A mid-2009 survey by the Ahram Centre revealed that 47 per cent of small and mid-sized companies in Egypt had to pay bribes to avoid closedowns, get licenses, and manage to work without problems (red tape itself remains a serious impediment to economic activity in Egypt, with a study by Hernando de Soto claiming it required 500 days to register a small bakery, though that is more likely to be the case outside urban areas). 

In 2010, a government report also stated that Egypt sees more than 70,000 legal cases involving corruption annually.

Meanwhile, Transparency International’s Corruption Index ranked Egypt 112 out of 182, with a score of 2.9 down from 3.1 a year earlier (larger numbers are better), and scores overall remained in a downward direction for several years (for reference, New Zealand is in first place in transparency with 9.5/10, Qatar is 22nd globally and first in the Arab region with 7.2, while Israel is 36th globally with 5.8, and Turkey 61st globally with 4.2).

Setting aside statistics, it is a local tradition that one cannot get any real work done, or even finish official paperwork at a decent pace, without “greasing” someone's hand.

See also:
 

The Economy

Subsidies & the Budget

Food Security

Fuel & Electricity Shortages

Overpopulation

Slums & Random Housing

Religious Freedoms, Minorities

Judiciary & Education

The Interior Ministry

Freedom of Speech, Media & the Arts

Tourism

Women's Rights, Street Children

The Public Sector & Privatisation

Water

Saving Cairo!

Healthcare & Hepatitis

National Reconciliation