Ahmad Abdul-Rahman writes about the importance of foreign remittances to Egypt and explains the figures.
Egypt is reliant on remittances for foreign exchange and remittances from Egyptians working abroad continue to be one of the most important sources of foreign exchange resources for Egypt. These have witnessed steady growth in recent years, especially from Egyptians working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). These countries control the lion's share of the total remittances to Egypt each year.
This is confirmed by data from Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). It shows a map of the GCC countries that contribute the most to Egypt's remittances.
The total value of remittances from Egyptians working in the GCC countries was about USD20.9 billion during the fiscal year 2020/2021, compared to USD18.8 billion during the fiscal year 2019/2020, an increase of 11.1 per cent. Data from the statistics authority showed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first in the GCC for the value of remittances from Egyptians working there during the 2020/21 fiscal year. The value of workers' remittances reached USD11.2 billion, followed by Kuwait with USD4.4 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with USD3.4 billion, Qatar with remittances totaling USD1.5 billion, Oman total of USD162 million, and finally Bahrain with USD104.1 million.
The data issued by CAPMAS indicated that the value of trade between Egypt and the GCC countries rose to USD16.1 billion dollars in 2021, compared to USD13.3 billion dollars in 2020, an increase of USD 2.9 billion dollars, or 21.7 per cent. The value of Egyptian exports to the GCC countries amounted to USD4.5 billion dollars in 2021, compared to USD5.4 billion dollars in 2020, a decrease of 16.8 per cent.
Imports and exports to from Egypt
Saudi Arabia topped the list in the GCC for the country that imported the most from Egypt in 2021. The value of Egypt's exports to Saudi Arabia amounted to USD2.2 billion, followed by the UAE with USD1.3 billion. Bahrain was next with USD450.7 million, Kuwait had USD320.7 million, and the Sultanate of Oman, USD163.3 million. Finally, Qatar had USD4.5 million of imports from Egypt.
The value of Egyptian imports from the Gulf countries increased to reach a total of USD11.7 billion dollars in 2021, compared to USD7.9 billion in 2020. This was an increase of USD3.8 billion dollars, or an increase of 47.9 per cent.
Saudi Arabia topped the list among GCC countries for exporting the most to Egypt in 2021. In total value, Egypt's imports from this country amounted to USD6.9 billion, followed by the UAE with USD2.4 billion, Kuwait USD1.4 billion, Bahrain USD466.5 million, and Oman with USD422.9 million. Qatar had USD40.3 million of exports to Egypt in this time.
The value of GCC investments in Egypt reached USD3.9 billion during the fiscal year 2020/2021, compared to USD3.8 billion in the fiscal year 2019/2020, representing an increase of 1.9 per cent.
The UAE ranked first among the GCC countries for investing the most in Egypt in fiscal year 2020/2021. The value of UAE investments in Egypt was USD2.8 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia with USD622 million, then Kuwait with USD217.8 million, Bahrain with USD160.4 million, Oman USD 68.8 million, and Qatar USD 59.8 million.
According to estimates from CAPMAS the number of Egyptians residing in the GCC countries, reached 4.7 million at the end of 2020.