Egypt migration pdf

It revealed important lessons about how countries in the region can adapt mobility systems in ways that protect public health while also allowing people to safely access work, humanitarian protection, and their communities. Skip to main content. Country Resource - Egypt. Adjust Font.

Population growth rate Birth rate Death rate Net migration rate Ethnic groups Egyptian August 8, It aims to assess and explain the complexities of Egyptian migration policy within a historical and shifting geopolitical context, focusing on the development of policy responses to tackle several issues related to labor emigration, internal movements, immigration, and arrival of the forcibly displaced, as well as relations with Egyptian diaspora communities abroad.

Historically, Egypt has been a country of emigration, most of which has occurred within the broader Arab region. Its labor emigration history can be divided into two phases: first, high-skilled emigration across the Arab world throughout the 19 th and early 20 th centuries, and second, primarily low- and medium-skilled outflows to Libya, Iraq, and the oil-producing Gulf Cooperation Council GCC countries starting in the early s.

Having achieved nominal independence from the Ottoman Empire much earlier than the rest of the MENA region, Egypt became a trendsetter and a major force within the Arab world. Large-scale modernization efforts throughout the 19 th century, which continued under British rule from to , led to a vibrant, educated elite class. Many Egyptian professionals would travel to North Africa, the Levant, and the Persian Gulf to contribute to the economic development of neighboring areas.

As Arab nationalism came to dominate Cairo in the aftermath of World War I, Egyptian high-skilled emigration became a political project focused primarily on education and Arab empowerment. Under British rule, the Egyptian government welcomed the enrollment of non-Egyptian Arab students at Al-Azhar University and the newly established Cairo University, funded the construction of schools across the region, and staffed them with qualified Egyptian teachers and administrators.

This trend continued after the Free Officers movement, which abolished the British-supported Egyptian monarchy and brought to power a new generation of anticolonial revolutionary elites led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Under President Nasser, Egypt heavily restricted labor emigration but continued to sponsor the employment of high-skilled professionals across the MENA region. In contrast to earlier efforts, such mobility constituted less a sign of Arab solidarity and more a tool of foreign policy.

In the s and s, the government recruited, trained, and dispatched thousands of Egyptian professionals—particularly teachers—across Africa, to Latin America and, most importantly, throughout the Arab world. As a result, Egyptian high-skilled emigration throughout the s and s played a key role in several political processes across the Global South, including the decolonization of Africa and the Middle East, the North Yemen Civil War, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Despite the popularity of international placements for state-sponsored professionals, the Free Officers resisted any attempt to allow broader free movement of labor into and out of its territory, as they were eager to prevent brain drain of talent or the flight of political opponents abroad.

This era was dominated by large outflows into oil-producing Arab states, particularly following the oil crisis. Following the emigration policy shift, millions of high- and low-skilled Egyptian workers pursued employment across the Middle East, partly driven by domestic unemployment and the vast wage gaps between Egypt and key host countries. Since then, Egypt has considered economic remittances to be a key source of income, which now constitute a significant share of its gross domestic product GDP see Figure 1.

Given that money transfers are also conducted via unofficial, untraceable channels, the economic importance of migration for Egypt is even higher. Beyond remittances, labor migration has served as an important safety valve for the Egyptian government, which has traditionally struggled with issues of unemployment and overpopulation.

Figure 1. In terms of destination countries, neighboring Libya was the primary destination for Egyptian migrants until the mids. Once there, approximately one-third of Egyptians were employed jointly in the public administration, education, and health sectors; one-quarter worked in agriculture. From the mids onward, most Egyptian migrant workers headed to the Gulf region, notably Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. Migrant recruitment in the GCC states operates under the Kafala system, requiring hired migrants to have an in-country sponsor, who holds considerable power and control over workers.

This system of migrant labor recruitment has been widely criticized by international organizations and others for enabling human-rights violations against migrant workers across the Gulf. The post decline in oil prices has contributed to a steady fall in Egyptian recruitment in the oil-producing Arab countries. At the same time, Egyptian regional emigration to the Gulf has slowed since the s due to a shift toward the recruitment of Asian migrant labor. In contrast to Arab migrants, Asian workers are considered to be cheaper and less likely to be involved in the domestic politics of destination countries.

The decision of some GCC countries to get more of their nationals into the labor force, from the early s onwards, has also affected Egyptian migration flows. At the same time, the prohibition of permanent migration across the Gulf has made circular movement common, although Egyptians tend to stay in these countries for many years.

This phenomenon has also increased the appeal of traditional transit migration countries—such as Jordan—which now host large populations of Egyptian migrants see Table 1. Table 1. Beyond economic changes, war and high politics have also affected Egyptian labor migration. Several examples illustrate this phenomenon.

Egyptians in Libya suffered abuse and deportation under Gaddafi whenever bilateral relations with Cairo deteriorated. More recently, the deterioration of Jordanian—Egyptian relations in —13 led to the abuse and deportation of hundreds of Egyptian migrant workers, who were only invited to return once interstate relations improved.

The Arab—Israeli War exacerbated this trend, as the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula led to the internal displacement of more than 1 million Egyptians, who fled to Cairo. Egyptian policymakers feared the potential implications of the twin phenomena of overpopulation and urbanization, and thus actively pursued labor emigration as a solution from the s onwards. Yet urbanization continued, with negative effects on housing, public health, and transportation.

Cairo alone, which at the turn of the 20 th century had , residents, now struggles to meet the needs of some 20 million people in the greater metropolitan area. It is the most populous city in Africa and in the Middle East and the fourth-largest in the world, according to United Nations data.

Beyond seeking employment across the MENA region, millions of Egyptians have also emigrated to Western countries, particularly once the Nasser-era obstacles to emigration were lifted.

If Egypt is in stage 2 in the demographic transition model, it means that Egypt has yet to industrialize. If Egypt were to industrialize according to the DTM, the RNI would decrease preventing overpopulation and other problems in the future.

European University Institute. Demographic-Economic n. Migration Facts Egypt. Population and Migration Current Population: 94,, Arithmetic Density: 83 persons per square kilometer Physiological Density: 2, persons per square kilometer.

Life expectancy: total population: Egyptian migration has long played a significant role in the political, economic, and social spheres in Egypt.

Jordan hosts the largest number of Egyptian labour migrants second only to Saudi Arabia. There are widely varying estimates regarding the number of Egyptians working in Jordan. However, the Jordanian Census placed the number at , Egyptians.

These large and varying numbers are likely owing to visa-free travel from Egypt to Jordan as well as geographical proximity between the two countries. Egyptians in Jordan work primarily in the agriculture, construction, and service sectors and migration to Jordan takes place primarily through informal social networks.

The inner workings of these informal social networks and the decisions to migrate that are facilitated by them are an understudied aspect of Egyptian labour migration. The decision to migrate is a significant financial investment made by the migrants, their families, and communities.