Egypt
Thanks to the adoption of reforms under an ambitious IMF programme, Egypt’s macroeconomic indicators have improved notably. This has made Egypt fairly resilient to the shocks brought about by Covid-19 and should help support a strong bounce-back relative to its North African counterparts. A high level of state presence in the economy and high domestic public debt levels are some of its ongoing challenges.
The economy has pulled through since its pandemic-induced contraction in Q2 2020, but the global health crisis continues to present challenges to the economic outlook. Egypt’s heavy reliance on goods imports to meet the needs of its consumer-driven economy is working against it in the context of surging global commodity prices. The trade deficit has bulged, tourism receipts have recorded an unimpressive performance, and the global environment has proven less than desirable for foreign investment. These various pressures are starting to show the cracks in the economy – namely the fact that Egypt is relying a little bit too much on portfolio inflows and external debt to meet its external financing needs. Global uncertainty is unlikely to be fading anytime soon, following the recent discovery of the new Omicron variant, which will determine the course of the pandemic in coming months. (Source: Egypt Quarterly Update, published December 2021.)
Macroeconomic Data
(2020)
Fiscal Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-7.9 |
Consumer Price Index (% change y-o-y, avg) |
5.1 |
Current Account Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-3.7 |
Real GDP (annual % change) |
1.5 |
GDP per Capita, US$ |
3,733.8 |
Import Cover (months) |
5.64/p> |
Population, million |
102.3 |
Total External Debt (as a % of GDP) |
34.4 |