Cairo - Mubasher: Egypt’s budget deficit narrowed to 7.8% in fiscal year (FY) 2020/2021, compared to 12% in FY13/14, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait revealed.
The minister expects the budget deficit to further shrink to 6.7% in FY21/22, according to a statement on Thursday.
The country achieved a primary surplus of 1.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in FY19/20 and 1.1% in FY20/21, compared to a primary deficit of 3.5% in FY14/15.
Moreover, the unemployment rate declined to 7.2% by the end of December 2020, compared to 13.3% in FY14/15, while the inflation rate slowed down to 4.5% in March, compared to 22% in 2017.
The GDP growth rate accelerated to 5.6% in FY19/20, the highest since the global economic crisis.
