EGYPT FACT FILE

Official Name: 

Arab Republic of Egypt

Capital:

Cairo - population: 6,8 m, Greater Cairo 12 m (1996). Excludes national abroad

Head of State: 

President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak  

National Currencies and current exchange rates:

Egyptian Pound (E£)=100 piastres. Average exchange rate in 1999: E£3.388:US$1; Exchange rate on 19/2/01 E£3.8775:US$1.

National Day and other important days:

January  1, April 25 (Sinai Liberation Day), May 1, June 18 (Liberation Day), July 23 (Revolution Day), October 6 (Armed Forces Day), October 24 (Suez Day), October 26 (Ascent of the Prophet), December 23 (Victory Day). Variable dates: Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Islam New Year, Birth of the Prophet

System Of Government: 

Republic

Ethnic groups:

Eastern Hamitic (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (mainly Italian and French) 1%

Languages: 

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

Religions:

94% Muslim (almost all Sunni Muslims) and 6% Coptic Christians.

GEOGRAPHY

Note: Egypt's strategic location. It controls the Sinai Peninsula, the only land bridge between Africa and the remainder of the Eastern Hemisphere; it controls the Suez Canal, the shortest sea link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; its size and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics.

Area

Total area: 997,739 sq km;  Land area: 995,450sq km;  Coastline:  2,450km

Climate:

Desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Physical description:

Vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

Physical Infrastructure:

Communication: per 1,000 inhabitants (1997)
		Daily newspapers	- 38
		Radio receivers	- 317
		Television receivers	- 119
		Main telephone lines	- 53

Transportation
		Railways	- 4,751
		Roads	- 64,000 of which 49,984 km paved
		Waterways	3,500 km; Suez Canal 193.5 km long used by ocean-going vessels
		Airports with paved runways	- 70
		Ports and harbours	- Alexandria, Al Ghardaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur Safajah, Damietta, Marsa Matruh, Port Said, Suez

Energy provision:

Production 46 bn kWh (1997 est); by source - fossil fuel 76%; hydro 24%

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Mineral resources

Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, led, zinc

Water resources

Annual internal renewable water resources: 43 cu m Per Capita (1998); Sector withdrawals - domestic 6%; Industrial 8%; Agricultural 86%

Land utilization and potential

With about 95% of the land is uninhabitable desert, only 35,190sq km of the total land area is settled and cultivated. Population density in the non-desert areas is high as over 97% of the population lives in the narrow strip of the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta.

Key Environmental Concerns:

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; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources. With very little rainfall, the country relies on the Nile to meet nearly all of its water needs. Egypt is categorised as under "water stress" and heading towards water-scarcity. About 90% of water goes untreated, while an estimated 80 per cent of industrial waste is discharged unmonitored. Vehicle emissions, smouldering rubbish and industrial smog make Cairo one of the most polluted cities on earth with lead-content levels 8 times the internationally accepted levels.

Environmental policy and manifestation:

International agreements - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

Natural hazards:

Periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, dry windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

ECONOMY

Overview

Egypt has the largest population and the second largest economy in the Arab world, but it is an economy which is dominated by a large and unwieldy public sector. Agriculture remains central to the economy - although contributing only 16% to GDP and 6% of export earnings, it accounts for over 30% of total employment. The other mainstays of the economy, being Egypt’s main sources of foreign exchange, are tourism, oil exports, income generated though the use of the Suez Canal, and remittances from Egyptians working abroad. The services sector– predominantly tourism - accounts for around 50% of GDP. Petroleum and natural gas, the most valuable of Egypt’s limited natural resources, accounted for 8,5% of GDP in 1996/7, while petroleum products, including crude oil make up 53% of total exports. The informal sector, for which there are no reliable data, is estimated to account for as much as 30% of total economic activity. Industry and mining are also important, accounting for 18% of GDP and almost 13% of total employment.

Population pressures, especially in and around densely populated Cairo, are aggravating economic inefficiencies. The economy remains vulnerable due to limited sources of foreign exchange and a huge national debt.

Labour market and unemployment

Unemployment is estimated at about 15%. Because of the youthful population profile - roughly half are under 20 and 39% under 15 - there is constant pressure on the labour markets. An estimated 40% of the working population are under-employed. Egypt suffers from a shortage of skilled labour, in part because of the 2.5m Eygptians who work abroad in the Arab world.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing 

Only 3% of the total land is cultivatable, and despite reclamation of desert lands in 1995, there is constant competition from urban and industrial expansion. Egypt has an estimated 3.5m farmers cultivating plots of under a hectare, production is intensive and yields are among the highest in the world despite the irregular and insufficient supply of water for irrigation. About one-third of arable land is irrigated, almost entirely by ancient methods of drainage. High soil salinity, which is the result of global warming and has led to the Nile delta shrinking and the sea rising, is a growing problem.

Since 1986 controls have been removed from almost all crops, with the exception of sugarcane, resulting in impressive gains in output, with wheat and rice crops reaching record levels and the achievement of self-sufficiency in several important commodities. Cotton is the largest agricultural export. The removal of state subsidies initially led to soaring costs and government intervention to deter farmers switching to other cash crops, but in 1998/99 the government fully liberalized the cotton trade resulting in a 50% year on year rise.

Mining and processing

The mining industry is dominated by the extraction of crude oil, most of which is found in the Gulf of Suez. In 1997/8 exports accounted for some one-third of overall export earnings, down from a peak of 55% achieved in 1992/3. The increase in domestic oil demand has raised fears that the country could become a net oil importer by 2005-10. Exploration for new reserves is underway. Egypt is the largest producer of refined products in Africa, after South Africa with its eight refineries. A further five are in planning.

In addition to its role as an oil exporter, Egypt has strategic importance because of its operation of the Suez Canal and Sumed Pipeline, two routes for export of Persian Gulf oil.  Revenues have declined in recent years.

Egypt also has extensive natural gas reserves that were first discovered in the early 1990s. The sector is expanding rapidly, with production expected to double by 2001. Some 60% of reserves are used for domestic power generation, the balance serving as feedstock for the fertilizer and other industries. The government is actively seeing to increase the number of export agreements, and to increase domestic use of power in order to free more oil for exports.  Coal reserves are estimated at 50m tonnes; a deep mine in Sinare closed since 1967 was recently reopened. Other mining activities include the extraction of iron ore, limestone and phosphate mining.

Industry & manufacturing – heavily concentrated in Cairo and the Nile delta,   industrial production grew at an annual rate of over 15% during the 1970s and 1980s after the oil price explosion of 1973 which encouraged Gulf countries to invest. Although growth has since slowed, particularly in the public sector, private sector production has increased sharply in response to liberalization. Manufacturing is dominated by the food-processing and textiles industries. Other industries include iron and steel works, furniture and pharmaceutical industries, metallurgical and engineering. The arms industry is substantial, exports totalling around $300-500m per year.  The construction industry is highly developed, and growing at an annual rate of over 20%. Although the industrial sector as a whole is dominated by state-owned enterprises, they account for less than 60% of industrial output, but for 90% of exports and around 75% of industrial employment. The vast majority of private industries are small enterprises.

Tourism

This sector, which overtook oil as the country’s main source of foreign exchange in 1988, has considerable potential but it has suffered as result of recent outbreaks of domestic and regional violence. It is further constrained by inadequate facilities and limited marketing.

Government  finance and fiscal policy

After Aware Sadat introduced an open door economic policy in 1974 in an effort to reduce state control over the economy, GDP growth averaged 9.4% over the next five years. It remained consistently strong until the late 1980s.

In 1991 economic reforms were introduced, privatisation and inflation control being major targets of the programme. Performance has since been erratic and uneven across the economic sectors. The public sector continues to play a dominant role in the economy, accounting, directly or indirectly for over one-third of total GDP, two-thirds of on-agricultural GDP and two-thirds of manufacturing; the state employs 35% of the labour force. To alleviate the impact on the poor of privatisation, the public-sector reforms, and price deregulation, a US$613m Social Fund for Development (SFD) was also established, with a second phase (US$850m) beginning in January 1997. Regulated by the World Bank and funded by the UN, it is designed to support labour-intensive projects for specific groups and improve physical infrastructure and public services in Egypt’s poorest regions. Despite the pace of economic reforms being affected by fears of increased social unrest amid been strong public grievances over poverty and social inequality, (the SFD has had limited success), the reform drive has continued to top the government’s agenda, and has helped encourage significant private and foreign investment. Efforts to stimulate non-oil exports are continuing. In the government’s 20-year socio-economic development plans initiated in 1997 it set out to expand the populated areas from 4% to 30% by 2017 through the establishment of new industrial and agricultural communities in the Sinai and the Soehr Valley of the Western Desert. Other areas of focus are job creation and industrial growth.

After a slow start, notable progress on economic liberalization was made in the latter part of 2001, but it is anticipated that growing social inequalities will continue to temper the privatisation process.

Regional  and International economic grouping/alliances:
		African Union
		Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC)
		Arab League

POPULATION

The annual population growth rate fell to 2.3% in 1997 as a result of an intensive and well-financed family planning campaign. The UNDP forecasts that the population growth rate in the period 1995-2015 will have declined to 1.6% per annum.

Expatriate remittances are a major source of foreign exchange with 2.18m expatriates living as temporary migrants.

Rural– urbanization demographic trend:

Population density in the non-desert areas is very high, with over 97% of the population now crowded into the narrow strip of the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta, approximately 13m of these living in Cairo. New cities are being constructed around already existing urban regions to absorb the continuing flow of migrants from rural to urban areas. Greater Cairo has a population density of 31,697 per sq km, and in some urban districts it reaches more than 100,000 per sq km.

Social Indicators

Health

Healthcare is provided free for all citizens, but the emphasis has been on curative care and the construction of large hospitals in urban areas. Inequitable distribution coupled with inefficiency has resulted in under-utilization of services. Free health care is available for all but inequitably distributed, and services, which are underutilized, are plagued by inefficiency.

Food security

Egypt remains one of the world’s largest food importers, rising to $4.1bn in 1996/7 or 26% of total imports.

Education

Since the 1960s the government has provided free education for all, resulting in a sharp rise in enrolment figures. Nevertheless, the sector remains under-funded and shows a bias towards high cost, urban and tertiary education. Pupil teacher ratios remain high at an average 45:1, and can reach as high as 100:1 in densely populated and poor areas. Illiteracy has remained high at around 47% over the past decade, and there is still a shortage of skills in the technical fields.

HISTORY & POLITICS

Constitution & political system
		Constitution	- adopted 11 September 1971
		Legal system	- based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes
		Legislative branch	- Bicameral system consists of the People's Assembly or Majlis al-Sha'b (454 seats) and the Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura which function only in a consultative role (264 seats)
		Elections	- last held June 1998.

SECURITY INFORMATION

Conflict history

The present borders of Egypt are almost identical to those in pharaonic times.  With the advance of Islam in the seventh centurty AD, Arab armies conquered Egypt, unopposed by the country’s Coptic Christians.  Ottoman Turks conquered Egypt in 1517.  By the late 18^th century Egypt had become involved in the war between France and Britain.  With the crushing of a nationalist coup in 1881 Egypt was effectively controlled by British officials.  Widespread anti-British strikes finally led to the evacuation of British troops in 1947.  In 1948 Egypt joined Iraq, Syria and Jordan in military action to protect Arab Palestine after the declaration of the state of Israel.  In 1952 a group of army officers led a revolution that resulted in Gamal Abdel-Nasser becoming the leader of the new republic.  Under his authoritarian, Soviet-inspired and -supported rule Egypt fought two major wars against Israel, in 1956 and 1967.  Nasser was succeeded by his vice-president, Anwar Sadat, who went to war against Israel in cooperation with Syria in 1973.  Egypt’s military gains brought the US into action to broker a solution.  Sadat proceeded to renew relations with the US in 1974 and terminated Egypt’s treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union in 1976.  The Camp David accords of 1978 provided the basis for the comprehensive 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, even though it caused Egypt to be expelled from the Arab League.  From 1997 internal unrest increased, inspired by the Islamic revival.

In 1981 Sadat was assassinated by members of the Islamist group, Al-Jihad.  Hosni Mubarak was sworn in as Egypt’s fourth president.  Mr Mubarak succeeded in ending Egypt’s relative isolation within the Arab world, and played a pivotal role in forging an Arab coalition to counter Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.  Throughout the 1990s the government maintained an unpopular IMF-regulated economic reform programme as well as sought to crush Islamist militancy.  Between 1992 and 1999 over 1200 people were killed in attacks by militatnt groups.  Although the militant threat has receded there is concern that Egypt’s tolerant secular society is being threatened by the government’s reversion to authoritarian rule in an attempt to contain militant Islam.

Security situation[1]

Tension between Egypt and Sudan increased in mid-1995 after Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak, accused Sudan’s military junta of complicity in the attempt on his life in Ethiopia.  Following the accusation, clashes between Sudanese and Egyptian troops took place in the disputed Red Sea border region of Halaib.

In late 1999, it was estimated that Egypt had nearly one million men under arms, roughly evenly split between the armed forces and the internal security establishment.  The government has been locked in a low-intensity, counter-insurgency campaign against extremist Islamic fundamentalists of the Gamaa Islamia, or Islamic Association, which seeks to topple the secular administration and establish an Islamic state.

Over the past two years the internal security situation has been improving.  Fatalities due to terrorist violence in 1998 totalled 47.  No attacks on tourists were recorded and no foreigners were killed.  This is the lowest number of fatalities since monitoring began in 1992.

Extremist Islamists – including Gamaat Islamiya and Al-Jihad – have been responsible for the intensification of violence since 1992, aimed at the overthrow of the regime.  A new and more targeted security policy in the aftermath of the 1997 Luxor massacre has resulted in a notable termination of violent incidents.  Gamaat Islamiya announced a ceasefire in 1999, and Al-Jihad followed suit in 2000.  Both now appear to have chosen to emulate the Muslim Brotherhood by supporting the formation of the Islamist Reform party and Sharia Party respectively.[2] 

A recent Defence White Paper defined four key policy objectives of the country’s defence planning and procurement programmes:

		Priority is given to forces acting as a deterrent to invasion
		Egypt will maintain forces adequate for regional stability
		Modernisation of equipment will ensure quality rather than quantity
		Egypt will achieve military self-sufficiency as soon as possible.
		The armed forces' current modernisation plan, initiated in 1998, continues the transition from Soviet-bloc to Western, mainly US, doctrine and equipment.  Full transition is expected by 2005.  Analysts say however that Egypt will retain the Soviet central-command style of leadership for political reasons.

  

Security-related budget

Defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP was 7.2 in 1985, dropping to 3.4 in 1999.[3]  In 1999 Egypt imported arms worth US$748 million.  Defence expenditure in 1999 amounted to US$3.0 billion, with the defence budget at US$2.5 billion.[4]  It is estimated to have increased to US$2.8 billion in 2000.  In addition, Egypt receives US foreign military assistance for equipment purchases totalling US$1.3 billion and military related economic assistance of US$227 million.[5]

Political oversight [6]

		The president, Hosni Mubarak, is supreme commander of the armed forces.  He also has executive powers, and enjoys vast powers of patronage.  Presidential decrees have the force of law.  Main political figures and commanders include:
		Prime Minister:	Atef Obeid (appointed 1999)
		Interior Minister:	Habib al-Adli, the former director of state security
		Defence Minister:	Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi
		State Security Chief:	Omar Suleiman
		Foreign Minister:	Amr Moussa
		Minister of Military Production:	Mohamed El-Ghamrawi
		Commander of the naval forces:	Vice Admiral Ahmed Salim

International treaties / protocols / alliances

Egypt is a member of the UN, WTO, the League of Arab States, OAPEC, OAU, ADB, COMESA, IOM, OIC and the International Organisation for Francophonie.

International community security involvement

There are some 1800 peacekeeping personnel from 11 countries on the MFO Sinai.

Forces deployed outside country

Egypt maintains an unknown number of advisors in Oman and Saudi Arabia, twelve observers in the MONUC mission in the Congo, 83 personnel in the UNTAET mission in East Timor, three observers in the UNOMIG mission in Georgia, ten observers in the UNAMSIL mission in Sierra Leone and 19 observers in the MINURSO mission in the Western Sahara.  Egypt also deployed one mechanised infantry batallion under the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

DEFENCE FORCE

Senior personnel
		The President is Commander-in-Chief of the four-service (army, navy, air force and air defence) armed forces.
		Higher Command:
		President's military advisor
		Chair of the National Defence Council
		Chair of the High Armament Council
		Minister of Defence:	Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi
		Minister of Military Production:	Mohamed El-Ghamrawi
		Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces:	Gen Magdy Hatata
		Navy Commander:	Adm Saber Selim
		Air Force Commander
		Air Defence Commander

Structure

The Egyptian armed forces are organised into four distinct services: the army, navy, air force and air defence command.  For ease of reference, the latter is usually identified with the air force; the army has control of battlefield air defence.  The army is the senior service.  The total strength of the active defence forces is believed to be in the region of 448 000 (including some 322 000 conscripts), with 254 000 in Reserve. [7]    National service lasts 36 months.  Day-to-day management stems from the minister of defence and the armed forces chief of staff.  The military command structure also has responsibility for state-owned defence production facilities and procurement.

Defence budget

The defence budget for 1999 was US$2.5 billion, with military expenditure totalling US$2,98 billion in 1998, representing 3.4% of GDP. [8]

Strength and composition [9]

Army (320 000, of which perhaps 250 000 conscripts). 

The Egyptian Army has been drastically reorganised since the 1973 war with Israel, by adopting new Western equipment and US-based war-fighting doctrine.  Egypt considers itself to be non-Aligned and pro-Western.  There are five military zones, with two field army headquarters.  There is one armoured division in each of the military zones, with the exception of the Central Zone.  There are believed to be two mechanised infantry divisions in the same military zones.  The Republican Guard brigade is subordinate to the commander of the Central Zone, which is centered on Cairo, but probably takes its orders form the office of the president.  It is a fully fledged armoured brigade.  These units are supported by four independent armoured brigades, one independent infantry brigade, four independent mechanised infantry brigades, five commando groups and two heavy mortar brigades.  These are deployed as required and several may be involved in internal security work.  One army headquarters has the parachute brigade subordinate to it and the two surface-to-surface missile brigades are directly subordinate to the chief of staff.  Egypt apparently wishes to field a wholly mechanised army by 2005, built around US armoured vehicles.

Air Force (30 000, incl 10 000 conscripts.  580 combat aircraft, 129 armed helicopters)

The Egyptian Air Force, like the army and navy, is nearing the end of a major restructuring programme designed to replace redundant Soviet equipment with new Western or upgraded Russian systems.  The air force is now organised into squadrons of between 12 and 18 aircraft, with the emphasis on fighter-interceptors to patrol the country’s long borders.  Air defence fighters carry a variety of Soviet missiles.  Mirage fighters are equipped with Magic.  Since 1992 the air force has also provided support for the police and other national security organisations engaged in the war aginst Islamic terrorism.  The air force also operates unmanned air vehicles for battlefield surveillance.  The army provides local air defence for battlefield operations.  The Air Defence Command has five territorial divisions.

Navy (18 500, including 2000 Coast Guard and 12000 conscripts)

From 1996 the navy was upgraded into a modern two-fleet force operating in the Meditteranian and the Red Sea.  Anti-submarine warfare operations are now receiving greater deployment emphasis, but patrols to protect the exclusive economic zone and territorial waters are still maintained.  Piracy is another concern in the Red Sea.  Strike craft and now submarines have an over-the-horizon capability.  The navy has three batteries of of Otomat truck-mounted surface to-surface missiles and two artillery brigades.  It has no independent air arm but can call on certain air force fixed-wing aircraft for an anti-surface capability. 

Bases

Army

Alexandria, El-Arish, Aswan, Cairo (various), Ismailiya, Luxor, Mersa Matruh, Port Said, Sharm Ash-Sheikh’ Suez, Taba.

Air Force

Abuqir, Abu Sueir, Almaza, Aswan, Beni Sueif, Berigat, Bilbeis, Cairo, Faiyum, Fayid, Gurdaqah, Helwan, Ismailiya, Jizah-Embaba, El-Kharga, Luxor, Mansurah, Mersa Matruh, Minya, Port Said, Quweisna, Ras Banas, Saqqara, Sharm Ash-Sheikh.

Navy

Abu Qir, Alexandria (Mediterranian Sea headquarters), Hurghada (Red Sea Fleet headquarters), Mersa Matruh, Port Said, Safaqa, Suez.

Defence equipment in service[10]

 

TYPE	ROLE	QUANTITY
ARMY
Armour
M1A1	Main Battle Tank	500
Ramses II	Main Battle Tank	260
M60A3	Main Battle Tank	1000
M60A1	Main Battle Tank	400
BRDM-2	Main Battle Tank	300
Commando	Main Battle Tank	112
BMP-1	Infantry Fighting Vehicle	220
BMR-600P	Infantry Fighting Vehicle	250
YPR-765	Infantry Fighting Vehicle	100
BTR-60	Armoured Personnel Carrier	250
OT-62	Armoured Personnel Carrier	500
OT-64	Armoured Personnel Carrier	300
M113A2	Armoured Personnel Carrier	1900
Walid Mk2	Armoured Personnel Carrier	650
Fahd 30	Armoured Personnel Carrier	1000
M577	Command Vehicle	44
Artillery
122 mm D-30M	Howitzer	220
122 mm M1938	Howitzer	400
155 mm M109A2	Self-Propelled Howitzer	196
122 mm SP122	Self-Propelled Howitzer	76
180 mm S-23	Gun	24
122 mm M1931/7	Gun	48
130 mm M-46	Field Gun	420
130 mm M59-1M	Field Gun	400
122 mm Type 60	Field Gun	48
85 mm D-44	Divisional Gun	48
160 mm M160	Mortar	30
120 mm M106A2	Self-Propelled Mortar	35
107 mm M30	Self-Propelled Mortar	100
82 mm M125A2	Self-Propelled Mortar	50
240 mm BM-24	Multiple Rocket System	48
140 mm BM-14-16	Multiple Rocket System	32
130 mm M51/Praga V3S	Multiple Rocket System	36
122 mm Sakr-30	Multiple Rocket System	100
122 mm Sakr-18	Multiple Rocket System	50
122 mm Sakr-10	Multiple Rocket System	50
80 mm VAP-80	Multiple Rocket System	250
325 mm Sakr-80	Artillery Rocket System	24
FROG-7	Artillery Rocket System	12
Anti-tank
M901/TOW	Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided Missile	52
BRDM-2/Sagger	Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Guided Missile	1200
Milan	Anti-Tank Guided Missile	200
TOW 2 / TOW 2A	Anti-Tank Guided Missile	800
Air Defence
Sakr Eye (SA-7)	Manportable SAM	2000
Strela-2/2M (SA-7)	Manportable SAM	1000
Strela-1 (SA-9)	Low Altitude SAM	20
Chapparal	Low Altitude Self-Propelled SAM	25
57 mm S-60	Anti-Aircraft Gun	200
23 mm ZU-23 Twin	Light Anti-Aircraft Gun	500
23 mm Ramadan 23	Light Anti-Aircraft Gun	2
14.5 mm ZPU-2 Twin	Light Anti-Aircraft Gun	200
14.5 mm ZPU-4 Quad	Light Anti-Aircraft Gun	400
57 mm ZSU-57-2	Twin Self-Propelled AAG	40
23 mm Sinai 23	Self-Propelled AAG	45
23 mm ZU-23-4 Quad	Self-Propelled AAG	120
Infantry Weapons
9 mm Helwan, 9 mm Beretta M951	Pistol
9 mm Akaba, 9 mm Beretta 12S, 9 mm Star Z-45, 9 mm Port Said	Sub-machine Gun
7.62 mm SKS, 7.62 mm SVD, 7.92 mm Hakim, 7.62 mm AK-47, 7.62 mm AKM	Assault Rifle
7.62 mm RPD	Light Machine Gun
7.62 SGM	Medium Machine Gun
7.62 mm FN MAG, 7.62 mm M60	General-Purpose Machine Gun
12.7 mm DShK, 0.50 in Browning M2HB	Heavy Machine Gun
Army aviation	None, battlefield aviation is provided by the air force
AIR FORCE
Fixed Wing
F-16C-32/40	Interceptor	113
F-16A-15	Interceptor	28
MiG-21 bis	Interceptor	89
Mirage 2000EM	Interceptor	16
Mirage 5D	Interceptor	53
J-7	Interceptor	53
Alpha Jet	Close Air Support	42
F-4E	Close Air Support	29
Mirage 5E2	Close Air Support	16
J-6	Close Air Support	44
F-16B-15	Combat Trainer	2
F-16D-32/40	Combat Trainer	6
Mirage 5SDD	Combat Trainer	5
MiG-21U	Combat Trainer	20
Mirage 2000BM	Combat Trainer	3
Mirage5SDR	Reconnaisance	6
MiG-21PFM	Reconnaisance	14
E-2C	Early Warning & Control	5
C-130H-30	Electronic Warfare	2
Beech 1900	Electronic Warfare	4
Beech 1900C	Maritime Patrol	2
C-130H	Tactical Transport	19
Super King Air	VIP Transport	1
VC-130 VIP	Transport	1
L-39V/ZO	Advanced Trainer	24
L-59E	Advanced Trainer	48
L-29	Basic Trainer	40
Tucano	Basic Trainer	54
Gumhuria	Primary Trainer	36
JJ-6	Primary Trainer	16
Rotary-Wing
AH-64A	Attack Helicopter	24
SA 342K/HOT	Anti-Tank/Attack	44
SA 342L/Gun	Close Support	30
CH-47C Chinook	Medium Support	14
Commando 1	Medium Support	5
Commando 2	Medium Support	17
Mi-8C	Light Support	40
Mi-4	Light Support	12
Commando 2B	VIP Transport	3
VH-70	VIP Transport	2
UH-12E	Trainer	17
NAVY
Surface fleet
Z	Destroyer	1
OH Perry, Knox, JianghuI, Descubierta	Frigate	10
Ramadan, Osa I, October, Hegu	Fast Attack Craft– Missile	22
Shersen, Shanghai II	Fast Attack Craft– Gun	10
Hainan	Fast Attack Craft– Patrol	8
Polnochny A	Landing Ship Medium	3
Vydra	Landing Craft	9
Seafox	Swimmer Delivery Craft	6
T43	Minesweeper– Ocean	6
Yurka	Minesweeper– Ocean	4
Swiftships	Coastal Minehunter	3
Swiftships	Route Survey	2
Toplivo 2	Tanker	7
Poluchat I	Torpedo Recovery	2
Submarines
Improved Romeo	Patrol Submarine	4
Naval Aviation
Sea King Mk47	Anti-Submarine Warfare	5
SA 342L	Shipping Strike	16
Coast Guard
Timsah, Type 83, Swiftships 93-ft, Nisr	Large Patrol Craft	37
Spectre, Crestitalia 70-ft, Bertram, Peterson	Coastal Patrol Craft	37
DC 35	Harbour Launch	29

Latest / proposed defence procurements[11]

The priority for Egypt’s armed forces has been to modernise and Westernise them, with particular emphasis on the air force.  It is also keen to develop and utilise its own defence industries – the largest in the Arab world.  The 1983-87 five year procurement plan emphasised the formation of nine armoured brigades based on US M60A3 tanks, M113 APCs, M109 self-propelled artillery and TOW missiles.  It borrowed about US$10 billion in the 1980s to fund its procurement from Western nations.  By 1991 the arrears consisted of US$2.55 billion of a total military debt of US$7.1 billion owed to the USA.  That year, Washington wrote off the complete debt as a reward for Cairo’s support during the Gulf war.  The current five-year plan, the fourth, was initiated in 1998 and continues the transition from Soviet to Western/US doctrine and equipment by the year 2005.  In March 1999 the Clinton administration decided to offer Egypt 24 F-16 fighters, 200 M1A1 tanks (to be assembled in Egypt) and 32 Patriot-3 missiles worth a total of US$3.2 billion, to be funded from the US$1.3 billion a year in military aid (‘Foreign Military Financing’) Egypt receives from the US.  Deliveries of 21 F-16C/D’s from the US (assembled in Turkey) continued throughout 1999 and 2000.  Deliveries of 24 Block 40 F-16C/Ds and associated equipment are currently underway.  Egypt has ordered 80 K-8 basic trainer / light ground-attack jet aircraft from the Chinese Hong Aviation Industry Group, to replace its Czech L-29s.

REBEL FORCES[12]

Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya (the Islamic Group)

Commander

No defined chain of command nor paramount leader.  Safwat Abdel-Ghani, accused of being the de facto leader, has been jailed in Cairo.  The reputed spiritual leader, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, was convicted of seditious conspiracy with nine other defendants in the US in 1995.  They were implicated in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing and face many years in an American prison.

Strength and composition

The Egyptian police estimates that there are several thousand members and many supporters.  The Islamic Group targets Egyptian security officials, Coptic Christians, Western tourists and others it believes to be opponents of an Islamic state.  Members are reported to have been active in the former Yugoslavia, either as combatants or as part of Islamic relief agencies.  The continued existence of the Group following its April 1999 ceasefire is open to question.

Bases and areas of operation

Principal operating areas are Minya, Assiut, and Qena in southern Egypt.  The group has attacked targets in Alexandria and Cairo. 

Jihad (Holy War)

Commander

No data available on Jihad’s chain of command.  The organisation’s reputed leader, Abbud al-Zummer, is in prison.  Other names are Abdel Salam and Muhammad Shawki Islambuli.

Strength and composition

No data is available on the organisation of the group.  It is believed to have several hundred members organised in cells in urban areas of Egypt.  It attacks senior officials of the government as well as foreigners.  The Vanguard of Conquest is believed to be an affiliated group which claimed responsibility for the assasination of President Sadat in 1981.

Bases and areas of operation

Cells operate in urban areas.  The organisation is believed to have its operational headquarters at Peshawar in Pakistan.  The affiliated Vanguard of Conquest is thought to operate throughout the country by means of a widespread cell structure.

Muslim Brotherhood

Commander

Leaders are Mamoun al-Hodaibi and Moustapha Mashour.

Strength and composition

Established in 1928 and declared illegal in 1954.  Much of its support comes from the northern middle class, and it retains the largest following and greatest financial resources among Egypt’s Islamic organisations despite the emergence of more radical groups.  It dominates many Egyptian professional organisations, collaterally providing a wide range of charitable services.  The organisation claims to eschew violence as a means to attain an Islamic state, and denieds any links to the violent Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya.  However, the government accuses the organisation of having contacts with and helping finance armed Islamic militants, as well as sending members abroad for training, in order to form terrorist cells upon return to Egypt.