Egyptian books and films are available throughout the Middle East. Egypt has endured as a unified state for more than 5,000 years, and archeological evidence indicates that a developed Egyptian society has existed for much longer. Egyptians take pride in their Pharaonic heritage and in their descent from what they consider mankind s earliest civilization. The literacy rate is about 51.4 percent of the adult population, although the rates per gender are not balanced. The literacy rate for males is 63.6 percent, while it is 38.8 percent for females.
Education is compulsory from ages six through twelve and free through university.
About 87 percent of children enter primary school, but half drop out after their sixth year. In terms of health and welfare, the infant mortality rate is 62.32 deaths per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth for the total population is 63.33 years of age-61.29 years for males and 65.47 years for females, according to the 2000 CIA Factbook. The population growth is estimated at 1.72 percent per year. The HDI 2000 places Egypt in the lower part of the medium human development category on a 119th place with an overall score of 0.623.