In 2015, a large share of Egypt'spopulation was either poor (27.8 percent) or not poor butvulnerable to falling into poverty (an additional28.7percent); most of the poor and vulnerable lived in thegovernorates of Upper Egypt. Clearly the country faces achallenge, but it also has the knowledge to craft solutions.Egypt's recent reforms have started to address some ofthe country’s economic sustainability challenges. Targetedsocial protection programs must continue to be an essentialelement of poverty reduction policy. Looking ahead, thisreport calls attention to the fact that re-orientingeducation investments towards more effective learning thatraises people's employability and productivity andputting in place policies that encourage job creation willbe key to sustained poverty reduction. Revitalizingeducation and job creation will be important for maximizingthe poverty-reducing potential of the economic reformprogram. One of the hallmarks of healthy economies is asubstantial middle class, a group often thought to be anengine of economic growth. In Egypt, a notable share of thepopulation, close to 30 percent, can be considered middleclass. Compared to the poor and vulnerable, the middle classhas higher education, more assets, and better connectivityto basic services and spends a relatively large share ofincome on education and health. It is clearly a goal indeveloping countries to enlarge the middle class in order tostrengthen the overall economy.
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