Egypt raises the minimum wage to 7 thousand pounds per month

Sky News Arabia

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The Egyptian government decided to raise the minimum wages of public sector employees to seven thousand Egyptian pounds (138.50 dollars) per month from July 2025, according to what Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Kajuk announced on Wednesday.

This increase comes within a social protection package, the government revealed its most prominent features at a press conference after its presentation to President Abdel Fattah El -Sisi earlier in the day.

Egypt announced earlier to raise the minimum wages in the private sector to seven thousand pounds per month, earlier in February.

Kjok said that the new social protection package is divided into two parts, the first begins its application with the beginning of the month of Ramadan, which comes within hours until the end of the current fiscal year, while the application of the second part begins from July in conjunction with the beginning of the fiscal year in Egypt and includes increasing wages and pensions.

The increase in wages comes within a broader social protection package that is expected to cost between 80 to 85 billion pounds (1.6-1.7 billion dollars), and is scheduled to start in the new fiscal year at the beginning of July.

In addition, a temporary social protection package is scheduled to be implemented between 35 to 40 billion pounds (692-791 million dollars) during the period from March to June.

This package includes an increase in the country’s supplies allocations to support 10 million families of the most needy during the months of March and April.

The government raised the minimum wage 50 percent to six thousand pounds in February 2024, which was then equivalent to $ 194.

The Egyptians have faced high inflation rates since early 2022 in the aftermath of the Russian spear in Ukraine, which led to the withdrawal of foreign investors billions of dollars from the Egyptian treasury bills.

The annual inflation rate in Egyptian cities was 24 percent last January, a slight decrease from 24.1 percent in December.

Egypt faces economic challenges and a lack of foreign currency, and in 2024 it was able to obtain a loan of eight billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund within an economic reform program.

Egypt, according to the agreement with the Fund, committed to maintaining the flexibility of the exchange rate, reducing the role of the government in the economy and enhancing the participation of the private sector.