Egypt’s Demographic Dividend and its Prospects

Abstract

This study targets the time period of the demographic dividend in Egypt and the policies needed to take advantage of it. The importance of this study lies in its accompanying the January 25 revolution which was begun by youth, who are the result of this dividend. Divided in three parts, the first section deals with the concept of the demographic dividend presented by the demographic transition and the opportunity it provides to boost economic growth. The second part covers the demographic transition in Egypt and the timing of the dividend. The third part shows the policy environment required to speed up the process of the demographic transition towards the demographic dividend and the policies required to ready the economy for the period after the end of this opportunity. The results show that the demographic dividend in Egypt is a temporary phenomenon that will last for only around 30 years at most.