Remittances by Egyptian expatriates in the Arab world declined to $21.5 billion in fiscal year 2021/2022, down 1.8 percent from the previous year.

Egyptian expats Saudi Arabia transferred $10.9 billion, the highest number among Egyptian workers in the Arab world.

Expats in Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, meanwhile, transferred $4.5 billion, $3.5 billion, and $1.2 billion, respectively.

Remittances are one of Egypt’s key sources of foreign currency along with exports, tourism and the Suez Canal.

Trade with Arab world increases

The trade exchange between Egypt and the Arab world increased by 16.4 percent to $29 billion in CY2022 from $25 billion in CY2021.

Egypt's exports to Arab countries rose by 10 percent annually over the same time period, reaching $12.2 billion.

Saudi Arabia ranked first among Arab importers of Egyptian products in CY2022, with a total value of $2.5 billion.

The UAE was second with $1.9 billion in imports, followed by Libya ($1.2 billion), Sudan ($930 million) and Morocco ($880 million).

Saudi Arabia was also the top Arab exporter to Egypt over the same period, with a total value of $7.9 billion, followed by Kuwait with $3.3 billion worth of products.

The UAE ranked third with $2.9 billion in exports, Oman fourth with $879 million in exports, and Bahrain fifth with $507 million.

Arab investment in Egypt

During FY2021/2022, the UAE was the source of most Arab investments in Egypt, with a value of $10 billion.

Meanwhile, Saudi investments in Egypt reached $8.5 billion, while Qatari, Bahraini, and Kuwaiti investments amounted to $3.1 billion, $410.2 million, and $332.9 million, respectively.

According to CAPMAS' data, Egyptian residents in Arab countries numbered 7.1 million by the end of 2021.

First six months of FY2022/2023

Egypt's non-oil trade balance deficit decreased by around $6.5 billion to $17.3 billion in the first half of FY2022/2023, compared to around $23.8 billion in the comparative period the year before.

The Central Bank of Egypt’s data also showed that remittances from Egyptian expats declined by 23 percent to $12 billion in H1 FY2022/2023 from around $15.6 billion a year earlier.

Egypt's balance of payments witnessed an improvement in the first quarter of FY2022/2023 (July-September), as the current account deficit has narrowed by 20.2 percent to post $3.2 billion compared to $4 billion in the same period of the preceding fiscal year.