Egyptian family's average annual income

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Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Winged Isis »

Egyptian family's average annual income is LE25,000, agency reports
MENA
Wed, 28/11/2012 - 20:03

The average annual Egyptian household income during 2010-2011 was LE25,353, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

The agency said that the average household income in urban areas was about LE30,205, compared to LE21,370 for families living in the countryside.

In a study of the sources of the Egyptian family’s income based on data of income, expenditure and consumption in 2010-2011, the agency divided Egyptian society into six economic categories.

The lowest category includes households that earn less than LE10,000 a year, followed by families whose income is between LE10,000 to less than LE15,000, then families earning between LE15,000 and LE20,000.

The two upper categories consist of families whose income is between LE20,000-30,000 and LE30,000-50,000 a year. Families who earn more than LE50,000 a year are in the highest category.

According to the agency, 70.4 percent of family income comes from work, while 15.9 percent is from cash and commodity transfers, 10.6 percent is the estimated rental value of the home the family owns or occupies, and 3.1 percent is other property.

Edited translation from MENA

http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/eg ... cy-reports


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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Teddyboy »

I purposely haven't posted to this report, in the hope that some knowledgeable person might have something useful to say about it; but no!

I'm left wondering just how many people go to make an average household or family? From my own limited knowledge of the incomes of many of the Egyptians I know, there would need to be at least three full-time workers in a family to make the 10,000le in a year. Is this representative of families in Luxor? Of course I'm also aware of Egyptians who spend a lot more than my wife and I have as an income, and we are used to a more expensive diet and way of living in general, but I suppose that this minority do raise the average income by a fair bit..
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by hatusu »

The average salary in the village here is 300LE per month. They all need to have 2 jobs (if they can get the work) so lets say an annual salary of 7000LE. So you'd need 4 wage earners at least in the average family.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Dusak »

I was thinking the same, these figures seem high, but when you can only comment on the families that you know personally that fall way below this figure you can't really argue the point. I know an Egyptian family that has 4 working in the house, and yes, two are what can only be described as menial jobs, they just reach the eight thousand a year mark, but they are happy and thankful for what they have as they realize there are many worse off than them.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by TonyC »

The report does show that announcing a national average of anything is meaningless. But that's statisticians for you! And the figures apply to 2010-11, so only include the first few months after the revolution. In tourist areas, for example, many family incomes will have dropped considerably since then. The report does recognise that many are on low incomes by setting six bands – and the "national average" falls in the middle of the second highest band. Some people have a lot money ... by Egyptians standards, of course! What I'd like to see is how many people fall into each income band.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by LivinginLuxor »

Average is a bad term - there are statistically 3 types of average - the mean or the average that is usually quoted, the median, which is the level which in this case is the point in the income range in which 50% of the population fall and the mode which is the most common value in a dataset.

The median then would be the fairest way of showing the income distribution througout the country, and it would seem that this value is used in the article linked to below, which suggests that 69% of the Egyptian population live below the poverty line, and that the average is totally skewed because of the discrepancy in incomes between lower and upper Egypt.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... ween-.aspx
I might agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong!
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by A-Four »

Its not so long ago that an old retired man, living alone on the WB, his wife died years ago, had a pension of 100LE per MONTH, even if by now that has gone up to 150LE, its still nothing.

For a widow, who's husband has died, it can prove difficult to get the pension, being that the Government often dispute proof of marriage in Upper Egypt.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Teddyboy »

"and that the average is totally skewed because of the discrepancy in incomes between lower and upper Egypt."

I would agree with that wholeheartedly! Furthermore, I would suggest that the relative 'comfort' afforded by the better incomes in Lower Egypt are helping to sustain the political upheaval which is daily adding to the woes of the poor b*****s of Upper Egypt. The unthinking antics of those whose selfish political ambitions are frustrating President Merci's attempts at rejuvenating Egypt, are being paid for by an already impoverished population.
It's sickening!
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Remus »

The above comment from a Royal VIP, which rather benevolently misspells the English version of the President's name, almost beggars belief. Rejuvenating Egypt! It's all far more deeply complex. For example, if you want to experience real impoverishment in Egypt visit the densely populated slum areas and cemetaries of Greater Cairo.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by A-Four »

Remus wrote:The above comment from a Royal VIP, which rather benevolently misspells the English version of the President's name, almost beggars belief. Rejuvenating Egypt! It's all far more deeply complex. For example, if you want to experience real impoverishment in Egypt visit the densely populated slum areas and cemetaries of Greater Cairo.
Remus, to a certain degree I accept what you say with regards Cairo, I know this place almost as much as I know London. London and not the UK is what many East Europeans see as the place to be, when the Government here let it be known that £500 per week is the max any one can get in benefits without having to work. They think they can get a flat for £50 per week, food perhaps another £50, then another £50 for other things, then they seriously think they can send at least £200 per week back home. When they get here they get a shock.

Cairo is not just the capital of Egypt, it is also the capital of the Middle East, believe it or not, its seen as a place of freedom, and you can get a job anywhere, and of course there is no minimum wage, when you have no money Cairo is like London, except that in London on Winter nights the cold can kill.

Anywhere away from both these cities, others will care for you.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Teddyboy »

Ooooh, I'm so sorry for the misspelling Remus! And that my ignorance is so astounding that it "almost beggars belief"! Should it have been Murci? or Morsi? or even Mercy? I've seen it spelt all these ways in different more 'official' publications, a bit like Dendara, or Dendra, or Dendera on the official road signs leading to that very famous place of interest and significance. Does it really matter? After all, you did manage to figure out who I was on about, didn't you?

"Rejuvenating Egypt!"

If you really believe that that isn't what he wants, then I suppose that you must know something that no-one else does? I'm of the opinion that, to save my further embarrassment, let's just call him: the President, is a man of integrity. As he was more or less democratically elected, it would seem as though there were many others in Egypt (actual Egyptians, even) of a similar opinion, and until there is found powerful evidence that he is trying to fill his pockets with the 'widow's mite' and the 'orphans inheritance' (like the last few Pharaohs), I'm not ready to change that opinion.

As for the poverty in Cairo being worse; I haven't seen it, so cannot comment on it, but I'll certainly take your word as true. But, does that make any difference, in reality? Does it really matter whereabouts the Egyptian poor scrape their existence, just so long as the so-called intelligentsia and the 'politically aware' can make their play for power at their ill-afforded expense? The principle doesn't alter, does it?

By the way, 'cemeteries' isn't spelt with an 'a'! And, the 'Royal VIP' epithet only means that I've nothing better to do with my time, than to keep posting on here!
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Remus »

Thanks Teddyboy - and I've slapped my own wrist over the misspelling.
I don't believe for a second that Pres M is trying to fill his own pockets. I just find his lack of political nous almost staggering. And I possibly do know more about the people whom you accuse of having selfish political ambitions.
I fear that if he does not rescind (at least partly) his proclamation of a few days ago, and if this constitutional referendum is won, the Egyptians, Upper and Lower and across the country, will find themselves very more impoverished than they are now. I'm not optimistic. But, as you point out, this is democracy. And it's their country, not mine.
(We should be sitting in a bar discussing this over a couple of Stellas! And my 'junior' status shows how seldom I feel moved to comment.)
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Teddyboy »

"We should be sitting in a bar discussing this over a couple of Stellas!"

Sorry, but I'm one of those boring types whose favourite tipple is a cup of steaming Ceylon tea!

"I possibly do know more about the people whom you accuse of having selfish political ambitions."

I wouldn't doubt that, either! My impression of them has been formed only by the obvious disregard they have for the poor, as evidenced by their continuing clumsy attempts at disrupting the policies of the elected government (currently consisting only of the President, I know!) which is frightening away the tourists, along with their 'tourist dollars', which constitute the lifeblood of two of the main towns in Upper Egypt.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by TonyC »

Remus wrote:I just find his [Mr Morsi] lack of political nous almost staggering [...]
I fear that if he does not rescind (at least partly) his proclamation of a few days ago, and if this constitutional referendum is won, the Egyptians, Upper and Lower and across the country, will find themselves very more impoverished than they are now.
I would have said Mr Morsi has shown commendable political nous since his election, not least in the way he put the army generals back in their place and put himself on the world stage while his Cabinet gets on with running, or trying to run, the country.

What is there about the draft constitution that will impoverish Egyptians? His opponents have offered nothing on the economy so far, so what do they want to see in the constitution to address the issue? Their campaigns against the draft constitution – staging protests, a raft of court cases – seem concerned only "Islamism" and power.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Hafiz »

For Teddyboy.

Did write up something about income/standard of living in Egypt but this was scrubbed by some useless and expensive tech head who tried to fix my computer. The issue of incomes in Egypt is a bit difficult to get a handle on (what are they by class,region cost of living etc.).

The debate about mean and median is important but there are a lot of international tools which claim to be better at measuring income/s.of l. For example, the improbably named Gini so-efficient gives some surprising (positive) results for Egypt whilst some other measures allow for local cost of living. The UN Human Development Index uses other figures to arrive at its conclusions.

All of these indices have their flaws. For example, few measures look at social mobility where low income might be tolerable if there was high social mobility (USA and Australia) but less tolerable where there were high barriers to upward mobility (UK). I'm not aware of a mobility study on Egypt but could probably guess what it would say.

Other weaknesses with income measurement is the income spread in Egypt with a lot of fabulously rich Egyptians distorting the figures (both mean and median). Family structure with multiple incomes (as mentioned above) doesn't seem to be counted (surely positive for s. of l.) and the role of free Government services (supplementing income and services) isn't measured to give a full picture on s. of l.

I couldn't find any figures for a regional breakdown of incomes/s.of l. with the previous Egyptian Government a bit coy on this. Everyone knows that the figures would be bad and made worse by the poorer Government infrastructure in non-urban areas (its not only income that makes a standard of living but also cost free Government services).

You would think that international aid would be focused on the poorer areas, but it isn't, and Upper Egypt doesn't get a lot (some USAID further to the north) but that's another story.

When I can remember the other points I will write them up.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Teddyboy »

Thanks for your work there, Hafiz. Nevertheless, I’m not really into official figures, however they’re calculated. I’m too lazy, and at my time of life; not really interested enough to delve very much deeper into the cause or results of Egyptian poverty than that which I come across in my day to day wanderings, and can therefore alleviate a little from time to time.
What I see is two different groups of obvious malnutrition, and it seems to be divided between the differing diets of Muslims and Christians! In my experience, the undernourished Muslims are usually frighteningly skinny, whereas many of the poorly nourished Christians seem to be carrying large amounts of (what I can only describe as) ‘blubber’. The diets of both sections of society are seemingly very short on the right balance of food groups.
This cannot only be the result of freely made choices of food; there’s not enough protein in the poor Muslim’s diet through poverty, and it seems that the Christians are replacing protein with carbohydrates, probably for the same reason. (BTW, I’m not a nutritionist or even a decent cook, these are the views and observations of a complete layman, so I could be miles off!)
Other than the wealthy Egyptians of my acquaintance (these are people who, I believe, see themselves as a class above most other locals) the rest seem to have a very unsatisfactory diet which leaves them hungry for most of the time.
Of course, personal preference, or priority, also comes into play. I recently read a book where an Egyptian character earned 15LE a month, but only had 6LE left to pay for food etc after he’d paid for his smoking habit! It was only a work of fiction, set about 80 years ago, but as a lifelong smoker and a keen watcher of people, I can vouch for that sort of attitude being perfectly realistic.
But whatever figures we bandy about, the fact remains that the majority of people in Upper Egypt have been greatly impoverished (and continue to bear the brunt of financial hardship) as a direct result of the revolution and the continuing disruption of protests against the first freely elected government.
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Re: Egyptian family's average annual income

Post by Hafiz »

I'm sure you're right about the figures versus the face to face reality of poverty and malnutrition.

If people are fat it might have something to do with diet but also with income or manual work or where they live. For example are people more malnourished in the rural Delta - I would guess not.

However, if there aren't regional figures about malnutrition and low incomes (and I can't find them on Upper Egypt) then it won't be publicized, and there will be no pressure on Government and aid givers to do something. The fact that rural poverty is hidden in this soup of figures means that it will likely continue.
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