Egyptian families report greater money worries in 2012

[DJKeefy]

Government survey suggests the number of Egyptians struggling to make ends meet rose last year.

The economic conditions of Egyptian families deteriorated after the revolution, according to a survey of households by an Egyptian state body.

The survey, conducted by the Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC), the Cabinet's think tank, was carried out last summer, with the results released this week.

According to the data, 57.5 percent of families said their income was insufficient to cover their needs in May 2012, compared with only 45.1 percent in 2010.

The IDSC stressed that the phenomenon is more serious in rural areas, where more than 60 percent of families say their income is not enough to cover their needs, compared with 54.3 percent of families living in urban areas.

Many Egyptians believe that the economic situation has deteriorated after the revolution, with 38.7 percent of the sample saying that their economic conditions had worsened over the last year.

The percentage saying that the economic conditions of the country were worse in terms of prices, investment or production increased by 10 percent in May 2012 from figures in June 2010, to reach 67 per cent.

The survey said that 66.5 percent of Egyptian families worry about being burgled.

Sixty-five percent of the respondents believed poverty to be the main motive for burglaries, while 10.7 percent blamed unemployment and 10 percent believed the reason was the security vacuum.

According to official figures, the prices of different items, including fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products have increased over the past two years.

The official poverty rate jumped from 21.6 percent in 2008/2009 to 25.2 percent in 2010/2011. The results released by IDSC did not provide any more recent figures.

The national poverty line is set at LE1,270 pounds per month per family.

According to the IDSC report, the unemployment rate reached 12.6 percent in June 2012, from 9 percent two years before.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/66164.aspx

[Dusak]

And sad to say I can only see it getting worse in the coming years. I was told today that the local bus fairs have increased to 1Le, which is cheap for the likes of us, but now will be out of reach for so many more of the poorer people of Egypt. Will we ever see the likes of soup kitchens appearing on the streets to help the more needy? Burglary? Virtually unheard of before the revolution. The rural communities are certainly getting the brunt of the problems and seem to remain the forgotten peoples.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Economic downturn is being felt everywhere. When economic times get difficult the crime rate also rises and can be extremely hard on those who have no cushion to fall back on. I also agree that it is going to get even more difficult in the coming years. I think this is the tip of the ice berg.

[Bearded Brian]

LE1270 per month per family - but how big is a family? And why or why do they keep producing when they complain they can't afford the kids they already have?

[Dusak]

I was speaking to a friend some time ago about this Brian. The answer was simple in her opinion, there are for some reason far more girls born than boys, and boys give strength to the family's economics. Her parents had five girls before the first boy arrived, then two more boys, her sister had the very same results. All forms of birth controls are available here plus advise when needed but very few have an interest in it as it is generally frowned upon. As she stated herself, we women are here to breed and serve. What can we do? One point she did mention that surprised me was that back street abortions have increased.

[Chocolate Eclair]

God 1270le per month, that must come from at least 4 working members of one family, everyone knows that the salaries on the West Bank is averaging 400le per month.

This problem will only get worse, there seems to be no one interested in getting this Country back on its feet again, all they do is bicker and argue, fighting for a little bit of glory. The people are getting more despondent, with no work, and no income, they are getting more and more lethargic, so if anything short of a miracle did happen they would not be ready for it anyway.