The overall well-being has decreased deeply after 2014
when the US Dollar rate increased from 8 Egyptian pounds to 20 Egyptian Pounds
($1 = 20 EGP). This increase led to many economic problems because Egypt
depends on many exports basic items and other products. At the same time, a lot
of international companies left the Egyptian market, many local companies
stopped produce and expelled employees, and another important income resource
such the tourism reduced dramatically.
The Egyptian economic dropped in many problems from 2014
to the present. The government has increased dependent on debt and aids. As
reported: "Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Egypt’s external debt had reached a record high of $92.64 billion (36.8 percent of the
GDP) as of June 2018, an increase of 17 percent in the course of a single year.
External debt is compounded by rising domestic debt, which reached 3.4 trillion
Egyptian pounds ($190 billion) as of the end of 2017, a 12 percent increase
compared to the previous year. This rapid increase in debt has outstripped GDP
growth, making the debt-to-GDP ratio jump from 87.1 percent in 2013 to reach
101.2 percent by the end of 2017" (Carnegie Endowment for international
peace, 2018, p.2).
In the same time, the Egyptian government invests in
non-productive projects such as "new Suez Canal, which cost $8 billion to
construct, and the new administrative capital, which is expected to cost $300
billion".(Carnegie Endowment for international peace, 2018, p.4)
The world bank keeps up the Egyptian government to stop
the support of products to get the loans. The Egyptian government raised the
price of Cairo metro tickets from 1 EGP to 7 EGP, trains, solar, almost all
products, and still.
All reasons led to the middle-class became lower-class.
I observe the widening gap between the rich and the poor
is big, the structure of classes in Egypt was (lower, middle, and rich). Today
the middle-class are hidden and became the structure of classes in Egypt that are poor and rich. The percent of the middle-class is very little. And it
hides day after day.
The average income in the lower- class is $62 in a month
while the average income in rich-class is $2600 in a month. That is unfair. And
that is one of the reasons for the 25 January revolution.
While the poor- class live in slums and has limited
public services, the rich-class live in high-end places and all public and
private services are available dramatically.
References
Carnegie Endowment for international peace. (2018,
November 20). Sisi’s Debt Crisis. Retrieved from https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/77756
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