Egypt - Education and Training | BETA - International Trade Administration Page 1 of 4

Egypt Country Commercial Guide

Egypt - Education and Training

This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes
a market overview and trade data

Last Published: 4/5/2018

Overview
Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world. The Egyptian
economy is one of the largest in the Middle East and North Africa and has
traditionally been an attractive market for U.S. companies. Thanks to its
unique mix of demographics and commercial links to the broader world,
Egypt’s strategic location offers companies a platform for their commercial
activities throughout the Middle East. 

The workforce in Egypt is about 28.9 million, according to 2016 estimates.

They are distributed in the service sector (53 percent), agriculture sector
(29 percent), and the industrial sector (18 percent). 

The education sector in Egypt has around 52 million students currently

enrolled in the basic education system (which includes pre-school,
elementary, and high school), and approximately 2.6 million students
enrolled in higher education institutions including public universities,
private, and higher institutions. 
Fifty percent of the population is under the age of 25. The current
population of school-age children is approximately 11.5 million, and the
gross enrollment rate is around 97 percent. These students are taught in
about 40,000 school buildings of 11–12 classrooms each, consisting of
355,000 classrooms nationwide. The average class size is 40 pupils. There
is still a significant gap in infrastructure and a real need for at least 5,000
new schools (or no fewer than 60,000 classrooms). 

University students are served by 73 universities (29 state funded and 44

private). The government investment in education will be increased from
3.6 to 3.8 percent of the GDP in the 2016–17 approved budget. The
government priority is to upgrade facilities and equipment in order to
master new technologies. The plan also links education to the job market
by upgrading training and re-training. There are several vocational training
centers affiliated with various ministries and government entities with a


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total training capacity of over 250,000 trainees per year.

According to the Institute of International Education (IIE) the number of

Egyptians going to the United States to study has increased 7.9 percent
from 2015/2016 to 2016/2017, totaling 3,715 students. 

Leading Sub-Sectors
English language programs for professional development have a high
market potential in Egypt as English is taught until high school and many
Egyptians have the basic knowledge yet look for further development. 

There has been an increase in international schools in Egypt, reaching 185

schools, yet the demand continues to grow. Egyptian students are also
interested in going abroad to take their full undergraduate coursework as
they believe that American education is of the highest quality. Due to the
relatively low GDP per capita and the fact that public universities are
relatively inexpensive, the majority of Egyptian students require
scholarships to study abroad. There is, however, high demand by the upper
and upper middle class (around 5 percent of the population) who can
afford to enroll in American universities. Students from such
socioeconomic backgrounds already have a strong foundation in English
and, therefore, are interested in undergraduate and graduate degrees.  

Opportunities
The concentration of opportunities is centered on Cairo and Alexandria,
home to most of the international institutions. The best market entry
strategy would be to partner with a local education provider that has
market insight and strong networking capabilities. Doing business in Egypt
is a matter of establishing a relationship; agreements cannot be completed
after only a single contact. 

Web Resources
• Institute of International Education (IIE) (http://www.iie.org)
• Egyptian Ministry of Education (http://www.moe.gov.eg)
• Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics
(http://www.capmas.gov.eg/)
• World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/)

Contact
Dina Bissada
Commercial Assistant
[email protected]
+20 (2) 2797-2340

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EDUCATION (COUNTRY_COMMERCIAL__KAVINDUSTRIESEDUCATION)

TRADE DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION (COUNTRY_COMMERCIAL__KAVTRADE_TOPICSTRADE+DEVELOPMENT+AND+PROMOTION)

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