Essay on Natural Resources in Egypt

Egypt has an abundant amount of natural resources, a large and growing population, and a huge land mass. However, it still has had logarithmic growth in the past years. This is explained due to its reliance on one commodity and the exploitation of that by MDCs. In comparison to its region, Africa, Egypt is one of the more developed countries and has plans for sustainable growth and reforms have been implemented to speed up and encourage economic and social growth.

Africa remains a relatively not industrialized continent. The continent is less industrialized than it was forty years ago. This is due to the commodity boom and bust, a period in time in which China purchased almost all of Africa’s natural resources, leading to quick economic growth. Due to poor money management and China’s cooling economy, this period of economic prosperity has since been stunted. Because one of Africa’s main industries involves exporting natural resources to richer countries, countries’ leaders are afraid to make bold economic policies that could bring growth out of fear of antagonizing these MDCs. Africa mainly exports crude oil, diamonds, minerals, coffee, and gold to wealthy countries, all of which are the continent’s prime natural resources due to the natural underground reserves. The oil and gas company Sonatrach, based in Algeria, is Africa’s biggest employer. 30 percent of Algeria’s GNP comes directly from the company. The majority of Africa’s land is used for mining gold, diamonds, and other precious materials or agricultural purposes. Subsistence agriculture’s presence in Africa remains strong, with 65% of Sub-Saharan Africa participating. However, although Africa may look relatively not industrialized as a whole, certain countries and regions have made great strides due to policy reforms and access to certain natural resources. My GING country, Egypt, exports some of the more developed products, like crude oil, but much of its exports remain raw materials. The largest employer in Egypt is the Commercial International Bank, although agriculture makes up 32% of its labor force. Most of Egypt’s land is low-value desert or unusable, leaving very little suitable for agriculture. Therefore, most of the land isn’t used for one particular industry other than residency, with 57% of the population living in these rural areas. One of the most important natural resources is the Nile River, which provides water for municipal and agricultural purposes.

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In regards to Wallerstein’s model, the majority of the countries in the continent are peripheral to MDCs such as the US, Germany, the UAE, and Belgium. These countries exploit the less developed African countries for their natural resources and use their people for cheap labor. It could also be argued that more developed countries in the continent such as South Africa, Nigeria, and some other countries could be considered semi-peripheral compared to the rest of the world as they have more industrialized economies, and are relying more heavily on manufacturing. On a more concentrated regional scale, these countries could also be considered core as they exploit the less developed countries for their inexpensive labor and rich natural resources. My GING country, Egypt, is considered to be a peripheral country on a global scale. This can be seen with a close analysis of its economy, which mostly consists of peripheral production processes. For instance, Egypt imports 157,300 barrels of refined petroleum a day while only exporting 21,000 barrels a day of petroleum 83,000 barrels of crude oil. This is not beneficial to the Egyptian economy because refined petroleum goes for a more expensive price than crude oil in the global market. In the model, Wallerstein states that the refining of raw materials is controlled by core countries. Although the raw material is located in Egypt, the core countries have the power to benefit their economies through manipulating it. In the Rostow model, Egypt is in the fourth stage, as it is not fully developed yet but is maturing. Egypt has several imports and exports around the globe.

The development statistics for Egypt place the country in a middle stage of development compared to the rest of the world. Its GDP is 996 million, giving it a world rank of 25. While this number is near the top, the low life expectancy of 73.7 years sets it back quite a bit when looking at development as a whole. Egypt’s infant mortality rate is 17.1, which puts it at one of the lowest for the region, but pretty high globally. Egypt has a population growth rate of 2.28%, which is relatively high in comparison to the world, but low in its region of Africa. Egypt has a TFR of 3.29, which puts it pretty high in comparison to the world, but low in Africa. In comparison to Africa, Egypt is quite developed, with its children attending school for a decent amount of years (although females usually attend less).

Egypt has made great strides in promoting equality among females and males in recent years- universities even have more female graduates than male. Despite their efforts, Egyptian women are still rare in the workforce and are still socially expected to take over domestic duties, which is reflected in their high TFR. In Egyptian society, it is considered a failure of the husband if their wife has to work, making them reluctant to allow their spouse to enter the workforce. Egyptian women are also fearful of traveling far away from home due to sexual harassment and prefer to leave at an earlier hour to prepare dinner for their families. Social conditions for women in Egypt have deteriorated rapidly since the Mubarak overthrow, with sexual assault cases rising every day. Until 2014, sexual harassment wasn’t even considered a crime. Most of Egytian’s issues holding back women aren’t explicitly written in their legislature; rather they are based on societal norms and pressures.

In 2016, Egypt began implementing its Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030, which outlines the government’s plans regarding development in social, economic, and environmental sectors for the next 15 years. Egypt aims to lower its poverty rate through several initiatives, which include the creation of short-term jobs for unskilled men and women by the UNDP. Egypt has also built basic infrastructure and has renovated health units. The UNDP has also aided in creating a program of cash transfers that helped 25,000 families start their businesses, as well as provide micro-credit. Another main goal of Egypt is protecting and conserving their natural environment. Already 12 protected areas have been made in the partnership between the UNDP and the Egyptian government, supplying 350 new jobs and covering 110,000 kilometers.

Egypt could increase its development by diversifying its economy, as much of its industry is being exploited by wealthier countries. Egypt also spends quite a bit of its GDP (6%) on fuel subsidies, benefiting the rich and leaving less money for the poorer citizens. These subsidies also benefit capital-intensive industries, while Egypt needs to improve its labor-intensive industries that would create new jobs and help pull people out of poverty. Egypt could also increase fuel prices, as the citizens who can afford the cars that require fuel can likely afford it, which would create large savings that could be utilized to better the living conditions of the poor by investing in hospitals and schools. Another large reform that Egypt should consider is a flexible exchange rate that would make Egyptian industries more attractive to global investors and increase competitiveness. These benefits will create new jobs and allow for long-term prosperity.

In conclusion, Egypt is one of Africa’s more well-off countries, with multiple economic and social reforms being created to better its future and create sustainable development. In context to the world, however, Egypt’s development is still mediocre, with its one very important and sought-after natural resource being exploited and abused by MDCs, leaving Egypt with very little benefit.