Capital: Cairo
Population: 106.4 million (July 2021 est.)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $1.22 trillion (2020 est., in 2017 dollars)
Currency: Egyptian Pounds (EGP)
Language: Arabic (official), Arabic, English, and French widely understood
UNESCO Student Mobility Number
Egypt has 43,718 students studying abroad according to UNESCO.
CIA World Factbook
51.63% of the Egyptian population is under 25 years old.
Overview
According to Berkley Research Group, Egypt has the most extensive education system in the Middle East. It has more than 60,000 schools, of which only 7,000 are private schools. Public primary schools accommodate about 20 million students and the private primary schools accommodate around 2 million students. The total number of students in the primary stage is expected to reach 30 million by 2030.
Egypt currently has 24 public universities (with about two million students) and 26 private universities (with about 60,000 students).
In 2017 the Ministry of Education and Technical Education launched its groundbreaking Education 2.0 reform to reorient teaching away from rote memorization and towards critical thinking. The new Education 2.0 framework uses a competency-based curriculum, focused on the experience of learners, and is supported by IT integration programs covering digital content, with hand-held devices for students, in-class coaching, and computer-based tests. Furthermore, The Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) was launched in 2016 as the largest digital library and online knowledge hub sourced from many digital publishers. The system reforms aim to make the digital learning resources available for all students and teachers in KG1-2 and grades 1-12 in all core subjects.
According to UNESCO’s Student Mobility Data, Egypt has 43,718 students pursuing higher-level education abroad.
Leading Sub-Sectors
According to the Open Doors Report 2019, there were 3,675 international students from Egypt in the U.S with a -0.7% change from the previous year.
|
Academic Level |
Number of students |
|---|---|
|
Undergraduate |
1,469 |
|
Graduate |
1,546 |
|
Practical Training |
510 |
|
Non-degree |
150 |
Opportunities
Private K-12 Education
The private sector K-12 market share in Egypt is still small. Private school students currently account for only 10.6% of Egypt’s total student population, which stood at an estimated 23.3 million in 2020, according to a Colliers report. However, demand is growing. Egypt’s private sector K-12 student growth has almost doubled in the last five years, and 2.1 million new seats will be needed in private sector schools in Egypt by 2030, with almost 1 million of these in Cairo. A key reason for this is higher income levels in Cairo, as the number of households within higher income brackets are projected to grow by approximately 50% by 2030. Income growth and the desire for prestigious, high-quality education will drive significant demand for regional and international branded schools.
Foreign Universities Opening Branch Campuses
In July 2018, Egypt ratified into law the International Branch Campus Act, which has allowed international universities to set up branches in Egypt by building their own campuses or by partnering with an Egyptian company.
Foreign university branch campuses are required to pay 2% of their annual tuition income as fees to the government. The government also requires that 5% of the campus’ projected financing be secured before receiving a license. While no restrictions have been placed on choosing a site, the government has been actively promoting its emerging New Administrative Capital City at the outskirts of Cairo.
New Technology Universities
The government, as part of its efforts to develop the country’s vocational education offerings and cope with local and regional labor market demands, has recently established three technology universities.
The new universities are located in New Cairo City; in Quesna; and in Beni Suef; all are located in modern industrial zones. The three universities offer specializations in information technology, mechatronics and autotronics (modern automotive technology), power plant operation and maintenance technology. Other universities are also planned, specializing in areas such as construction, maintenance, building materials, health and applied sciences, and fisheries and aquaculture.
Tuition fees range from 8,000 to 12,000 Egyptian pounds ($500 to $750) per semester.
Internet and Social Media Usage
According to Digital 2020 report for Egypt,
-
- The reported number of internet users in Egypt increased by 9.8 million (+22%) between 2019 and 2020.
- There were 54 million estimated internet users in Egypt in January 2020.
- Facebook is the most used social media platform in Egypt (80.34%), followed by YouTube (13.42%), Twitter (3.65%), and Instagram (0.3%)
- There were about 42 million Facebook users in Egypt in January 2020, which accounted for 40.4% of its entire population of Egypt. The majority of them were men (63.5%). People aged 25 to 34 were the largest user group (14 million).
- There were 92.71 million mobile connections in Egypt in January 2020.
Events
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- Education Egypt (Brings together over 250 regional and international leading suppliers of technology, products, and tools to educators and decision makers); 24 - 26 Jun 2021 - Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt
- Academic International Conference on Multi-Disciplinary Studies and Education AICMSE - http://iierd.com/Conference/129/AICMSE/
- EduVation Summit Egypt (The biggest educational summit in Egypt) - Date: TBC
- EDUGATE Egypt (An international forum and exhibition for higher education in Egypt and the Middle East held every two years) - Date: TBC
Resources
Contact for the Commercial Specialist in charge of the Education sector: Khaled Elzoughbi, Khaled.elzoughbi@trade.gov