The budget focuses on enhancing human development efforts in the fields of health and education, completing the strategy of building Egyptians, supporting and promoting economic activity, especially in productive sectors such as industry, agriculture, and exports, providing social protection for the neediest groups, and improving the living standards of middle-income earners.
It also aims to improve the private sector to achieve economic development, deal with the inflationary effects to alleviate citizens’ burdens, control the state's public finance situation, and achieve financial security for Egypt within the comprehensive development of economic performance.
The key priorities and the financial targets of the upcoming FY2024/2025 come in line with Egypt’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the $8 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan programme that ends in 2026.
Following are the budget’s key priorities and financing commitments.
Priorities:
- Health, education, industry, agriculture, exports, and social protection for the most vulnerable groups;
- Improving the living standards of middle-income earners;
- Completing the strategy for building the Egyptian citizen;
- Stimulating private sector growth to lead the country’s economic development;
- Addressing inflationary pressures to alleviate the burden on citizens through monetary and fiscal measures.
Financial highlights:
- Targeting a primary surplus of EGP 591.4 billion (3.5 percent of estimated GDP);
- A primary surplus of EGP 805.1 billion, expected by the end of the current FY2023/2024 (5.75 percent of GDP);
- Increasing public spending in FY2024/2025 to EGP 3 trillion and 870 billion (29 percent growth);
- Meeting constitutional entitlement ratios for health (EGP 496 billion), pre-university education (EGP 565 billion), higher education (EGP 293 billion), and scientific research (EGP 140.1 billion);
- Increasing wage allocations to EGP 575 billion (from EGP 494 billion in the current FY2023/2024 estimates) to accommodate the latest package for state employees;
- Allocating EGP 635.9 billion for subsidies, grants, and social benefits (compared to EGP 532.8 billion expected for FY2023/2024, an increase of 19.3 percent);
- Dedicating EGP 214.2 billion to cover treasury support for pensioners, bringing the total transferred to the National Social Insurance Authority to EGP 1 trillion and 116 billion by the end of June 2025, EGP 154.5 billion for petroleum subsidies, EGP 134.2 billion for food commodities, EGP 40 billion for social security pensions, and EGP 11.9 billion for social housing;
- Supporting homes with natural gas connections (EGP 3.5 billion);
- Allocating EGP 18.4 billion for health insurance, medicines, and treatment for those unable to afford state expenses, EGP 2.4 billion for a comprehensive health insurance system in the governorates where it is implemented to support those who cannot afford it, and EGP 15.4 billion for the General Authority for Healthcare, of which the general treasury funds EGP 8.4 billion;
- Supporting and promoting health initiatives and increasing allocations for medicines and medical supplies to EGP 26.7 billion;
- Allocating EGP 40.5 billion to finance economic stimulus programmes, especially supporting the industry and export sectors;
- Allocating EGP 23 billion to expedite the return of export burdens and EGP 6 billion to reduce electricity prices for the industry sector;
- Allocating EGP 8 billion to support interest rates in the financing facilities initiative for productive sectors;
- Dedicating EGP 1.5 billion in cash incentives to medium, small, and micro enterprises and EGP 500 million for the automotive industry strategy;
- Allocating EGP 1.5 billion from the treasury to manufacturers and investors in real estate taxes on buildings used for industrial activities;
- Supporting farmers with EGP 657 million and improving interest rates of modern irrigation loans with around EGP 300 million;
- Increasing investment allocations to EGP 496 billion, 44 percent of which is self-funded and has no impact on increasing the budget deficit;
- Setting a maximum of EGP 1 trillion for public investments for all state agencies and institutions without exception for any entity during the upcoming FY;
- Targeting a total budget deficit for the next FY of about EGP 1.2 trillion (7.3 percent of GDP), compared to updated estimates of the overall deficit by the end of the current fiscal year of EGP 555 billion (four percent of GDP);
- Increasing public revenues in the general state budget of the new fiscal year to EGP 2.6 trillion, an 8.5 percent increase over the expected estimates for the current FY2023/2024;
- Raising tax revenues by about 30.5 percent to reach more than EGP 2 trillion due to the tax mechanization efforts.
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