Country name:
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
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Cairo
geographic coordinates: 30 03 N, 31 15 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
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
Independence:
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the revolution that began on 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn on 18 June 1956); note - it was ca. 3200 B.C. that the Two Lands of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt were first united politically
National holiday:
Revolution Day, 23 July (1952)
Constitution:
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 (2015)
Legal system:
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
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
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
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
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 sworn in 19 September 2015
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 May 2014 (next to be held in May 2018); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of Representatives
election results: Abdelfattah Said ELSISI elected president; percent of vote in 1 round - Abdelfattah Said ELSISI (independent) 96.6%, Hamdeen SABAHI (Egyptian Current Party ) 3.4%
Legislative branch:
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 NA; note - inaugural session held on 10 January 2016
elections: multi-phase election completed on 16 December 2015 (next election NA)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Constitutional Court or SCC (consists of the court president and 10 justices); the SCC serves as the final court of arbitrator 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; tenure NA
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; courts of limited jurisdiction; Family Court (established in 2004)
Political parties and leaders:
officially recognized: Al-Dustour (Constitution) Party [Tamer GOMAA]
Al-Karama Party [Mohamed SAMY]
Al-Nour [Yunis MAKHYUN]
Al-Wasat Party [Mohamad Abdel LATIF]
Al-Watan [Imad Abd al-GHAFUR]
Building and Development Party or BDP [Yomna EL-HAMAKI];; Conference Party [Omar EL-MOKHTAR]
Congress Party [Omar Mokhtar SEMEIDA]
Egyptian National Movement Party [Ahmed SHAFIK]
Egyptian Social Democratic Party [Mervat TALAWAY]
El Tagamu'u Party [Sayed Abdel AAL]
Free Egyptians Party [Essam KHALIL]
Future of Homeland Party [Qadry ABU HUSSEIN]
Knights of Egypt Party [General Abdel Rafe DARWISH]
Mostaqbal Watan Party [Mohamed BADRAN]
New Wafd Party [Sayed al-BADADWI]
Popular Current Party [Ahmed Kamel AL-BEHERI]
Reform and Development Party [Mohamad Anwar al-SADAT]
Socialist Popular Alliance [Abu Al-Izz AL-HARIRI]
Strong Egypt Party [Abdel Moneim Aboul FOTOUH]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
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, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yasser REDA (since 17 September 2015)
chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400
FAX: [1] (202) 244-4319
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador R. Stephen BEECROFT (since 18 December 2014)
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
Flag description:
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
National symbol(s):
golden eagle, white lotus; national colors: red, white, black
National anthem:
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
NOTE: The information regarding Egypt on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Egypt Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Egypt Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16