Economics

Egyptians Are in Deeper Fiscal Hole as Economic Program Wraps Up

  • Poverty rate in 2018 came in at nearly double its 2000 level
  • Even as average annual income grew, it declined in real terms
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New figures spotlight the pain Egyptians are feeling as the government wraps up a three-year program credited with pulling the economy from the throes of a crisis.

About 32.5% of the population was living in poverty in 2018, up from 27.8% in 2015 and almost double the rate in 2000, according to the government’s first comprehensive report on income and poverty since the launch of the International Monetary Fund-backed program.