Cairo: EgyPulse – News Desk
The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation announced that Egypt’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) achieved a growth rate of around 5% during the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY 2024/2025, compared to 2.4% in the same quarter of the previous year. This marks the highest quarterly growth rate in three years and helped raise the annual growth rate for FY 2024/2025 to about 4.4%, up from 2.4% in FY 2023/2024, surpassing initial projections. The ministry attributed this performance to the resilience of the Egyptian economy in the face of external shocks, supported by policies safeguarding macroeconomic stability, enhancing governance of public investment expenditure, and expanding private sector participation.
Growth in Q4 and across the fiscal year was driven mainly by tourism, non-oil manufacturing, and communications and information technology. Tourism expanded by 19.3% in Q4, achieving an annual growth rate of 17.3%. The sector attracted more than 17 million tourists, representing a 16.4% increase, with total tourist nights rising 16.3% to reach 179 million nights. Non-oil manufacturing grew by 18.8% in Q4 and 14.7% annually, rebounding from the contractionary phase of the previous two years. Industrial production was particularly strong in motor vehicles, which grew by 126%, pharmaceuticals and medicinal products by 52%, and ready-made garments by 41%. Communications and information technology expanded by 14.6% in Q4 and 13.8% for the year, supported by the implementation of Egypt’s Digital Strategy 2022 – 2026, the expansion of digital infrastructure, and the rollout of 5G networks.
Other activities also recorded positive contributions, including financial intermediation, which grew by 10.8% in Q4 and 12.6% annually, transport and storage by 7%, insurance by 5.6%, electricity by 5.3%, social services by 4.7%, and construction by 4.1%. Meanwhile, Suez Canal activity contracted by 52% annually, though the pace of decline slowed to 5.5% in Q4 compared to a contraction of 68.2% in the same quarter of the previous year. This was largely due to reduced maritime trade flows in the Red Sea region, prompting the Suez Canal Authority to adopt fee reductions and incentives to maintain competitiveness. Extractive industries also contracted by nearly 9% annually, with oil activity down 7.5% and natural gas down 19.1%. However, the pace of contraction eased to 7.4% in Q4 as development resumed in Mediterranean and Gulf of Suez gas fields.
The industrial rebound coincided with a notable improvement in exports. Exports of manufactured goods rose by 12.8% in Q4, supported by increases in miscellaneous edible preparations, ready-made garments, perfumes, and cosmetics. Overall, exports of goods and services increased from LE 1.4 trillion in FY 2023/2024 to LE 1.7 trillion in FY 2024/2025 at constant prices, recording 23.7% growth. Imports also expanded, rising by 29.2% from LE 1.8 trillion to LE 2.3 trillion. At the quarterly level, exports in Q4 amounted to LE 476.5 billion, with finished goods accounting for 54.5% of merchandise exports. Fuel exports grew by 29.4%, while raw material exports rose by 23.9%. However, raw cotton and semi-manufactured goods declined by 25.5% and 8.8%, respectively. Imports in Q4 totaled LE 782 billion, with intermediate goods making up 34.5% of the total and growing by 55.3%. Fuel imports rose by 27%, while raw materials and capital goods fell by 21% and 8.3%, respectively.
On the expenditure side, Q4 2024/2025 witnessed a significant improvement in the contribution of investment and inventories, which shifted from a negative 0.94 percentage points in Q4 2023/2024 to a positive 4.74 percentage points. Total investments at constant prices reached LE 1.23 trillion, compared to LE 1.21 trillion in the previous year. The composition of investments reflected a structural shift, with public investments declining from 51.2% to 43.3% of the total, while private investments rose to 47.5%, the highest level in five years.
Commenting on these results, Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, highlighted that the Egyptian economy recorded its strongest quarterly growth in three years, reflecting its resilience in the face of external shocks. She emphasized that the performance was driven by non-oil manufacturing, tourism, and ICT, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the National Structural Reform Program.
The program focuses on improving the business climate, strengthening public investment governance, boosting competitiveness, and expanding private sector participation. Despite global uncertainty and regional geopolitical tensions, Egypt’s annual GDP growth rate of 4.4% in FY 2024/2025 exceeded most international projections. The government stressed that ongoing structural reforms will continue to safeguard macroeconomic stability, stimulate production, enhance public finance management, and create a stronger environment for sustainable growth.
