Egypt wants World Bank, IMF to include informal sector in GDP

ABU DHABI - 12 December 2018: Egypt’s central bank wants the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to include the country’s informal sector in their gross domestic product figures and other macro-indicators for Egypt, the bank’s deputy governor Gamal Negm said on Wednesday.

“We are seeking support to quantify the informal sector and recognise it in the overall size of our GDP,” Negm told a financial technology conference in Abu Dhabi, adding that the informal sector accounted for about 40 to 50 percent of GDP.

He did not discuss the response of the World Bank and IMF to the idea, or say when the proposal might take effect.