This Survey is published under the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee of the OECD, as part of the OECD Egypt Country Programme. It is the first OECD Economic Survey of Egypt.
The economic situation and policies of Egypt were reviewed by the Economic and Development Review Committee on 24 October 2023, with the participation of representatives of the Egyptian authorities, led by Dr. Ahmed Kamaly, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. The draft report was then revised in light of the discussions and given final approval as the agreed report of the whole Committee on 2 February 2024. It was updated to reflect recent developments, with a cut-off date for data and information of 15 February 2024. The Survey has been compiled and revised in close collaboration with senior representatives from national official institutions including the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Egypt, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Business Sector, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, the Ministry of labour, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Ministry of Health and Population, the Egyptian Competition Authority, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, the Administrative Control Authority, the Financial Regulatory Authority, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.
The Secretariat’s draft report was prepared for the Committee by Yosuke Jin, Ania Thiemann and Natia Mosiashvili under the supervision of Vincent Koen, with contributions from Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer (Education Directorate) and Reham ElDesoki (Consultant). It benefited from comments provided at various stages by Alvaro Pereira, Luiz De Mello, Isabell Koske, David Haugh and Tim Bulman (Economics Department) as well as by experts in the Economics Department, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, and Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Development, Education and Skills, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, Environment, Public Governance, Global Relations and Cooperation, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Trade and Agriculture Directorates. Jean-Rémi Bertrand, Sisse Nielsen and Michelle Ortiz provided editorial support.
The OECD and Egypt, represented by Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Planning and Economic Development Dr. Hala El-Said, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in October 2021 to start a three-year Country Programme to incentivise and support structural reforms. Its main objective is to bring Egypt closer to OECD bodies and standards while supporting its domestic reform agenda. The Country Programme is aligned with Egypt’s national development strategy, Egypt Vision 2030 and will support Egypt’s efforts in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Country Programme will also contribute to the implementation of the National Structural Reform Programme that was adopted in September 2021. The Country Programme focuses on five pillars: (1) inclusive and sustainable economic growth; (2) innovation and digital transformation; (3) governance and anti-corruption; (4) statistics and monitoring; and (5) sustainable development. It comprises 35 projects spanning 16 OECD Directorates.
On the Egyptian side, Dr Heba Y. Hashem, Head of the Country Programme Monitoring Unit at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, coordinated the preparation of this Economic Survey. The Economics Department country desk visited Cairo three times and met with a wide range of Egyptian officials as well as representatives of the social partners, the private sector, academics and country-based experts.
Information about the latest as well as previous Surveys and more details about how Surveys are prepared is available at www.oecd.org/eco/surveys.