Egypt MPI analysis

MPI report originally introduced: 2024

Latest results: Egypt MPI 2021/22

In December 2024, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in partnership with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and OPHI, published "Multidimensional poverty in Egypt: An in-depth analysis". The report explores the first national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for Egypt, which was developed with a view to becoming an official measure of multidimensional poverty in the country.

This report details the findings of the first national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for Egypt, constructed using the Household Income, Expenditure, and Consumption Survey (HIECS) for the period 2021/2022. The report lays out the major challenges and priorities for policy action and discusses the effectiveness of social welfare programmes and macroeconomic policies in alleviating multidimensional poverty. The MPI is aligned with ongoing initiatives such as Vision 2030 for Egypt, Agenda 2030 of the SDGs, Hayah Kareema (or decent life) programme, Egypt's Human Rights Strategy.   

  • Citation: ESCWA, Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Ministry of Social Solidarity, Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) (2024). Multidimensional poverty in Egypt: An in-depth analysis. E/ESCWA/CL2.GPID/2023/TP.8/Rev.1. Beirut.  

Egypt MPI structure: dimensions and indicators 

Poverty Cut-Off: A person is considered poor if they are deprived in 29% or more of the 19 weighted indicators, or in the equivalent of 2 or more of the 7 dimensions. 

Dimension 

Indicator 

Weight 

Deprivation cut-off 

Education (1/7) Years of schooling 

1/14 

A household is deprived if no household member has completed 12 years of schooling in 18+ years
School attendance  

1/14 

A household is deprived if any household member aged 6–17 is not attending school and has not completed secondary education
Health (1/7) Child mortality  

1/21 

A household is deprived if any child in the household has died before the age of 5 
Access to health-care services 

1/21 

A household is deprived if any household member has a chronic disease, disability, illness or injury and does not have access to medical services 
Health insurance 

1/21 

A household is deprived if no household member has health insurance coverage 
Housing (1/7) Type of dwelling  

1/14 

A household is deprived if the housing situation fulfils at least one of the following conditions: (i) home is a place other than a stand-alone house or apartment; (ii) it has a non-permanent floor or (iii) it has a non-permanent roof
Livelihood asset ownership 

1/14 

A household is deprived if the household does not own a car and is deprived of at least four of the following assets: refrigerator, deep freezer, oven, stove, washing machine, semi-automatic washing machine, automatic washing machine, dishwasher, water heater, vacuum cleaner, air conditioner, electric fan, heater, electric iron, VCR, digital camera, personal computer, water filler, blender, kitchen machine
Services (1/7) Sanitation and overflow 

1/35 

A household is deprived if it does not have a public or private network sanitation method or has a network but experiences frequent sanitary sewer overflows (more than once a month)
Uninterrupted water 

1/35 

A household is deprived if it does not have access to safe drinking water, according to Millenium Development Goal (MDG) guidelines, or it has access but the service is interrupted more than once a week
Waste disposal services 

1/35 

A household is deprived if it disposes of its waste through one of the following methods: on the street, feeding animals, burning it, dumping it, or the household has access to proper waste collection systems, but waste is collected less than twice a week
Electricity 

1/35 

A household is deprived if it is not connected to the public network or is connected but the service is interrupted more than once a week
Internet access 

1/35 

A household is deprived if it has no access to internet cable, wireless network or 3G router 
Employment (1/7) Unemployment 

1/14 

A household is deprived if any household member aged 15 to 64 and part of the labour force is not working and is actively looking for a job
Decent work and social insurance 

1/14 

A household is deprived if a working household member aged 15 to 64 is working with no contract or is working and not participating in social insurance 
Social protection (1/7) Access to social assistance 

1/14 

A household is deprived if it falls below the poverty line, has children under 18 years old, elderly or a person with disability and does not receive transfers from takaful or karama program
Access to social protection 

1/14 

A household is deprived if less than 1/2 of family members aged 18+ have a source of income: including labour income, assets or real estate, or social transfers
Food security (1/7) Child stunting and wasting 

1/21 

A household is deprived if any child aged 0–59 months is stunted (height for age <-2 SD) OR if any child aged 0–59 months is wasted (weight-for-age <-2 SD)
Animal source food intake (ASF) 

1/21 

A household is deprived if it has any child aged 6– 59 months not having received in the past week animal source food: (a) eggs (b) meat, poultry, fish or (c) dairy products
Household food security 

1/21 

A household is deprived if the household suffers from a food security problemc for at least 12 months and up to more than 24 months 

Source:  Citation: ESCWA, Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Ministry of Social Solidarity, Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) (2024). Multidimensional poverty in Egypt: An in-depth analysis. E/ESCWA/CL2.GPID/2023/TP.8/Rev.1. Beirut. 

Global MPI

The annual global MPI, produced by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative in partnership with the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme, is an internationally comparable index of acute multidimensional poverty. OPHI publishes Country Briefings summarising poverty statistics of the global MPI for each country. 

Visit the most recent Global MPI Country Briefing for Egypt based on DHS year 2014.

More info on National MPI of Egypt

Official institution responsible for statistics

Events 

Egypt MPI report cover