The Egyptian Ministry of Finance reported that its expectations for the country's public debt indicate an increase to 95.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of the last fiscal year. The Ministry stated in a statement that public debt will rise by 13.1 percent compared to the previous fiscal year, which ended in June 2022, when it stood at 82.5 percent.
The Ministry attributed the increase in public debt as a percentage of GDP to changes in exchange rates and noted, "If it weren't for these exchange rates, public debt would have been at 82.6 percent."
Finance Minister Mohamed Maait was quoted in the statement saying: "The overall deficit has decreased to 6 percent of GDP by the end of the last fiscal year, down from 6.1 percent during the previous fiscal year. If it weren't for the increase in interest rates and changes in the exchange rate along with inflationary effects, the rates would have been much better."
He added: "Public revenues achieved a growth of 15.5 percent, and tax revenues increased by about 27.2 percent due to improved tax administration efficiency," without providing specific figures. The final data for the last fiscal year will be released by December, pending the audit of financial data related to revenues, expenditures, deficits, and borrowing.
Since March 2022, Egypt has devalued the pound three times, from an average of 15.7 pounds per dollar, stabilizing it currently at 30.9 pounds.
