According to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts, Egypt’s GDP is predicted to reach 280.00 USD billion by the end of 2021. According to our econometric models, Egypt’s GDP will trend at 340.00 USD billion in 2022.
Is Egypt a developing nation?
Despite its status as a middle-income country, Egypt is confronted with a number of long-standing development issues. According to HIECS data, Egypt’s income poverty rate climbed from 27.8% in 2015 to 32.5 percent in 2018, with 32 million individuals living below the national poverty threshold.
Is Egypt’s economy doing well?
Egypt’s economy has grown steadily and steadily since the start of economic reforms in 2016. Despite the negative impact of the COVID19 pandemic, it is one of the few African countries anticipated to develop at a positive rate in 2020, at 3.6 percent. Due to strong domestic spending, the economy grew at a slower pace than in 2019 (5.6 percent), but did not enter a recession. From mid-March until 1 July 2020, the tourism sector, which accounts for around 5.5 percent of GDP and 9.5 percent of jobs, was shut down. Despite pandemic-related spending and revenue shortfalls, the fiscal balance is predicted to remain positive, at 0.5 percent of GDP, excluding the cost of government debt. This fiscal buffer, which was created as a result of the fiscal consolidation legislation, helped keep the total deficit at 8% of GDP in 2020, compared to a 7.9% deficit in 2019 that benefited from a 2% primary surplus. The public debt is expected to rise to 90.6 percent of GDP in 2020, up from 86.6 percent in 2019, reversing a three-year downward trend. Exports declined 6% in the first half of 2020, while imports fell 21%, helping to reduce the current account deficit to 3.1 percent of GDP in 2020, down from 3.6 percent the year before. The lower current account deficit reflected the strength of remittances, which are expected to account for 8% of GDP in 2020. Egypt had a period of double-digit inflation after switching to a flexible exchange rate regime in 2016, but inflationary pressures have been drifting downward since the summer of 2017. Price pressures were restrained in 2020, particularly on food items, and inflation fell to 5.7 percent from 13.9 percent in 2019, allowing monetary policy to be more accommodating. The Bank of Egypt decreased the overnight lending rate by 300 basis points on 16 March 2020, another 50 basis points on 24 September, and to 9.25 percent on 12 November to promote economic activity.
Because of persistent deterioration in net exports, mostly tourism receipts, real GDP growth is predicted to decelerate to 3% in 2021. Due to the closure of international airports and restrictions on local travel, tourism profits, which accounted for 25% of exports in 2019, are expected to fall in 2020. In the short term, the tourism forecast is still bleak. Overall, due to the negative external environment, exports are expected to remain sluggish in 2021, notably in Europe, which accounts for 35.5 percent of Egypt’s exports and is the main source of tourists. Similarly, private investment may be modest in 2021, but will profit in the medium term from the improving investment climate. Private consumption will continue to be the primary source of growth. Egypt’s reform momentum must be maintained in order to dynamize the private sector and boost inclusive growth. Inflation is likely to rise only marginally in 2021, therefore monetary policy should remain accommodating.
Foreign investors flocked to the local debt market once the capital account was liberalized in 2016. The epidemic, however, resulted in a large reversal of capital flows, putting strain on reserves and the current account. Egypt’s already significant refinancing demands were compounded by the pandemic, with 60 percent of the country’s public debt maturing in one year or fewer. Egypt used funds from COVID19-related facilities to cover the funding shortfall. The International Monetary Fund gave it $8 billion ($2.8 billion from the coronavirus quick financing effort and $5.2 billion from a one-year stand-by agreement). The World Bank contributed $450 million, while the African Development Bank contributed $300 million. The country again used the foreign capital market on May 21, 2020, when it issued a $5 billion bond, its largest to date, which was heavily oversubscribed. Foreign exchange reserves increased to $40.06 billion at the end of 2020, thanks to credit facilities from international financial institutions and bond issuances. Although external debt increased to 36% of GDP, the fresh borrowing helped to extend the average debt maturity. In 2021, total public debt is expected to rise to 90.6 percent of GDP before steadily decreasing to 77.2 percent by 2025. To manage refinancing risk and limit rollover risk, Egypt must extend the term of its debt and diversify its investor base. Furthermore, the country must continue to adopt structural changes in order to boost private sector development and mobilize local resources.
Is Egypt a wealthy country?
**#8 According to the AfrAsia Bank’s Africa Wealth Report 2018, Egypt is Africa’s second wealthiest country in terms of total wealth, but it ranks sixth in terms of wealth per capita (pdf). South Africa was the wealthiest country on the continent. The Mauritius-based bank’s analysis delves into “Trends in Africa’s wealth, luxury, premier real estate, and wealth management.” According to the research, Africa’s luxury sector was valued USD 6 billion in 2017, and included high-end automobiles, private planes, yachts, hotels, and luxury clothing and accessories. According to the report, Egypt’s luxury sector is valued only USD 0.3 billion, compared to USD 2.2 billion in South Africa. With a combined worth of USD 140 billion, Cairo is the third richest city in Africa. With USD 276 billion and USD 155 billion, respectively, Johannesburg and Cape Town are at the top of the list.
“Approximately USD 140 billion of African HNWI wealth is related to wealth managers and private banks,” the report says, adding, “we believe the African wealth management market will increase at a rate of roughly 7% per year over the next ten years.”
Take it all with a generous pinch of salt: The paper is entertaining to read, since it delves into the top luxury brands reportedly owned by the continent’s 1% (with no figures or market share). It is also completely opaque regarding its data sources and methodology, nearly always using data from New World Wealth, which touts itself as a wealth management firm “South African-based “global market research group”
What is the number of billionaires in Egypt?
South Africa and Egypt each have five billionaires, with Nigeria and Morocco each having three. All of the continent’s billionaires are men, and the last woman to appear on the Forbes list was Isabel dos Santos of Angola, who slipped off in January 2021.
What’s the state of Egypt’s economy?
Egypt’s economy is ranked 152nd in the 2022 Index for economic freedom, with a score of 49.1. Egypt is ranked 11th out of 14 Middle Eastern and North African countries, and its overall score is lower than the regional and global norms.
What is Egypt’s main source of revenue?
Natural gas and non-petroleum products like as ready-made clothing, cotton textiles, medicinal and petrochemical products, citrus fruits, rice, and dried onion, as well as more recently cement, steel, and ceramics, are Egypt’s principal exports.