Source: World Bank, WDI.
By Donna Welles.
Although currently struggling with unemployment, Egypt has been immune to some of the fluctuations the global economy has experienced since 2008.
Out of a sample of Egypt and its neighbors, only Egypt never experienced a year where its GDP contracted. Rather, Egypt’s economy has expanded every year since 2004. Allow us to examine Egypt in the regional context of Italy, Turkey, Greece, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Italy’s is the only economy in the group that includes trillions of dollars. In 2014, Italy’s GDP was $2.1t USD and Turkey’s was $800b. A second tier within the group includes Egypt which reported a GDP of $287b, Greece of $238b, and Algeria of $214b. Finally, Morocco reported a GDP of $107b and Tunisia of $47b.
Italy and Greece had the lowest unemployment figures of the group in 2008, 7% and 8%. Egyptian unemployment was 9% in 2008, Morocco’s was 10%, and both Turkey and Algeria reported unemployment figures of 11%.
By 2013, Greek unemployment had risen to 27%, Egyptian to 13%, and Italian to 12%. By 2013, both Turkish and Algerian unemployment had dropped to 10% while Moroccan unemployment had dropped to 9%.
Egypt’s population in 2014 was 83m people and it is slightly larger than the combined land areas of Texas and Oklahoma.
