ABSTRACT
The profile of Egypt at mid-century is quite typical of Third World countries: Two thirds or more of the population live and make a living off the land, more than half of the national labor force is rural, the contribution of agriculture to GNP is one third the total and that of industry less than 15 percent. Land distribution was extremely unequal, where less than one percent of landowners possessed more than one third of the cultivated land and many of them were absentee landlords. The credit system and extension services were inadequate if available at all. Finally, population pressure on the land was relentless.
