Around 492,600 Egyptians obtained permits to work abroad in 2008, a ten per cent increase over the previous year, while 607,000 Egyptian workers have renewed their permits, according to statistics recently released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The newsletter on temporary Egyptian labor issued by CAPMAS said that Arab countries have the lion’s share of expatriate Egyptian workers, with Saudi Arabia topping the list. There are 521,000 Egyptian workers in Saudi Arabia alone, constituting 49.3 per cent of the total number of Egyptians working abroad. Kuwait, which hosts 17 per cent of Egyptian workers abroad, was in second place.
The CAPMAS report also said there are 34,100 Egyptians working in Europe. Italy has the greatest number of Egyptians, with 22,200, followed by Greece.
Egyptians with below-intermediate qualifications or no qualifications represent the bulk of Egyptians abroad and total 401,000, representing 36.4 per cent of expatriates. Egyptians with higher qualifications represent 26 per cent.
CAPMAS also said that males greatly outnumber females working abroad. Only three per cent of Egyptians working overseas are women.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
