The parliament approved the final accounts of Egypt’s general budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015, which resulted in a total deficit worth EGP 279.4bn—general revenues were EGP 465.3bn, and general expenses were EGP 733.4bn. This deficit represents 11.5% of the total GDP, according to the press statement by the finance ministry. Final accounts for FY 2014/2015 reveal that the social dimension programmes attracted around EGP 230.6bn, including spending on education and health, besides directing EGP 61.7bn for public investment and EGP 198.5bn for wages and worker compensation. About EGP 236.5bn of local and foreign loans were paid during FY 2014/2015, which marks an increase of about EGP 107.5bn from the previous fiscal year, while grants Egypt received accounted for around EGP 25.4bn in FY 2014/2015 compared to EGP 95.9bn in 2013/2014. Petroleum subsidies accounted for EGP 73.9bn, electricity subsidies for EGP 23.6bn, public transportation for 1.6bn, and health insurance for EGP 839.5m.

Source: Daily News Egypt March 15, 2017 17:03 UTC