Egypt Education and Training Services Industry Snapshot
Last published date:

Capital:  Cairo

Population:  107.8 million (2022 est.)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity):  $1.38 trillion (2021 est., in 2017 dollars)

Currency:  Egyptian Pounds (EGP)

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

 

UNESCO Student Mobility Number

Egypt has 47,243 students studying abroad according to UNESCO.

 

CIA World Factbook

51.63% of the Egyptian population is under 25 years old.

 

OVERVIEW

Egypt is the most populated Arab country, with 107.8 million people as of July 2022, with approximately 31% being of school-going age.  Consequently, Egypt has the largest student population in the MENA region, estimated at 24million K-12 students in 2022, with Greater Cairo accounting for 20% (4.6 million) of the total number.  Egypt’s population is expected to reach 128 million by 2030, from 101 million in 2020.  The increase in population is expected to create demand for additional school seats.  Based on Colliers projections, an additional 11.0 million new seats will be required in Egypt by 2030, out of which 2.1 million will be in the private sector, while in Greater Cairo, an additional 2.3 million seats will be required by 2030 (Collier Int, 2020).

By 2030 there is also expected to be over 37,000 households that can afford to pay over $15,000 per annum, creating demand for international branded schools.  However, the demand gap is not across Greater Cairo, but rather in specific locations based on the current and projected number of households and income level.

Regarding higher education, in total, 3.5 million students are enrolled in Egypt in 2022, which is 2.1% higher than previous year.  The Ministry of Education expects the number of university students in Egypt to grow to 5.6 million by 2032. In total, the number of Egyptians who study overseas has grown more than five-fold over the past two decades, growing from 8,800 in 2000 to 47,243 in 2021-2022.  The government has made this trend a priority as demonstrated through its internationalization strategy.  This includes regulations that mandated universities launch new faculties to form academic partnerships with foreign universities that rank higher than Egypt’s highest ranking academic institution.  Egypt currently boasts 36 private universities and technical colleges that offer apprenticeship programs, up 100% from 18 in 2014, with a more diversified portfolio of faculties. The number of faculties in those universities also doubled to a total of 264, compared to 132 in 2014.  The number of private academies grew 9% between 2014 and 2021, reaching a total of 172.

The number of public universities jumped from 23 to 27 between 2014 and 2021, marking a 17.4% increase.

In the U.S., there were 3,976 students from Egypt in the 2021-2022 academic year, an 8.3% increase from the year prior.

 

OPPORTUNITIES

Online Degrees:  The Ministry of Higher Education has already embedded online learning into some of the new degrees it’s offering in partnership with international universities.  As per Dr. Mohamed El Shinnawi, an advisor to the Higher Education Minister, there might be fully online degrees soon, as Egypt is finalizing its online degree regulations.

New Trends:  Today, there are several faculties and specializations that cater to the workforce of tomorrow.  For instance, you can now study motorsports engineering and computer games development at the European Universities in Egypt (EUE); nuclear power stations engineering at the Egyptian Russian University (ERU); and ethical hacking and cyber security at The Knowledge Hub Universities (TKH).

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 on 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 in New Cairo City (https://nctu.edu.eg/en/home/), in Quesna, and in Beni Suef, all 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.

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

According to the Digital 2022 report for Egypt:

  • There were 75.66 million internet users in Egypt in January 2022. Internet users in Egypt increased by 1.4 million (+1.9%) between 2021 and 2022 and is male dominated.
  • YouTube had 46.30 million users in Egypt in early 2022, overtaking the number of users for Facebook.
  • Facebook had 44.70 million users in Egypt in early 2022.  Facebook is the most used social media platform in Egypt (80.34%), followed by YouTube (13.42%), Twitter (3.65%), and Instagram (0.3%).
  • TikTok had 20.28 million users aged 18 and above in Egypt in early 2022
  • Instagram had 16 million users in Egypt in early 2022
  • There were 98.29 million mobile connections in Egypt in January 2022.

RESOURCES

 

U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE CONTACT

Embassy of the United States – Cairo, Egypt

Email: office.cairo@trade.gov

Telephone: +20 (2) 2797-2689/2038