Finance Ministry: Budget deficit reaches EGP 218bn in 7 months

CAIRO - 22 May 2018: The budget deficit has reached 218 billion pounds during the first half of 2017-2018, the Finance Ministry said in a report.

This deficit makes up 5.1 percent of the total GDP, it noted.

Revenues upped to 353.7 billion pounds from 273.2 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year, the report read.

It attributed the increase to a rise in tax revenues from 198.7 billion pounds to 291.9 billion.

Non-tax revenues have, meanwhile, dropped from 74.6 billion pounds during the first half of 2016-2017 down to 61.9 billion during the same period of this fiscal year, the report added.

The report also pointed to an upturn in expenditures to 570.2 billion pounds in seven months compared with 464.4 billion during the same period in the previous fiscal year.