Egypt Increases Social Protection Budget by 49% to EGP 529.7 Billion

Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait
Photo credit: Amwal Al Ghad

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced a 48.8 percent increase to Egypt’s social protection budget, from EGP 358.4 billion (USD 11.6 billion) to EGP 529.7 billion (USD 17 billion).

The announcement, made on Sunday 23 April, aims to ease the burden on citizens caused by global inflation and expand the social protection network for vulnerable groups and struggling families in Egypt.

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, EGP 127.7 billion (USD 4 billion) will be allocated to subsidize food commodities, marking a 41.9 percent increase. Meanwhile, EGP 119.4 billion (USD 3.8 billion) will be allocated to subsidize petroleum products, EGP 31 billion (USD 1 billion) for social security pensions, EGP 6 billion (USD 194,155) for health insurance and medicines, and EGP 10.2 billion (USD 330,072) for subsidized housing.

With three devaluations since March 2022, prices of food and commodities in Egypt have spiked to an all-time high. In March 2023, consumer prices reached an annual 32.7 percent, the highest increase in almost six years.