Economy of Egypt

Average wages in 2007 hovered around US$8–10 per day; and according to the World Bank Country Classification, Egypt has been promoted from the low income category to the lower middle income category. During the 1990s, a series of International Monetary Fund arrangements, coupled with massive external debt relief resulting from Egypt's participation in the Gulf War coalition, helped the country improve its macroeconomic performance. The pace of structural reforms, including fiscal, monetary policies, privatization and new business legislations, moved the Egypt toward a more market-oriented economy and, since the turn of the new millennium, prompted increased foreign investment. However, this development is still a work in progress and the government needs to continue its pursuit of improvement in order to sustain the spike in investment and growth and begin to enliven economic conditions for the broader population.

This succinct paper briefly portrays: the macroeconomic trend, the reform era, the three natural resources (land, agriculture and crops; water; and mineral and energy resources); the four main economic sectors (agriculture; industry; construction and contracting; and services sectors); the emerging ICT sector; the largest Egyptian companies; investment; response to the global financial crisis; and poverty and income  distribution.

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