Egypt Remittances Reach 43.1 Billion Dollars in Eleven Months, Already Topping Last Fiscal Year’s Record
Remittances from Egyptians working abroad rose 31.2 percent to about 43.1 billion dollars in the first eleven months of fiscal year 2025/2026, covering July 2025 through May 2026, up from around 32.8 billion dollars in the same period a year earlier, the Central Bank of Egypt said on Thursday.
On a monthly basis, inflows reached about 3.9 billion dollars in May 2026, an increase of 13.5 percent from around 3.4 billion dollars in May 2025.
The eleven-month total has already surpassed the full-year record of 36.5 billion dollars set in fiscal year 2024/2025 by about 6.6 billion dollars, or 18.1 percent, with one month of the fiscal year still to be counted, by our calculation. It also exceeds the 41.5 billion dollars received during the whole of calendar year 2025, itself a record, by about 1.6 billion dollars, or 3.9 percent.
Monthly inflows have averaged about 3.9 billion dollars so far this fiscal year, up from just under 3.0 billion dollars a month in the same period of 2024/2025, our calculation shows. If June inflows hold near that average, the full fiscal year would close near 47 billion dollars, roughly 29 percent above the previous record.
The sustained rise underlines the weight of remittances in Egypt’s external accounts. In the first half of the fiscal year, the latest period with full balance of payments data, remittances brought in 22.1 billion dollars, against tourism revenues of 10.2 billion dollars and Suez Canal transit receipts of 2.2 billion dollars, central bank data show. That made remittances more than twice tourism receipts and about ten times canal receipts over the same six months, by our calculation. The eleven-month inflow is also equivalent to about 78 percent of the country’s net international reserves, which stood at a provisional 55.07 billion dollars at the end of June 2026, our calculation based on central bank data shows.
The pace of growth moderated slightly toward the end of the period. May’s 13.5 percent annual increase was well below the 44.0 percent recorded in April, pulling cumulative growth down from 33.2 percent at ten months to 31.2 percent at eleven, our calculation based on successive central bank releases shows. Cumulative growth stood at 32.0 percent over the first nine months of the fiscal year. Even so, May’s roughly 3.9 billion dollars matched the monthly average for the fiscal year to date, our calculation shows.
Why it matters: Remittances have become the anchor of Egypt’s foreign currency earnings. In the first half of the fiscal year they brought in nearly 80 percent more than tourism and Suez Canal receipts combined, by our calculation, and the eleven-month inflow is equivalent to about 78 percent of net international reserves. A steady inflow running near 3.9 billion dollars a month supports the current account, the pound and the reserve position.
Outlook: The central bank’s full fiscal-year remittances figure is expected in the second half of August, based on last year’s release timing, and would confirm whether 2025/2026 closes near 47 billion dollars, our calculated run-rate. The nine-month balance of payments release, due later in July if last year’s schedule holds, will show whether remittances extended their lead over tourism and Suez Canal receipts into the third quarter.
Sources: Central Bank of Egypt
