Egypt Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in egypt, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Education and Training
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Overview

Capital: Cairo
Population: 118.4 million (2025 est.)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $1.45 trillion (2024 est., in constant 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 (latest available UNESCO data).
CIA World Factbook / CAPMAS 
51.9% of Egypt’s population is under 30 years old, with 21.3 million aged 18–29, representing 19.9% of the total population
 

Egypt Education and Training Sector

Egypt’s education sector, one of the largest in the Middle East and North Africa, serves more than 25 million students across its K-12 system. The government has undertaken significant reform efforts in recent years, focusing on digitization, curriculum modernization, and teacher training to better align with global standards. With a growing middle class and increasing demand for quality education, there is a strong appetite for international partnerships, e-tech solutions, and private schooling models. At the higher education level, Egypt boasts more than 60 universities, including a growing number of private and international institutions. The country is positioning itself as a regional education hub, with a focus on STEM, business, and research collaboration.

Opportunities

The government’s strategic vision, “Egypt Vision 2030,” places education at the heart of national development, driving demand for innovative solutions in digital learning, school management systems, vocational training, and higher education collaboration. With an expanding youth population and a strong push toward English-language instruction and international accreditation, there is a growing market for American curricula, edtech tools, teacher certification programs, and capacity-building initiatives. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are actively encouraged, creating a favorable environment for U.S. firms to contribute to long-term educational reform while capturing a share of a rapidly growing and dynamic market.

Private K-12 Education

While the private K-12 education sector in Egypt remains relatively underdeveloped—currently representing just 8.6 percent of the total student population of approximately 28.8 million (as of 2022, per the Egyptian Ministry of Education)—it is undergoing a period of rapid expansion. Over the past five years, enrollment in private K-12 institutions has nearly doubled, reflecting a clear shift in parental preferences and educational expectations. By 2030, the country is projected to require an additional 2.1 million private school seats, with nearly half of this demand—approximately one million seats—concentrated in the Greater Cairo area.

This surge is closely tied to rising household income levels, particularly in urban centers. In Cairo alone, the number of households in higher income brackets is expected to increase by roughly 50 percent by 2030, significantly expanding the market for premium education. As a result, there is strong and growing demand for internationally branded, high-quality schools offering globally recognized curricula. For U.S. educational institutions, operators, and investors, this presents a compelling opportunity to enter or expand in a market seeking excellence, innovation, and global standards in education delivery.

Technical Schools

As of 2023–2024, Egypt’s technical education system is undergoing a significant transformation aimed at aligning with labor market demands and national development goals. The country now has over 3,386 technical schools serving approximately 2.2 million students, supported by more than 118,000 teachers. A major innovation has been the rapid expansion of Applied Technology Schools—from just three in 2018 to over 70 schools across 18 governorates in 2024—established in partnership with over 40 private sector entities. These schools offer competency-based curricula and industry-aligned training in fields such as manufacturing, IT, agriculture, and hospitality. Technical education investment has more than tripled since 2014, with curriculum reform now implemented in over 900 schools. The sector also includes non-formal vocational pathways, reaching an additional 700,000 learners. Egypt’s strategic focus is to increase the share of students in technical tracks, enhance the quality and perception of vocational.

Foreign Universities Opening Branch Campuses

In July 2018, Egypt enacted the International Branch Campus (IBC) Law, paving the way for foreign universities to establish a physical presence in the country. Under this framework, international institutions can either build independent campuses or partner with licensed Egyptian entities to operate locally. The legislation is part of Egypt’s broader strategy to internationalize its higher education system and attract world-class academic providers.

To ensure commitment and financial viability, the law stipulates that foreign branch campuses must remit 2 percent of their annual tuition revenue to the Egyptian government and demonstrate that 5 percent of the projected capital investment is secured prior to receiving an operating license. While there are no formal restrictions on campus location, the government actively encourages investment in strategic urban developments, most notably, the New Administrative Capital on the outskirts of Cairo, which has been positioned as a hub that provides the infrastructure and environment for education, innovation, and international partnerships. Several British and European IBCs have been established, however there is no active American IBC. Several U.S. universities have signed MOUs with Egyptian developers or have expressed interest.

New Technology Universities

As part of a national strategy to enhance vocational and technical education in alignment with evolving labor market demands—both locally and regionally—the Egyptian government has established three new technology universities. Located in modern industrial zones in New Cairo, Quesna, and Beni Suef, these institutions are designed to bridge the gap between academic training and industry needs. They offer specialized programs in high-demand fields such as information technology, mechatronics, autotronics (advanced automotive technology), and power plant operation and maintenance.

Looking ahead, the government plans to expand this network of institutions, with additional universities under development to focus on sectors critical to Egypt’s economic growth, including construction, infrastructure maintenance, building materials, health and applied sciences, and fisheries and aquaculture. These initiatives reflect Egypt’s broader commitment to producing a technically skilled workforce capable of supporting industrial development, attracting foreign investment, and competing in a rapidly evolving regional economy.

Education Trade Shows

  • EduGate is the largest and the only GOE-accredited educational fair in Egypt. EduGate has broad Government of Egypt support from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The fair takes place in the summer and winter each year in different cities in Egypt, with the next summer fairs scheduled for August 3-5, 2025, in Cairo and August 6 in Alexandria.

For more information on the Education sector, contact:

Pancea Motawi
Commercial Assistant
U.S. Embassy in Cairo

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