Egypt’s Foreign Exchange Receipts Surge by 30.8 Percent in FY2023/2024

CAIRO – 19 February 2025: Egypt’s total foreign exchange receipts saw a significant rise in FY2023/2024, reaching $159.6 billion, compared to $121.9 billion in the previous fiscal year. This marks an impressive 30.8 percent increase, according to the latest data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The surge in foreign exchange inflows was largely fueled by an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), which totaled $32.9 billion during the fiscal year.

At the same time, foreign exchange payments also experienced growth, rising 10.0 percent to $148.5 billion, up from $135.0 billion in FY2022/2023.

The primary driver behind this increase was higher import expenditures, which expanded to $67.8 billion, compared to $61.6 billion in the previous year.

Arab League countries played a crucial role in Egypt’s foreign exchange receipts, contributing a total of $66.9 billion, which accounted for 41.9 percent of the total inflows.

Within this group, the United Arab Emirates emerged as the leading contributor, providing $36.4 billion (22.8 percent of total Arab contributions), followed by Saudi Arabia, which contributed $17.1 billion.

On the other hand, European nations led in terms of Egypt’s foreign exchange outflows, with total payments to the region reaching $53.2 billion, representing 35.8 percent of total foreign exchange payments.

Among European countries, the United Kingdom received the highest share at $14.4 billion, followed by Germany, which accounted for $9.5 billion of Egypt’s payments.

In terms of trade with regional economic blocs, Egypt’s transactions with COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) declined by 25.3 percent, amounting to $2.8 billion, down from $3.8 billion in the previous fiscal year.

As a result, Egypt’s foreign exchange balance with COMESA recorded a deficit of $926.7 million in FY2023/2024.

Conversely, trade with European Union (EU) countries saw an 8.9 percent increase, reaching $51.8 billion, up from $47.5 billion in the previous year.

However, despite this growth, Egypt’s foreign exchange balance deficit with the EU widened to $9.0 billion, compared to $5.1 billion in FY2022/2023.

These figures highlight Egypt’s shifting economic landscape, shaped by increased investments and evolving trade relationships with key international partners.