Egypt’s Remittances Reach a Record 33.9 Billion Dollars in 8 Months, Above All of 2024
Remittances from Egyptians working abroad reached a record 33.9 billion dollars in the first 8 months of 2026, 27.2 percent more than the 26.6 billion dollars of the same period of 2025, the Central Bank of Egypt said on 13 October. August alone brought in 4.2 billion dollars, up 21.7 percent from 3.5 billion dollars in August 2025.
The first 8 months have passed the whole of 2024. On our calculation the January to August total is 4.3 billion dollars above the 29.6 billion dollars received across all of 2024, and it already equals more than 81 percent of the record 41.5 billion dollars of calendar 2025. Against the same 8 months of 2024, when inflows were 18.1 billion dollars, this year’s total is 15.8 billion dollars higher.
8 Months That Already Beat a Full Year
Spread over the 243 days from 1 January to 31 August, the 2026 inflow works out at more than 139 million dollars a day, on our calculation. The 47.27 billion dollars of the 2025/26 fiscal year, which ran from July 2025 to June 2026, came to 129.5 million dollars a day. The calendar year to date is therefore running ahead of the fiscal year that closed in June.
On the published figures, matching the 41.5 billion dollars of 2025 would take 7.6 billion dollars across September to December combined, or 1.9 billion dollars a month, on our calculation. That is less than half the 4.2 billion dollar monthly average of January to August.
Egypt’s Remittance Totals Against the Year Before
| Period | Latest | Year earlier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to August 2026 | $33.9bn | $26.6bn | +27.2% |
| Calendar 2025 | $41.5bn | $29.6bn | +40.5% |
| January to August 2025 | $26.6bn | $18.1bn | +47.2% |
Levels and growth rates as published.
Annual Growth Has Quickened Every Month Since May
Every month of 2026 that the bank has published on its own came in well above the same month of 2025. The smallest rise was 13.5 percent in May and the strongest 44.0 percent in April. Since May the annual rate has picked up 3 months in a row: 15.6 percent in June, 20.0 percent in July and 21.7 percent in August.
In September 2025 the bank described July 2025’s inflow of 3.8 billion dollars as the highest monthly level ever recorded, and in February 2026 it called December 2025’s 4.0 billion dollars a record monthly level. 4 of the 7 months published separately this year have come in above that December mark: April at 4.3 billion dollars, June and August at 4.2 billion each and July at 4.5 billion.
August’s 4.2 billion dollars was 0.3 billion dollars less than July’s 4.5 billion, and growth for the year to date eased to 27.2 percent from 28.1 percent at the end of July. Those rates are measured against a high base: January to August 2025 had itself grown 47.2 percent, and August 2025 alone 32.6 percent. August 2026 still added 21.7 percent on top of that, a faster annual rise than in any month since April.
Egypt’s Monthly Remittances, 2026 Against 2025
| Month | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $2.9bn | $3.5bn | +21.0% |
| February | $3.0bn | $3.8bn | +25.7% |
| April | $3.0bn | $4.3bn | +44.0% |
| May | $3.4bn | $3.9bn | +13.5% |
| June | $3.6bn | $4.2bn | +15.6% |
| July | $3.8bn | $4.5bn | +20.0% |
| August | $3.5bn | $4.2bn | +21.7% |
Monthly levels and growth rates as published in the monthly remittance releases of March to October 2026, rounded to 1 decimal place at source. March 2026 was not published as a separate month.
Above 48 Billion Dollars Over 12 Months
Because July and August 2026 each beat their 2025 counterparts, the rolling 12-month total has kept climbing after the fiscal year closed. On our calculation the 12 months to August 2026 brought in more than 48 billion dollars, against 47.27 billion dollars in the 12 months to June.
The inflow also stands large against Egypt’s reserve stock. Net international reserves were 57,214.5 million dollars at the end of August, and the January to August remittance total equals more than 59 percent of that figure, on our calculation. The comparison sets a flow against a stock; it shows the scale of the inflow and does not mean remittances are added to reserves. In September reserves rose by 133.7 million dollars, so 97.7 percent of their gain since the end of 2025 had already come by the end of August, on our calculation.
Egypt’s Net International Reserves in 2026
| Month end | Reserves | Gain since end 2025 | Percent gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | $51,451.6mn | Base | Base |
| August 2026 | $57,214.5mn | +$5,762.9mn | +11.2% |
| September 2026 | $57,348.2mn | +$5,896.6mn | +11.5% |
The August and September figures are provisional. Gains are our calculation.
Why it matters: In the 2025/26 fiscal year remittances of 47.27 billion dollars exceeded Egypt’s merchandise export earnings of 43.91 billion dollars, on our reading of the balance of payments table. The new fiscal year has opened with July and August 2026 each above 4 billion dollars and each above the same month of 2025.
Outlook: The September release is the next marker. In 2025 the 4 months from September to December brought in 14.9 billion dollars, on our calculation, nearly twice the 7.6 billion dollars that 2026 now needs to match last year’s record. The same release will show whether annual growth in the monthly figure rises for a fourth month in a row after August’s 21.7 percent.
Sources: Central Bank of Egypt, The Edge.
