Cairo – The Egyptians are confident with regard to the future of their economies. This was the result of a recent study in the country by research institute YouGov.com and was the topic of the latest edition of the Egyptian economic weekly paper Al Ahram Iktissadi. According to the publication, the study developed by YouGov.com shows that Egypt was less affected by the global economic crisis than developed nations.
According to the study, 48% of the Egyptians interviewed hope that business conditions may improve. According to the weekly paper, the most interesting aspect of the study was the fact that 34% of the Egyptians consider themselves in the same economic conditions as they were last year. That means that one third of the population of Egypt did not feel a deterioration in their financial conditions over the last 12 months, a crisis period considered the worst since the Great Depression.
According to estimates in the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI), the Egyptian economy rose 7.7 confidence points since May this year, making the country one of those that demonstrated the greatest expansion of confidence in the region. "While a very great leap was not observed in the index, the material obtained shows that there has been clear improvement," said Amer Zureikat, one of those responsible for the study. "Things are getting back on track," he added.
On the other hand, the Kuwait position in the CCI rose 10 points. Qatar and the Emirates also exceeded Egypt in confidence growth. "Egypt, however, was the country outside the Gulf that improved its position the most. Lebanon was the only country in which, according to the study, slight decline, 0.7%, was identified in consumer confidence over the last five months," said Zureikat.
According to him, the Middle East showed improvement in its consumer confidence indices in recent months. According to the study, different from what was expected, the Egyptians showed themselves pleased with their country’s level of revenues when compared to other countries in the region. Some 46% of Egyptians said they are pleased or neutral with regard to their revenues.
Despite being citizens of a developing country, with low income, the Egyptians showed a greater level of acceptance of their income than, for example, those of the Emirates. Egypt is also in excellent conditions in terms of career perspectives. Only 26% of those interviewed said they do not believe in possible evolution in their careers.
*Translated by Mark Ament
