Cairo – Mubasher: The communications and information technology (CIT) sector has been one of the top growing sectors in Egypt despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of EGP 108 billion in fiscal year 2019/2020, up by 15.2% year-on-year (YoY) from EGP 93.5 billion.
The CIT sector contributed 4.4% to the country’s overall GDP in the last fiscal year, compared to 3.4% in FY18/19, according to a report released by the Cabinet on Thursday.
Exports of the CIT sector increased by 13% YoY to $4.1 billion in 2020 from $3.6 billion a year earlier, the report showed.
Meanwhile, total investments in the sector surged by 35%, registering EGP 48.1 billion in FY19/20, compared to EGP 35.4 billion a in FY18/19.
In the year ended 30 June, a total of 1,336 CIT companies were established with a combined capital of EGP 1.34 billion.
The number of mobile phone subscribers rose by 0.8% to 96 million at the end of October, compared to 95.25 million in the same month a year earlier, while ADSL subscribers jumped by 19.9% to 8.6 million from 7.17 million in October 2019.
Internet users made up 57.3% of total population in FY19/20, compared to 47.6% in FY18/19.
The cost of communications infrastructure development reached $400 million in the second half (H2) of 2020, raising the internet speed to 33.2 megabits per second in November.
