Egypt aims to increase number of expats in EU, U.S. by 1M

CAIRO – 9 January 2024: A document released by the Cabinet and titled "Features of the Strategic Orientation of the Egyptian Economy 2024-2030" showed that the government aims for increasing the number of Egyptian expats by one million.

The endeavor capitalizes on the shortage in workers amounting to 100 million in the European Union and the United States. The fields the one million Egyptians are expected to join abroad are artificial intelligence (AI), information technology (IT) services, nursing, and biotechnology among others.

The government equally targets raising remittances by 10 percent annually to become $53 billion.

According to previous statements by the Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expats, the official number of Egyptian expats is 9.5 million, while the estimated figure is 13 million.

The World Bank (WB) is forecasting a 15 percent year-on-year fall in remittances to Egypt from expats for 2023, dropping to $24.2 billion, according to its latest report. That is a significant change from its prediction of a 3.1 percent increase in its June 2023 report.

The WB explained that the growing gap between the official and unofficial exchange rates had led to a significant drop in remittances through official channels.

According to recent data from the Central Bank of Egypt, a 38-percent decline in remittance flows during the first half of 2023, amounting to $10 billion, recording lowest level since the first half of 2017.

The WB’s report highlighted that the MENA region’s remittances are projected to fall by 5.3 percent to approximately $61 billion in 2023, following a 4.5 percent drop in 2022.