Republic, pluralist parliament, multipartism. Egypt is by far the most populous Arab country and represents one third of the population of the Arab World. Since 1991 tourism has been the first source of income.
Revenues coming from tourism are even higher than the Suez Canal and the oil proceeds together.
The massacre of 62 tourists in November 1997 in Luxor has decreased tourism earnings since then. Egypt participates with Morocco , Israel , Jordan , Tunisia and Mauritania to the Dialogue started in 1995 by NATO with the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. The ongoing privatisation process has boosted foreign investments in Egypt. The discovery and production of natural gas in the early nineties have made Egypt self-sufficient in this field since 1995. The Suez Canal and the above mentioned pipelines are strategic transit points for gas and oil shipments from the Gulf.