Egypt expects economic growth to range between 4.8% and 5.2% this year, according to official projections.
The government is targeting growth within this range for 2026, a cautious outlook that is expected to pave the way for a gradual acceleration to between 6.2% and 6.8% by 2029/2030, Planning Minister Ahmed Rostom said in a statement on Tuesday, 9 June.
“The current plan is a dynamic roadmap designed to address potential global shocks. It incorporates multiple geopolitical scenarios, including temporary paralysis of maritime traffic as well as sudden spikes in energy and food prices,” the minister said while presenting Egypt’s 2026/2027 economic and social development plan, along with its medium-term strategy (2026/2027–2029/2030) before the Senate.
The minister also pledged increases of between 11% and 27.6% in budget allocations for health, education, scientific research, and Al-Azhar institutions, noting that these sectors are fully exempt from austerity measures.
Egypt’s 2025/2026 budget was approved in March by the government, projecting revenues of 3.1 trillion pounds (+19%) and expenditures of 4.6 trillion pounds (+18%), according to a cabinet statement.
Rostom also announced the launch of the second phase of the universal health insurance system across six additional governorates. The expansion will cover more than 12 million additional citizens, bringing total beneficiaries across both phases to 17 million by 2030.
Currently, around 5.4 million citizens are enrolled in the system across the first-phase governorates of Port Said, Luxor, Ismailia, South Sinai, Aswan, and Suez.
AK/Sf/lb/as/APA