Egypt is almost the size of Britain, France and Germany combined, yet its nearly 70 million people are forced by geographic factors to live in an area no bigger than Belgium. Only 4% of the land can sustain cultivation and life. Since ancient times Egypt has been at the mercy of its geography. In this book the authors describe the problems of food supply for a rapidly growing population, review the effects of water and land shortage, and consider the impact of globalization on Egypt's attempt to industrialize. The structural difficulties besetting Egypt's economy - population explosion, a seriously negative balance of payments, massive debt, unemployment, brain drain and corruption - have barely been eased by the rise of tourism which is so vulnerable to Islamist terrorism. This work goes far beyond the often unreliable official records and statistics.