Egypt Education and Training
Last published date:

Capital: Cairo

Population: 104,124,440 (July 2020 est.)

GDP: $1,087,520,000,000 (2019 est.; Purchasing Power Parity)

Currency: Egyptian Pounds (EGP)

Language: Arabic (official), Arabic, English, and French widely understood by educated classes

 

UNESCO Student Mobility Number:

Egypt has 38,667 students studying abroad.

 

CIA World Factbook:

51.63% of the Egyptian population is under 24 years old.

OVERVIEW

Egypt has the most extensive education system in the Middle East region.  It has more than 60,000 schools, of which 7,000 are private schools.  The public primary schools accommodate about 20 million students and the private primary schools accommodate around 2 million students.

Egypt currently has 20 public universities (with about two million students) and 23 private universities (with about 60,000 students).

Accordingly to World Bank, the COVID-19 crisis has opened up opportunities to speed up the educational reforms for long-term improvements in assessment, pedagogy, technology, financing, and parental involvement.

Despite some concerns, parents and students are recognizing the merits of the technology available to them, which comprises: (a) connectivity: fiberoptic in about 2,500 public secondary schools; (b) digital infrastructure: smart boards and tablets for secondary school teachers and students; (c) student tests: computer-based testing platforms that can create different versions of the same test.

The expansion of digital learning and technological infrastructure has been a key feature of the Ministry of Education’s reform strategy.

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

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 of them 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

  • Education Egypt (Brings together over 250 regional and international leading suppliers of technology, products, and tools to educators and decision makers)

24th – 26th June 2021 - Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt

  • 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

  • U.S. Commercial Service – Egypt: www.trade.gov/egypt
  • U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service Global Education Team: www.trade.gov/education-industry
  • Industry and Analysis, Office of Supply Chain, Professional & Business Services: www.trade.gov/professional-and-business-services
  • https://opendoorsdata.org/data/international-students/academic-level-and-places-of-origin/
  • http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow
    https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ao.html
    https://enterprise.press/blackboards/light-touch-regulation-attracted-international-branch-campuses-egypt/
    https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/International/Documents/Annexe%20A.PDF
    https://nctu.edu.eg/en/home/
    https://blogs.worldbank.org/arabvoices/egypt-back-school-brings-new-test-blending-learning

U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE CONTACT


Khaled Elzoughbi, Commercial Specialist

U.S. Commercial Service – Cairo, Egypt

Email: khaled.elzoughbi@trade.gov

Phone: +20 2 2797 3520