24. Exploitation of Natural Resources Physical Factors
Egypt is surrounded by desert to the east, west and south, and bordered by the Mediterranean in the north. It receives little annual precipitation. The Nile therefore is the primary source of fresh water and the only source of water for agriculture.
Human Factors
Egypt’s population is generally rising at an extremely fast rate, which causes the government concern. In 2022, the population was approximately 106 million. It is predicted to reach 160 million by 2050. Some 90% of the country’s population lives close to the River Nile. The Nile is under extreme pressure to provide water for agricultural, household and business purposes.
800 mm of precipitation per year
World averages
Egypt averages 200 mm per year
Ireland averages 1,000 mm per year
1. Egypt’s rainfall compared to world and Irish average The Farm-level Irrigation Modernization Project (FIMP)
In 2010, the Egyptian government, with funding from the World Bank, set up Farm-level Irrigation Modernization Project (FIMP) to modernise the irrigation system throughout the Nile region in Egypt.
Mediterranean Sea Rosetta
Alexandria Lake
Mariout
Suez Canal
Irrigation canal City
0 50 km
R. Nile Cairo
Can you remember the name of this triangular landform of river deposition at a river mouth?
Great Bitter Lake
Gulf of Suez
357 Lake Manzala Port Said 2. Irrigation canals in the Nile Delta Damietta