Egypt  

Despite very high foreign direct investment equalling 9% of GDP, Egyptian workers have limited access to physical capital, including offices and productive machinery, used to produce goods and services. This can be partially explained by a weak domestic savings rate of about 16%. Nearly one in 10 of Egypt’s workforce is unemployed, ranking the country at 70, and inflation is high at over 9%, placing Egypt in the bottom quintile on this measure. Approximately a quarter of all loans in the banking system defaulted in 2007, however, an interest margin of 2% indicates some degree of efficiency in the banking sector. Domestic demand is strong with Egypt’s household consumption expenditure at a quarter of its GDP. Raw material export concentration points towards high dependency on raw material exports, placing Egypt at 73rd on this variable. Egypt’s capacity to earn foreign currency is weak, as indicated by its very low level of export revenues when compared with the cost of its imports.

There are 10 formal procedures required to start a business in Egypt, which led to 10,000 new business registrations in 2007, an average value by international standards. In terms of value added in the service industry, Egypt ranks in the bottom quartile in the international community. In Egypt, while internet bandwidth is high, with seven secure internet servers per 10 million people, internet security remains a problem. This problem is compounded by a lack of access to computers, with only 43 personal computers per 1,000 people. The proportion of high-tech exports to overall goods exported is extremely low, at approximately 0.5%. R&D is moderate, equalling 0.6% of GDP, but royalty receipts are high, placing Egypt amongst the top 30 countries in this latter measure.

With almost no rights to participate in political processes and very limited freedom to express opinions, Egypt is placed 86th on the measure for political rights and civil liberties. Consequently, Egypt ranks in the least democratic quintile of all countries. Although there are multiple political parties in Egypt, the ruling party has the majority of the executive power and due to very few constraints to the power of authority, leaders can force legislation through the system with ease. Political stability in Egypt is moderate to low, and there is weak regulation of elections for the legislative branch of government. However, the Egyptian judiciary is independent of the executive branch.

While a 94% primary enrolment rate places Egypt 49th on that variable, a comparatively lower secondary enrolment rate of 88%, positions the country well below the international average. Tertiary school enrolment is near the global average at 35%. Average classroom size is moderate with a ratio of 27 students to each teacher, despite very low levels of education expenditure per student. There is high gender inequality in Egypt, with only 95 girls for every 100 boys in primary and secondary school, ranking the country in the bottom quintile for this variable. However, with averages of 5.5 and 4.3 years of secondary and tertiary education in the labour force, the average Egyptian worker is well educated.

A high 88% of Egyptians report being satisfied with their personal health.* This reflects the comparatively high number of doctors at 24 per 10,000 people, a similarly high health-adjusted life expectancy at 59 years, and a low rate of undernourishment at just 4% of the population. The majority of Egyptians also report feeling well rested, ranking the country inside the top 40 internationally.* However, scores on other variables are more moderate. Egypt has an average level of 22 hospital beds per 10,000 people, ranking the country 56th for this variable. Only two-thirds of Egyptians have access to improved sanitation facilities, and only 61% are satisfied with the quality of water, placing Egypt well below the international average.* Infant mortality is also notably high at a rate of 31 deaths per 1,000 live births, putting Egypt in the third quartile internationally. Furthermore, when questioned, 24% of Egyptians have ongoing health problems and 41% of Egyptians reported that they were in pain the previous day – the third-largest proportion in the Index.*

Egypt scores below global averages on a number of national security variables, facing challenges related to human flight, refugees, and groups with a history of discrimination or other grievance against the government. In 2008, there were no casualties due to civil strife or ethnic clashes; however, it was reported that political opponents of the state are subject to torture and imprisonment. Egypt scores better on personal security as the homicide rate is very low at only one death per 100,000 people, and 85% of Egyptians feel safe walking the streets at night, placing the country in the top 10 on this measure.* Approximately one in five respondents reported having property stolen in 2008, and less than 8% had been assaulted or mugged, placing this country in the 68th position according to these variables.*

Individuals within Egyptian society respect property rights and rule of law only moderately, ranking the country 53rd on this variable. The quality of regulation of commercial and economic activity, as well as efficiency of governance and bureaucracy, are well below international standards, ranking Egypt 73rd out of 104 countries on both variables. The right to free and fair elections does not exist in Egypt, and over nine-tenths of all Egyptians believe their local businesses are fundamentally corrupted.* Further data was not available on honesty of elections, approval of the judicial system, or government corruption.

Egyptian citizens are only able to exercise freedom of speech, movement, and religion to a limited extent. In addition, only just over a third of Egyptians believe their city or area is a good place for minorities or immigrants to live.* This puts Egypt in the bottom 10 percentile on both accounts. Furthermore, only 64% of Egyptians are satisfied with the freedom they have to choose what to do with their lives, ranking Egypt well below the international average.*

Most Egyptians place a high importance on friendship, but only three-quarters feel they can rely on their family and friends, placing the country in the bottom quintile for the latter variable.* Egypt’s trust rankings are low with only 18% of Egyptians feeling they can trust their fellow citizens.* Egyptians have extremely low levels of group membership; only 1% of Egyptians are members of religious organisations, the lowest proportion of all the countries in the Index, while extremely low numbers are members of sports, arts and environmental organisations, at 5%, 1%, and 1%, respectively.* Although only 9% of Egyptians had volunteered in the previous month, over 60% of all Egyptians reportedly helped a stranger in the same timeframe, placing the country 6th overall for this variable.*

* Data taken from the Gallup World Poll

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