Recent official data revealed a 68% increase in the use of mobile internet services in Egypt during Ramadan 2022 compared to the previous year, with the number of mobile internet users rising to 11 million. Data from the Information and Decision Support Center of the Egyptian Cabinet showed a 39% increase in fixed internet services, with fixed internet users reaching 980,000.
The report indicated that daily usage of the most popular activities averaged around 3.5 million hours of short entertainment videos posted, reflecting a 158% increase. Additionally, there were approximately 131 million map searches, a rise of 111%, and 12.9 million hours spent watching entertainment content, which is a 76% increase. Online shopping visits reached 181 million, marking a 47% increase.
In contrast, data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics indicated a decline in the value of Egypt's imports of mobile phones by 18.8% in January, amounting to about $119.8 million compared to around $147.5 million in January 2021. The total value of mobile phone imports by the end of 2021 was estimated at approximately $1.619 billion, down from $1.754 billion in 2020, representing a decrease of about 7.7%.
Mobile phone imports varied throughout 2021, with the total value of imports from January to July 2021 being around $940.6 million, compared to $1.058 billion during the same period in 2020, reflecting a decline of about $117.7 million.
Furthermore, in January, the trade deficit in Egypt reduced to approximately $2.44 billion, down from $3.60 billion in the same month of the previous year, representing a decrease of about 32.3%. Meanwhile, the value of exports rose by 34.5%, totaling around $3.99 billion in January, compared to approximately $2.97 billion in January 2020.
