Country Background
Egypt is located on the northeast corner of the African continent. It is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, the Red Sea to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north.
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- العربية
Egypt has the largest, most densely settled population among the Arab countries. The total area of the country covers approximately one million square kilometres. However, much of the land is desert, and only 7.7 per cent of Egypt’s area is inhabited. The Egyptian government has a policy of land reclamation and fostering of new settlements in the desert. Despite these efforts, the majority of Egyptians live either in the Nile Delta located in the north of the country or in the narrow Nile Valley south of Cairo. Administratively, Egypt is divided into 27 governorates. The four Urban Governorates (Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, and Suez) have no rural population. Each of the other 23 governorates is subdivided into urban and rural areas.
Situation in Egypt
- In 2023, Egypt’s population reached around 105 million individuals, on the 3rd of June,2023 with 43% living in urban areas and 57% in rural areas. Population Distribution by Regions: Lower Egypt houses the largest population in Egypt, representing 42.9% of the total population. It is followed by Upper Egypt with a percentage of 38.9%, then the urban governorates (16.7%) of the population, while frontier governorate constitute less than 2% of the total population.
- Egypt achieved important progress in child wellbeing and rights over the past two decades, including a strong reduction of child and maternal mortality, high rates of immunization coverage and almost universal access to basic education.
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As of January 2024, Egypt hosts 480,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 62 countries. Sudanese are now the largest group. Most refugees live in urban areas of Cairo and the North Coast.[1]