Poverty
Poverty is on the rise in Egypt, particularly in rural areas, according to a study released earlier
this month by the government statistics agency. Analysts blame the worsening situation in
rural governorates on the government’s bias towards urban development over the past two
decades.
Between 2004 and 2009, the percentage of Egyptians living at or below the World Bank’s
official poverty line of US$2 per day increased from 19.6 percent to 21.8 percent, the Central
Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) study found.
Instances of poverty increased at a much higher rate, 4.6 percent, in the rural parts of Upper
Egypt, where 43.7 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to the study. Urban
governorates, such as Cairo, Giza and Alexandria, saw poverty increases as well, but by 1
percent, as compared to 6.9 percent for the overall population.
During the same period, Egypt experienced a relatively high rate of GDP growth, averaging
5.85 percent per year.
“During Mubarak’s reign, Egyptian developmental policies exhibited a notable urban bias that
led to such a high rate of poverty in rural areas,” said Reem Saad, a professor of Social
Anthropology at the American University in Cairo.
In 1992, the government passed the Agricultural Reform Law 96, which ended rent-controlled
land for small farmers – a law in place since 1952. After the law's implementation in 1997,
many landlords raised rent far beyond their tenants' ability to pay and small farmers were left
without land, subsistence or employment.
Unemployment among poor families has increased by 3 percent to 17.5 percent, the study
found, while it decreased by 2 percent to 15 percent for the rest of the population.
Saad believes that, 14 years after its implementation, the Agricultural Reform Law is showing
signs of having long-term negative effects on the development of rural Egypt, and the ability
of many to get out of poverty.