freedom On The Internet (2012)37
Pos.		Lower is better37
1	Estonia	10
2	USA	12
3	Germany	15
	...
31	Zimbabwe	54
32	Sri Lanka	55
33	Kazakhstan	58
34	Egypt	59
35	Thailand	61
36	Pakistan	63
37	Belarus	69
38	Bahrain	71
	World Avg	46.7
q=47.

Internet Users (2016)38
Pos.		Higher is better38
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
126	Mongolia	36%
127	India	35%
128	Kyrgyzstan	34%
129	Egypt	33%
130	Cuba	32%
131	Micronesia	31%
132	Vanuatu	31%
133	Syria	30%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)39
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio39
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
53	Spain	0.6
54	St Kitts & Nevis	0.6
55	Nauru	0.5
56	Egypt	0.4
57	Mexico	0.4
58	Bhutan	0.4
59	China	0.3
60	Iceland	0.3
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

Internet access has become an essential research tool. It facilitates an endless list of life improvements, from the ability to network and socialize without constraint, to access to a seemingly infinite repository of technical and procedural information on pretty much any task. The universal availability of data has sped up industrial development and personal learning at the national and personal level. Individuals can read any topic they wish regardless of the locality of expert teachers, and, entire nations can develop their technology and understanding of the world simply because they are now exposed to advanced societies and moral discourses online. Like every communications medium, the Internet has issues and causes a small range of problems, but these are insignificant compared to the advantages of having an online populace.

7. Public Health Issues

#alcohol #Egypt #health #mental_health #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)23
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100023
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
	...
110	Colombia	50.2
111	St Vincent & Grenadines	51.0
112	Cambodia	51.6
113	Egypt	51.9
114	St Lucia	53.9
115	Eritrea	54.3
116	Papua New Guinea	54.8
117	Uruguay	56.1
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Alcohol Consumption (2010)40
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita40
1	Libya	0.1
2	Pakistan	0.1
3	Kuwait	0.1
	...
7	Bangladesh	0.2
8	Yemen	0.3
9	Niger	0.3
10	Egypt	0.4
11	Iraq	0.5
12	Somalia	0.5
13	Senegal	0.6
14	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	0.6
	World Avg	6.2
q=191.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)41
Pos.		Lower is better Rank41
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
70	Latvia	70
71	Liberia	71
72	Kazakhstan	72
73	Egypt	73
74	Burundi	74
75	Cameroon	74
76	Malta	76
77	Guatemala	77
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)42
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %42
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
88	Argentina	93.7
89	Bulgaria	93.7
90	Serbia	93.5
91	Egypt	93.4
92	Cape Verde	93.4
93	Burundi	93.3
94	Chile	93.3
95	Georgia	93.1
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

Smoking Rates (2014)43
Pos.		Lower is better43
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
130	Uruguay	1 135
131	Canada	1 154
132	Albania	1 177
133	Egypt	1 188
134	Vietnam	1 215
135	Iraq	1 227
136	Spain	1 265
137	Malta	1 266
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate (2013)44
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100k44
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
4	Jordan	0.2
5	Maldives	0.7
6	Azerbaijan	1.3
7	S. Africa	1.8
8	Bahamas	2.5
9	Peru	2.9
10	Kuwait	3.6
11	Armenia	3.9
12	Dominican Rep.	4.6
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

8. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries