EGP Rates Now (2023-03-21 19:56 (GMT -4:00))

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

27 00 N, 30 00 E

Africa

total: 1,001,450 sq km

land: 995,450 sq km

water: 6,000 sq km

country comparison to the world: 31

total: 2,612 km

border countries (4): Gaza Strip 13 km, Israel 208 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,276 km

2,450 km

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or the equidistant median line with Cyprus

continental shelf: 200 nm

desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

mean elevation: 321 m

elevation extremes: 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

agricultural land: 3.6%

arable land 2.8%; permanent crops 0.8%; permanent pasture 0%

forest: 0.1%

other: 96.3% (2011 est.)

36,500 sq km (2012)

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, 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

97,041,072 (July 2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 14

noun: Egyptian(s)

adjective: Egyptian

Egyptian 99.6%, other 0.4% (2006 census)

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

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.

total dependency ratio: 61.8

youth dependency ratio: 53.6

elderly dependency ratio: 8.2

potential support ratio: 12.2 (2015 est.)

total: 23.9 years

male: 23.6 years

female: 24.2 years (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 166

2.45% (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 22

29.6 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 40

4.6 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 203

-0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 123

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

urban population: 43.3% of total population (2017)

rate of urbanization: 1.8% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

CAIRO (capital) 18.772 million; Alexandria 4.778 million (2015)

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female

total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

22.7 years

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2014 est.)

33 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 110

total: 19 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 20.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 17.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 84

total population: 73 years

male: 71.6 years

female: 74.4 years (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 142

3.47 children born/woman (2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 44

58.5% (2014)

5.6% of GDP (2014)

country comparison to the world: 119

0.81 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

1.6 beds/1,000 population (2014)

improved:

urban: 100% of population

rural: 99% of population

total: 99.4% of population

unimproved:

urban: 0% of population

rural: 1% of population

total: 0.6% of population (2015 est.)

improved:

urban: 96.8% of population

rural: 93.1% of population

total: 94.7% of population

unimproved:

urban: 3.2% of population

rural: 6.9% of population

total: 5.3% of population (2015 est.)

<.1% (2016 est.)

11,000 (2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 90

<500 (2016 est.)

degree of risk: intermediate

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

water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2016)

32% (2016)

country comparison to the world: 18

7% (2014)

country comparison to the world: 77

3.8% of GDP (2008)

country comparison to the world: 117

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 73.8%

male: 82.2%

female: 65.4% (2015 est.)

total: 13 years

male: 13 years

female: 13 years (2014)

total: 31.3%

male: 28.4%

female: 37.6% (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 32

conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt

conventional short form: Egypt

local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah

local short form: Misr

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

presidential republic

name: Cairo

geographic coordinates: 30 03 N, 31 15 E

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

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 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 not amendable unless the amendment "brings more guarantees" (2017)

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 birth: no

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 Said ELSISI (since 8 June 2014)

head of government: Prime Minister Sherif ISMAIL (since 12 September 2015); note - Prime Minister Ibrahim MEHLAB resigned 12 September 2015

cabinet: Cabinet ministers nominated by the executive authorities and approved by the House of Representtives

elections/appointments: president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 26-28 March 2018 (next to be held in 2022); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of Representatives

election results: Abdelfattah Said ELSISI elected president in first round; percent of valid votes case - Abdelfattah Said ELSISI (independent) 97.8%, Moussa Mostafa MOUSSA (El Ghad Party) 2.3%; note - over 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 selected by the president; member term 5 years; note - inaugural session held on 10 January 2016

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 Social Democratic Party 4, Egyptian National Movement 4, Modern Egypt Party 4, Reform and Development Party 3, Freedom Party 3, My Homeland Egypt Party 3, National Progressive Unionist Party 2, Arab Democratic Nasserist Party 1, Revolutionary Guards Party 1,El Serh El Masry el Hor Party 1, independent 351

highest court(s): Supreme Constitutional Court or 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 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 by the Supreme Judiciary Council and appointed by the president of the Republic; judges appointed for life

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 [Sayed Abdel GHANY]

Congress Party [Omar Mokhtar SEMEIDA]

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]

Mostaqbal Watan (Future of the Nation) Party [Mohamed Ashraf RASHAD]

My Homeland Egypt Party [Qadry ABU HUSSEIN]

National Progressive Unionist (Tagammu) Party [Sayed Abdel AAL]

New Wafd Party [Bahaa ABU SHOUSA]

Reform and Development Party [Mohamad Anwar al-SADAT]

Republican People’s Party [Hazim OMAR]

Revolutionary Guards Party [Magdy EL-SHARIF]

labor, student, teacher unions

trade syndicates

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, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission: Ambassador Yasser REDA (since 19 September 2015)

chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400

FAX: [1] (202) 244-5131

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

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Thomas H. GOLDBERGER (since 30 June 2017)

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

telephone: [20-2] 2797-3300

FAX: [20-2] 2797-3200

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

population without electricity: 300,000

electrification - total population: 99.6%

electrification - urban areas: 100%

electrification - rural areas: 99.3% (2013)

171.9 billion kWh (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 23

150.4 billion kWh (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 24

1.158 billion kWh (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 57

43 million kWh (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 106

38.88 million kW (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 27

90.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 61

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 82

7.3% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 125

2.2% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 118

494,300 bbl/day (2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 29

197,700 bbl/day (2014 est.)

country comparison to the world: 31

60,940 bbl/day (2014 est.)

country comparison to the world: 51

4.4 billion bbl (1 January 2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 27

471,800 bbl/day (2014 est.)

country comparison to the world: 35

802,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 28

39,220 bbl/day (2014 est.)

country comparison to the world: 57

206,100 bbl/day (2014 est.)

country comparison to the world: 31

3.61 billion cu m (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 55

77.93 billion cu m (2015 est.)

country comparison to the world: 16

720 million cu m (2014 est.)

country comparison to the world: 40

2.832 billion cu m (2013 est.)

country comparison to the world: 46

2.186 trillion cu m (1 January 2017 est.)

country comparison to the world: 16

207 million Mt (2013 est.)

country comparison to the world: 28

total subscriptions: 6,118,250

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 6 (July 2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 27

total: 97,791,441

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 101 (July 2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 17

general assessment: Telecom Egypt remains largely state owned; principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay

domestic: largest fixed-line system in Africa and the Arab region; multiple mobile-cellular networks with a 100-percent penetration of the market

international: country code - 20; landing point for Aletar, the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks, Link Around the Globe (FLAG) Falcon and FLAG FEA; satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean, 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat); tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to Israel; a participant in Medarabtel (2016)

mix of state-run and private broadcast media; state-run TV operates 2 national and 6 regional terrestrial networks, as well as a few satellite channels; dozens of private satellite channels and a large number of Arabic satellite channels are available for free; some limited satellite services are also available via subscription; state-run radio operates about 30 stations belonging to 8 networks (2018)

.eg

total: 37,122,537

percent of population: 39.2% (July 2016 est.)

country comparison to the world: 20

number of registered air carriers: 14

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 101

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 10,159,464

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 397,531,535 mt-km (2015)

SU (2016)

83 (2013)

country comparison to the world: 66

total: 72

over 3,047 m: 15

2,438 to 3,047 m: 36

1,524 to 2,437 m: 15

under 914 m: 6 (2017)

total: 11

2,438 to 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 4

under 914 m: 3 (2013)

7 (2013)

condensate 486 km; condensate/gas 74 km; gas 7,986 km; liquid petroleum gas 957 km; oil 5,225 km; oil/gas/water 37 km; refined products 895 km; water 65 km (2013)

total: 5,085 km

standard gauge: 5,085 km 1.435-m gauge (62 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 38

total: 137,430 km

paved: 126,742 km (includes 838 km of expressways)

unpaved: 10,688 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 38

3,500 km (includes the Nile River, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in Nile Delta; the Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches) is navigable by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 17.68 m) (2011)

country comparison to the world: 29

total: 399

by type: bulk carrier 14, container ship 8, general cargo 33, oil tanker 36, other 308 (2017)

country comparison to the world: 46

major seaport(s): Mediterranean Sea - Alexandria, Damietta, El Dekheila, Port Said; Gulf of Suez - Suez

oil terminal(s): Ain Sukhna terminal, Sidi Kerir terminal

container port(s) (TEUs): Alexandria (1,662,000), Port Said (East) (3,036,000) (2015)

LNG terminal(s) (export): Damietta, Idku (Abu Qir Bay)

2-3% of GDP according to Presisdent ELSISI (March 2017)

1.67% of GDP (2016)

1.72% of GDP (2015)

1.69% of GDP (2014)

1.61% of GDP (2013)

1.65% of GDP (2012)

country comparison to the world: 63

Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces (2018)

18-30 years of age for male conscript military service; service obligation - 18-36 months, followed by a 9-year reserve obligation; voluntary enlistment possible from age 15 (2017)

Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel boundary; Egypt no longer shows its administration of the Bir Tawil trapezoid in Sudan on its maps; Gazan breaches in the security wall with Egypt in January 2008 highlight difficulties in monitoring the Sinai border; Saudi Arabia claims Egyptian-administered islands of Tiran and Sanafir

refugees (country of origin): 70,027 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2016); 6,611 (Iraq) (refugees and asylum seekers); 6,561 (Somalia) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2017); 128,507 (Syria) (refugees and asylum seekers); 36,882 (Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers); 14,850 (Ethiopia) (refugees and asylum seekers); 13,361 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers); 11,318 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2018)

IDPs: 82,000 (2017)

stateless persons: 19 (2016)

current situation: Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; Egyptian children, including the large population of street children are vulnerable to forced labor in domestic service, begging and agriculture or may be victims of sex trafficking or child sex tourism, which occurs in Cairo, Alexandria, and Luxor; some Egyptian women and girls are sold into “temporary” or “summer” marriages with Gulf men, through the complicity of their parents or marriage brokers, and are exploited for prostitution or forced labor; Egyptian men are subject to forced labor in neighboring countries, while adults from South and Southeast Asia and East Africa – and increasingly Syrian refugees – are forced to work in domestic service, construction, cleaning, and begging in Egypt; women and girls, including migrants and refugees, from Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East are sex trafficked in Egypt; the Egyptian military cracked down on criminal group’s smuggling, abducting, trafficking, and extorting African migrants in the Sinai Peninsula, but the practice has reemerged along Egypt’s western border with Libya

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List – Egypt does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government gathered data nationwide on trafficking cases to better allocate and prioritize anti-trafficking efforts, but overall it did not demonstrate increased progress; prosecutions increased in 2014, but no offenders were convicted for the second consecutive year; fewer trafficking victims were identified in 2014, which represents a significant and ongoing decrease from the previous two reporting periods; the government relied on NGOs and international organizations to identify and refer victims to protective services, and focused on Egyptian victims and refused to provide some services to foreign victims, at times including shelter (2015)

transit point for cannabis, heroin, and opium moving to Europe, Israel, and North Africa; transit stop for Nigerian drug couriers; concern as money laundering site due to lax enforcement of financial regulations