From Abroad, With Love: Egyptians In Diaspora Send Home A Record USD 32.8 B Over The Past Year

Egyptians working abroad have sent home a record USD 32.8 B between July 2024 and May 2025, marking a powerful 69.6% increase from the USD 19.4 B recorded over the same period last year. These figures, released by the Central Bank of Egypt on Wednesday, reflect one of the strongest performances the country has ever seen in terms of remittance inflows.

The significance of this growth is difficult to overstate. In a country where foreign exchange is tightly tied to economic stability, remittances are now playing a more central role than ever.

The pace of growth has been particularly striking. In the first five months of 2025 alone, remittances rose by 59% year-on-year, reaching USD 15.8 B compared to USD 9.9 B during the same stretch in 2024. May 2025 stood out. That month saw Egyptians abroad transfer nearly USD 3.4 B, up from USD 2.7 B the previous May. That translates to a 24.2% increase over May 2024, making it the highest total ever recorded for May.

But, if you roll back the calendar a bit more, there has been a consistency of growth across nearly every month. During the first 10 months of fiscal year 2024/2025, remittances totalled USD 29.4 B, up 77.1% from USD 16.6 B in the previous year. Month after month, the numbers have continued to climb, suggesting that this is not a temporary spike but a sustained shift.

There is a clear trend that more Egyptians abroad are sending more money, more often.

Part of the explanation for this growth lies in policy. Egypt has been navigating a high-stakes economic adjustment program under the USD 8 B Extended Fund Facility with the International Monetary Fund. As part of this process, the government has floated the currency, tightened fiscal policy, and encouraged structural reforms. While these changes have created challenges for households at home, they’ve also made remittances more valuable in local currency terms. For workers abroad, the incentive to send money has grown stronger as the Egyptian pound has weakened.

But policy alone doesn’t explain everything. Much of this momentum reflects rising confidence among Egyptians living overseas. Their financial support is helping to ease pressure on the country’s reserves and cushion households from inflation. Behind each dollar is a story of a family being supported, a loan being paid, a child going to school. Remittances remain one of the country’s most direct, human-centred sources of foreign exchange.

Egypt’s broader economic picture is also improving. Tourism has rebounded strongly, with millions of visitors returning to the Red Sea resorts and Nile Valley landmarks. Suez Canal revenues remain stable, and new investments, particularly from Gulf countries and international lenders, are beginning to flow into infrastructure and energy projects. Yet remittances stand out because they are consistent, grassroots, and largely immune to external shocks. They don’t depend on seasonal cycles or geopolitical calm. They depend on people.

As Egypt pushes forward with structural reforms and economic recalibration, this surge in remittances offers more than just short-term relief. It signals resilience, trust, and a powerful connection between citizens abroad and the future of the country.