Egypt’s total deficit rose by 3.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 (July-October) compared to the same quarter last year, reaching LE69.9 billion ($11.4 billion), the latest bulletin published by the Egyptian Ministry of Finance reports.

Domestic debt rose by 69.7 per cent in the last nine months of the current year, compared to the same period in 2011, recording some LE1.2 trillion ($197 billion).

The country’s external debt, on the other hand, declined by 1.5 per cent during the first six months of 2012, against the same period last year, reaching $34.3 billion, which represents 13.5 per cent of GDP.

The ministerial report states that data on external debt from June to September has not yet been released.

Egypt’s Central Bank, however, stated that the external debt dropped by $1.5 billion in the first nine months of the 2011/12 fiscal year to reach $33.4 billion in March.

The state’s revenues in the third quarter rose by 13.5 per cent, compared to the same quarter of 2011, recording LE72.8 billion ($12 billion).

The soar in revenues is driven by the rise in the yield of taxes, which accounts for 30.7 per cent of the total extra revenue.

Egypt’s expenditures rose by 27.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, reaching LE141.7 billion ($23.2 billion), with labour wages taking the lion’s share, worth LE45.2 billion ($7.4 billion).

Despite the increase in spending, costs of government investment slipped by 7.6 per cent from July to October to reach LE6.2 billion ($1 billion).