Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper,
chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 24%
forest and woodland: 20%
other: 51%
Irrigated land: 18,900 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife
populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion;
desertification
natural hazards: dust storms
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
Geographic note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile
and its tributaries
People ———
Population: 31,547,543 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 7,389,616; female 7,080,044)
15-64 years: 52% (male 8,219,080; female 8,172,544)
65 years and over: 2% (male 387,961; female 298,298) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.48% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 41.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)