My Economic Points

Nile River became the center of trading activities Egyptian society. Centralized economy it inherited from President Gamal Abdel Nasser. However, in the last 30 years, the government has succeeded in reforming the economic policy there.

The World Bank report shows, in recent decades Egypt has experienced remarkable progress in the provision of infrastructure in all sectors, including transportation, telecommunication, power generation, and water and sanitation.

The Egyptian government has cut subsidies, reduce inflation, cut the amount of taxes and liberalize trade and investment during economic reform, since 1991. The process of reform and privatization has begun to increase opportunities for the private sector. Agriculture has been privatized, but the regulations remain the road, except on cotton and sugar. Construction sector, non-financial services, and wholesale and retail trade in the country largely controlled by the private sector. This makes Egypt’s growth rate stable. In the last quarter century, at least in the country located in West Asia and North Africa is growing 4-5 percent, including in 2009, which grew 4.7 percent.

Due to successful diversification, gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 7 percent per year. Notes the World Bank, Egypt’s GDP in 2009 stood at U.S. $ 188 billion, with a population of 83 million.

Meanwhile, reports the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launch, GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) increased fourfold between 1981-2006, from U.S. $ 1,355 in 1981 to U.S. $ 2,525 in 1991, U.S. $ 3,686 in 2001, and to U.S. $ 4,535 in 2006.

With an average economic growth was relatively high, Goldman Sachs has characterized Egypt as one of the world’s new economic giant candidates in 2050. Goldman Sachs popularized it in the report “Next11: Not Just an Acronym” which was released in 2007. Egypt will be the economic power together with Indonesia, Turkey, South Korea, Mexico, Iran, Nigeria, Philippines, Pakistan, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Indeed, the number of poor people in Egypt also continues to decline. In 2009, the population of poor people continues to fall from 22.9 percent in 1996 to 16.7 percent in 2000, and 14 percent in 2009. While the unemployment rate in 2008 was 8.7 percent.

The lowest unemployment rate ever achieved in 1999, namely 8.1 percent. In the last 10 years, the highest unemployment rate in 1995, as many as 11.3 percent.  Egypt’s foreign debt reached 17.6 per cent of gross national income (GNI). These numbers continue to fall from 89.1 percent in 1991.