According to the country’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, around 51 per cent of the population living in rural areas in Upper Egypt is poor. The factsheet focuses on this topic, arguing that although most people in Upper Egypt depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, smallholder farming in this region does not provide them with sufficient food security and income. Most smallholders have limited access to water, in terms of both quality and quantity. In addition, they have very small landholdings compared to those in Lower Egypt, they cultivate crops that have a low market value and generate limited income, and they do not have adequate access to financing and credit. Alternative employment opportunities are lacking in Upper Egypt because of the limited development of microenterprises or other non-farm economic activity.