Economy

In an implementation of presidential directives, the support and social protection allocations have been increased to LE356bn ($22.6bn) in the new draft general budget. The Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges brought about by the war in Ukraine have created an unprecedented inflationary wave. This initiative will support the sectors and groups most affected by the current...

Egypt’s economy proved resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic, supported by structural changes associated with an ambitious economic reform programme in the years leading up to the crisis. The country was the only one in the MENA region to record positive GDP growth in 2020, reflective of the government’s emphasis on facilitating business continuity and targeting social...

Despite a successful economic reform programme implemented in 2016, Egypt continues to grapple with a fiscal deficit. In FY 2019/20 Egypt recorded a deficit of LE462.8bn ($29.4bn), the highest since the start of the 2016 reform initiatives. While this figure contracted to LE432.1bn ($27.5bn) in FY 2020/21, it is forecast to expand to LE475.5bn ($30.2bn) in FY 2021/22,...

While the current constitution dates from 2014, Egypt became a presidential republic in 1952. Under a presidential republic, the president – who serves as the head of state – selects the Cabinet and the prime minister; Mostafa Madbouly has occupied the role of the latter since 2018. The president is elected by an absolute majority of voters and initially serves a four-year...

Egypt is at the geographic centre of the MENA region, with a well-documented history that has seen it accumulate knowledge and wealth over millennia. It has leveraged the fertile soils of the Nile Delta and its location along global trade routes through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, as well as the strategically important Suez Canal, completed in the mid-19th century. This...