Egypt’s economy recorded stronger growth in fiscal year (FY) 2025/26, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growth reaching 5.1%, up from 4.4% in FY2024/25. The improvement reflected stronger performance across several productive and service activities, particularly non-oil manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and telecommunications and information technology. At current prices, GDP also increased significantly, reflecting changes in both economic activity and the overall price level.

In this factsheet, we take a closer look at the key sectors driving the economic growth during the past FY.

• GDP at current prices rose to EGP 21.47 trillion in FY2025/26 from EGP 18.14 trillion in FY2024/25, representing a nominal increase of approximately 18.4%. This increase reflects changes in both real economic output and prices.
• Non-oil manufacturing was the largest contributor to annual real GDP growth, adding approximately 1.14 percentage points to the overall 5.1% growth rate. Wholesale and retail trade contributed 0.7 percentage points, followed by telecommunications and information technology, which contributed approximately 0.63 percentage points.
• Several sectors recorded notable annual growth rates. Information and communications technology (ICT) grew by 19.3%, petroleum refining by 8.7%, electricity by 5.3%, and transportation and storage by 4.3%. Construction and building activity expanded by 2.3%, while restaurants and hotels grew by 6.5% over the full fiscal year.
• Suez Canal activity recorded the highest annual growth rate among the highlighted economic activities, expanding by 23.3% in FY2025/26 following two years of contraction. The recovery reflected the normalization of maritime traffic through the canal amid easing disruptions to the Red Sea shipping routes.
• On the expenditure side, household consumption was the largest contributor to real GDP growth, adding 7.3 percentage points. Investment and changes in inventories together contributed approximately 1.5 percentage points, improving from a negative contribution of 0.8 percentage points in FY2024/25.
• Net exports remained a drag on annual growth, recording a negative contribution of approximately 4.9 percentage points, compared with a negative contribution of 0.5 percentage points in FY2024/25. This indicates that the contribution of domestic demand was partly offset by the external trade balance.
• For FY2026/27, GDP growth forecasts range from 4.3% by the World Bank to 4.9% by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Fitch project growth of 4.7%, while S&P Global forecasts 4.5%. These projections remain below the government’s growth target of 5.4%, highlighting the gap between official ambitions and external and domestic institutions’ expectations.

 

By: Amina Hussein