World Bank flags human development challenges, opportunities in Egypt

The report provides updated data on human capital throughout the MENA region.

This report was released a week after the launch of Egypt’s New Narrative for Economic Development, which charts a map for the Egyptian economy through 2030, with a focus on creating jobs and boosting economic development.

Hereunder are the main points of the report, which are presented in contrast to the broader MENA region:

Occupations at risk

In Egypt, only about one-third of jobs are highly vulnerable to the effects of AI, similar to other MENA countries like Tunisia, Jordan, and Iran.

The report spotlights a decline in occupations involving manual/routine tasks and an increase in roles requiring non-routine analytical skills.

In response, Egypt released the second edition of its AI strategy through 2030. It aims to accelerate the development of Digital Egypt, drive social and economic progress, and position Egypt as a regional leader in AI within Africa and the Arab world.

Learning poverty

According to the report, Egypt, alongside Jordan and Tunisia, has seen a real-term decline in per-capita human development expenditure. Such a decline has occurred despite potential increases in nominal spending, as it has been offset by factors such as rapid population growth, inflation, and other economic pressures.

The report also highlights a significant lag in learning outcomes, noting that a large proportion of children in the MENA region are considered “learning poor,” meaning they cannot read and comprehend a simple text.

Egypt is identified as part of this regional pattern, with low coverage of early childhood education further compounding the issue.

To address these issues, the government's new economic plan has increased investments in human development for the current fiscal year (FY2025/2026) by 64.5 percent, compared to FY2013/2014, with a total budget of EGP 69 billion.

Additionally, subsidies and social benefits have been raised by 16.8 percent to EGP 742.6 billion, as detailed in Egypt’s new economic narrative.

Social Protection & safety nets

The report acknowledges Egypt's progress in expanding social safety nets, particularly its use of modern delivery systems such as digital IDs, social registries, and electronic payments. However, it notes that significant coverage gaps persist, with many poor segments and vulnerable groups still left out.

The report further points out that in many MENA countries, including Egypt, the poorest 20 percent of the population are often only partially covered by these programs.