Basic stats.

Population: 80,471,869 (July 2010 est.)
Break it down!:

0-14 years: 33% (male 13,308,407/female 12,711,900)

15-64 years: 62.7% (male 25,138,546/female 24,342,230)

65 years and over: 4.3% (male 1,546,774/female 1,818,778) (2010 est.)
Pop. growth rate: 1.997% (2010 est.)
Birth rate: 25.02 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Death rate: 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.4 years

male: 69.82 years

female: 75.1 years (2010 est.)

Urban population: 43% of total population (2008)
Religions: 90% Muslim, 9% Coptic, 1% Christian
Literacy rate:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 71.4%

male: 83%

female: 59.4% (2005 est.)

GDP: $469.8 billion (2009 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,000 (2009 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4.7% (2009 est.) 7.2% (2008 est.)
GDP composition by sector:

agriculture: 13.7%

industry: 37.6%

services: 48.7% (2009 est.)
Labor force by occupation:

agriculture: 32%

industry: 17%

services: 51% (2001 est.)

GINI index: 34.4 (2001)
Pop below poverty line: 20% (2005 est.)
Unemployment: 9.4% (2009 est.) 8.7% (2008 est.)

Exports:
Commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals, processed food
Partners: US 7.95%, Italy 7.26%, Spain 6.78%, India 6.69%, Saudi Arabia 5.53%, Syria 5.3%, France 4.39%, South Korea 4.27% (2009)
Imports:
Commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels
Partners: US 9.92%, China 9.63%, Germany 6.98%, Italy 6.88%, Turkey 4.94% (2009)

All statistics are taken from the CIA World Factbook.

I ignored the statistics on politics because I would rather go to other websites for that. Plus, it seems like a whole other can of worms.

Overall, it's good to see that Egypt has the majority of its population in the 15-64 years age range. It seems like the population age structure is a problem in many places, and when there are more children than adults, it bodes poorly for the future economy of the country.

It's interesting that Egypt does a large amount of trade with the US and other western countries, or at least not predominantly Muslim countries. Perhaps this contributes to the more secular government. I'd expected to see trade predominantly with countries in the Middle East.

The birth rate is rather high, and that is probably causing problems within Egypt. If the population keeps growing, it'll be more difficult to provide for them, especially since Egypt has traditionally kept cities only along the coast and the Nile.

Unemployment has risen and GDP growth rate has dropped, but they are both not as severe as they could have been. While it'll cause issues, the problem isn't as huge as it is in other countries where the unemployment rate is in the double digits and the economy is shrinking.

Overall, Egypt seems to be following rather normal trends. I, being a pessimist, expected more dismal patterns.

What I know (otherwise what I know I don't know.)

1) Egypt has a dictatorship.
2) Around 90% of the women in Egypt have undergone some form of FGM.
3) Around 50% of the girls in Cairo are estimated to go through FGM.
4) Egypt has a secular government. Well, not directly Sharia rule.
5) Main religion is Islam.
6) Tons of stuff about ancient Egypt history and religion/art.
7) First Christian church.
8) High Aswan dam has resulted in the river no long inundating.
- Egyptians now rely on imported fertilizers.
- High erosion along the river, especially in the delta.

Clearly, I don't know very much. My first focus should probably be on basic statistics and the state along with economics. It seems like the best route to take, that information would be a sold foundation to begin with.

I won't focus my project on female genital mutilation. It's just not something I think I could mentally handle well. A clip from a video I saw a month and a half ago still flashes through my mind without warning and affects my mood. However, everything else is a possibility. It's probably best if I stay away from ancient Egypt since I've had a class on it, but the draw might be irresistible.

The start.

The main goal of this blog is to compile my knowledge, target areas for research, and develop ideas concerning Egypt in hopes that I can determine an appropriate topic to write approximately twenty pages about for my honors senior project.

Why Egypt? I plan on doing a study abroad for six weeks in Cairo. This narrows down my options only marginally. "What about Egypt?" is now my main question. I've realized that I can probably give you all the details about the first intermediate period of ancient Egypt, but I know barely anything about modern Egypt and how it was shaped. I can't even tell you who is in power at the moment (though I can tell you that Zahi Hawass is Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities) which is pathetic. My major is International Relations, so an obvious move would be to focus on the politics or international relations of Egypt, but I don't think I want to do that. My minors are History and Anthropology, and I am more interested in tackling this project with one of those lenses as my monocle.

I hope this blog helps me organize my thoughts and encourages me to learn more about Egypt. My goal is to post something at least once a week for the remainder of this semester, with an increase of posts in the next semester. I also aim to update when I'm in Egypt to help focus my thoughts and record my experiences.

Cheers!