Understanding Poverty and Inequality in Egypt
In 2015, a large share of Egypt's population was either poor (27.8 percent) or not poor but vulnerable to falling into poverty (an additional 28.7percent); most of the poor and vulnerable lived in the governorates of Upper Egypt. Clearly the c...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/351121575640799887/Understanding-Poverty-and-Inequality-in-Egypt http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32812 |
| Summary: | In 2015, a large share of Egypt's
population was either poor (27.8 percent) or not poor but
vulnerable to falling into poverty (an additional
28.7percent); most of the poor and vulnerable lived in the
governorates of Upper Egypt. Clearly the country faces a
challenge, but it also has the knowledge to craft solutions.
Egypt's recent reforms have started to address some of
the country’s economic sustainability challenges. Targeted
social protection programs must continue to be an essential
element of poverty reduction policy. Looking ahead, this
report calls attention to the fact that re-orienting
education investments towards more effective learning that
raises people's employability and productivity and
putting in place policies that encourage job creation will
be key to sustained poverty reduction. Revitalizing
education and job creation will be important for maximizing
the poverty-reducing potential of the economic reform
program. One of the hallmarks of healthy economies is a
substantial middle class, a group often thought to be an
engine of economic growth. In Egypt, a notable share of the
population, close to 30 percent, can be considered middle
class. Compared to the poor and vulnerable, the middle class
has higher education, more assets, and better connectivity
to basic services and spends a relatively large share of
income on education and health. It is clearly a goal in
developing countries to enlarge the middle class in order to
strengthen the overall economy. |
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