In 2018, the average inflation rate in Egypt amounted to about 20.85 percent, a slight decrease compared to the previous year, when it peaked at 23.53 percent.

Political unrest

Egypt has been shaken by political unrest and turmoil for years now, and these events affect the economy as well. On January 25, 2011, Egyptians started protesting police brutality under then-president Hosni Mubarak, demanding an end to his reign. The protests were met with violence by armed forces, resulting in more unrest and looting. In the end, hundreds of Egyptians had lost their lives and over 6,000 were injured. After Mubarak’s subsequent resignation and the Muslim Brotherhood taking power in the country, Mohamed Morsi was elected President in 2012. He also was overthrown a year later after protests and was imprisoned. The current President, Abdel Fattah es-Sisi, was involved in overthrowing Morsi and took office in June 2014. Sisi introduced a number of economic reforms, but they did not succeed in stabilizing Egypt’s economy.

Economic unrest

2017 saw the Egyptian inflation rate skyrocket from 10.2 percent in 2016 to more than double that at 23.5 percent. Ever since, inflation has recovered only slowly, although projections today see it levelling off below ten percent in the future. Around the same year, Egypt’s GDP dropped to below 240 billion U.S. dollars, a historical low. Unemployment, another key indicator, has steadily been between 12 to 13 percent - one reason for this is Egypt’s reliance on agriculture, which does not factor into the unemployment rate. National debt has also increased dramatically over the last few years. All in all, the times of economic unrest are not yet over.

As of June 2023, the year-over-year headline inflation rate in Egypt was measured at 35.71 percent, higher than in the previous month, which recorded 32.75 percent. Moreover, the core inflation was 41 percent in June, an increase compared to 40.3 percent from May 2023. During the period under review, the highest headline and core inflation rates y-o-y were registered in June 2023.

In January 2024, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items in Egypt was at 197.6 points. In comparison to the previous month, the indicator increased by 3.4 points. However, in comparison to January of the preceding year, the CPI increased by 47 points.

As of April 2023, the food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate in Egypt stood at 53.8 percent compared to the same month from the previous year. Since April 2021, prices of food in the country have been following an increasing trend. Recently, the inflation rate of food soared as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war and its effect on wheat prices.

Kerneforbrugerpriserne i Egypten steg med 22,60 procent i januar 2025 sammenlignet med samme måned året før. Aktuelle værdier, historiske data, prognoser, statistik, diagrammer og økonomisk kalender - Egypten - Kerneinflation.

In January 2024, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items in rural Egypt increased 3.7 points to 202.2 points, in comparison to the preceding month. However, when compared to January 2023, the CPI in rural Egyptian areas increased nearly 50 points, as in that month the index was measured at 152.6 points.

Inflasjonsraten i Egypt gikk ned til 24 prosent i januar fra 24,10 prosent i desember 2024. Gjeldende verdier, historiske data, prognoser, statistikk, diagrammer og økonomiske kalender - Egypt - Inflasjon.

As of April 2023, the food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate in Egypt stood at 2.3 percent compared to the previous month. In February 2023, the inflation rate for food in the country reached 14.8 percent, the monthly highest growth in consumer prices registered since 2019. Recently, the inflation rate of food in the country soared as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war and its effect on wheat prices.

Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the inflation rate in 2020 and 2021 was projected to be 7.2 and 6.1 percent respectively in Egypt. However, with the baseline assumption that coronavirus subsided in July 2020, it was estimated that the inflation would be slightly higher for 2020 at 7.4 percent and with 8.6 percent in 2021. When considering the pandemic to persist to December 2020, it is projected that the inflation rate for 2020 would be eight percent, while 2021 would be 8.5 percent.

As of February 2024, the monthly percentage change in the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) was at 13.24 percent from the previous month. In February 2023, the indicator increased by 8.12 percent, in comparison to the month before. It is worth noting that core CPI is a variation from headline CPI, with the exclusion of inflation shocks that are temporary. Therefore, regulated items along with fruits and vegetables are removed from core CPI.

In February 2024, the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Egypt jumped significantly by 11.37 percent from the previous month. This was the highest increase in the observed period. As of February 2023, the monthly percentage change was at 5.53 percent, the second highest. Throughout the whole period, the monthly variation fluctuated between minus 0.8 percent and 11.37 percent.

EG：通货膨胀：国内生产总值平减指数在12-01-2017达22.933%，相较于12-01-2016的6.246%有所增长。EG：通货膨胀：国内生产总值平减指数数据按年更新，12-01-1966至12-01-2017期间平均值为9.929%，共52份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-1987，达31.138%，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-1999，为0.870%。CEIC提供的EG：通货膨胀：国内生产总值平减指数数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的埃及 – 表 EG.世行.WDI：通货膨胀。

As of 2021, the annual consumer price index increased to 319.94 percent from 303.13 percent in the preceding year. Over the presented time period, a comprehensive upward trend can be identified, through which 2021's value is the peak. The consumer price index is frequently used to measure inflation by measuring the prices of a representative basket of goods and services acquired by households. The devaluation of the Egyptian Pound, in November 2016, by the Central Bank of Egypt resulted in a significant increase in inflation in 2017 due to an exchange rate pass-through.

As of February 2024, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for fruits and vegetables in Egypt increased by 6.21 percent, compared to the previous month. In February 2023, the indicator increased 9.24 percent in the month-on-month comparison. The prices for fruits and vegetables in Egypt fluctuated throughout the entire period observed. It is worth noting that these severe fluctuations are one of the major arguments through which the items are removed, along with regulated items, from the core CPI.

As of April 2023, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food and non-alcoholic beverages in Egypt was at 204 points, an increase of 4.5 points from the preceding month. The indicator grew significantly from February 2022 and can be linked to the Russia-Ukraine war and its effects on wheat prices. However, since December 2021, the CPI index for food has been following a sharp increasing trend. Further, in April 2023, the CPI for all items in Egypt followed a rising trend, mainly driven by increases in food prices, and stood at 169.6 points.

The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items in urban Egypt increased to 193 points as of January 2024, from 189.9 points in the preceding month. However, in comparison to January of the preceding year, the CPI in urban areas increased 44.3 points.

In the year of 2018, the retail inflation in Cairo, Egypt, was highest in the month of January at about 17.2 percent. The inflation was lowest in December at about six percent.

As of September 2020, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for regulated items in Egypt increased by 0.96 percent, in comparison to the preceding month. In September 2019, the month-on-month variation was at 2.51 percent. In July 2020, the largest percentage change in the entire period under review was registered (an increase of 2.54 percent).

As of April 2023, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food and non-alcoholic beverages in urban areas in Egypt rose to 201.2 points. In the month before, the index was at 196.9 points. Since December 2021, the food prices in urban areas have seen a sharp increase. Moreover, Egypt is the largest wheat importer in the world with Russia and Ukraine being responsible for almost 85 percent of its imports. In light with the Russia-Ukraine war, the prices of wheat have increased and are expected to increase further.

The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food and non-alcoholic beverages in rural Egypt increased to 124.1 points in March 2022. In the month before, the index was measured at 118.4 points. In comparison to March 2021, the CPI increased even more. In that month, the indicator was at 98.4 points in rural areas. Moreover, the monthly CPI for all items in Egypt's rural territories was at 126.1 points as of March 2022.