Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

India’s Low-Skilled Migration to the Middle East pp 53–75Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Egyptian Labour Migration in the Arab Middle East

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 532 Accesses

Abstract

The present chapter reviews Egyptian labour migration to the Arab Middle East in the last 40 years and its outcomes. It also signals the issues it has faced all along and which still call for solutions. Egyptian labour migration to countries in the Arab Middle East transformed into a mass movement in the mid-1970s. Two factors were behind this transformation. The first was the very high growth in demand for labour in oil-exporting countries in the Gulf after the historical oil price increase in 1973–1974. The second factor was Egypt’s drive to find external employment outlets to its fast growing labour force. In addition to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Egyptian migrant workers also headed to Iraq, until 1990, as well as to Libya, Jordan and Lebanon. Labour migration to the Arab Middle East has come to represent 75 per cent of total Egyptian migration. In the present chapter, the authors opined that migration has not been a solution to the employment question the country has and still is experiencing. Supply of labour is still in excess of demand. Further, the authors observed that the job quality has not improved. The overall skill quality of the labour force has not been upgraded either. However, individual workers and their families have benefitted from their migration experiences through remittances, which allow meeting their needs and alleviating their poverty.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    See Article 52 in Egyptian 1971 Constitution Arab Republic of Egypt Constitution can be found at http://sis.gov.eg

  2. 2.

    Law 111/1983 “Emigration and Sponsoring Egyptians Abroad”.

  3. 3.

    Zohry and Debanath (2010).

  4. 4.

    Awad (2013).

  5. 5.

    World Bank Development Indicators (2015).

  6. 6.

    CIA World Factbook, Egypt.

  7. 7.

    Amer and Fargues (2014).

  8. 8.

    World Bank Development Indicators (2015).

  9. 9.

    World Bank Development Indicators (2017).

  10. 10.

    Haq and Zaki (2015).

  11. 11.

    World Bank Development Indicators (2015).

  12. 12.

    World Bank Development Indicators (2017).

  13. 13.

    Barsoum et al. (2014). While in most contexts, a youth is defined as a person aged between 15 and 24 years, for the purpose of the SWTS and related reports, the upper age limit was extended to 29 years of age.

  14. 14.

    Gatti et al. (2011).

  15. 15.

    Informal employment is measured according to the guidelines recommended by the 17th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS 2003). It includes the following subcategories of workers: (a) paid employees in “informal jobs”, that is, jobs without a social security entitlement, paid annual leave or paid sick leave, (b) paid employees in an unregistered enterprise with size classification below five employees, (c) own-account workers in an unregistered enterprise with size classification below five employees, (d) employers in an unregistered enterprise with size classification below five employees and (e) contributing family workers.

  16. 16.

    Barsoum et al. (2014).

  17. 17.

    At the time the survey was carried out, this was roughly equivalent to between US$70 and 140.

  18. 18.

    The total of 3000 Egyptian pounds were equivalent at the time to some US$420.

  19. 19.

    El Nozahy (2007), as quoted in Awad (2007).

  20. 20.

    Zohry, Ayman (2005).

  21. 21.

    Zohry, Ayman (2016).

  22. 22.

    Migration Policy Center (2014).

  23. 23.

    Wahba (2008). Based on the ELMPS 2006, gave another distribution of Egyptian migration by country of destination: Saudi Arabia, 37.43 per cent; Jordan, 16.11 per cent, Libya, 13.64 per cent; Kuwait, 12.27 per cent. UAE, 11.56 per cent; EU, 2.24 per cent and North America, 1.89 per cent. The generation of more reliable information will be discussed later, in Issues of Egyptian Labour Migration to the Middle East.

  24. 24.

    Author’s calculations based on IOM and ESCWA Arab Region Migration Report (2016).

  25. 25.

    Wahba (2014).

  26. 26.

    Wahba (2010).

  27. 27.

    CARIM Database (2005), available at http://carim.org/index.php?areaid=4, accessed on 3 March 2018; see Table 3.5 in the annex.

  28. 28.

    Wahba (2010).

  29. 29.

    This chapter does not address the changes introduced in the kafala system in Qatar in 2017–18.

  30. 30.

    Tsourapas, Gerasimos (2015).

  31. 31.

    See, for example, “Rescue of 48 Egyptian migrants in the Libyan Desert and the deportation of another 37”, Al Ahram, 03.11.2013, page 1. The smuggler and informal broker charged each worker EGP 7000, equivalent to a little under US$1000 at that time.

  32. 32.

    Chimhowu et al. (2005).

  33. 33.

    See Chimhowu et al. (2005).

  34. 34.

    Wahba (2014).

  35. 35.

    Wahba (2008).

  36. 36.

    Wahba (2014).

  37. 37.

    Wahba (2015).

  38. 38.

    Wahba (2015).

  39. 39.

    Wahba (2014).

  40. 40.

    World Bank Migration and Remittances Factbook (2016).

  41. 41.

    Wahba (2014).

  42. 42.

    World Bank Remittances Database (2010–2014).

  43. 43.

    World Bank Development Indicators (2017).

  44. 44.

    Wahba (2014).

  45. 45.

    El-Sakka (2010).

  46. 46.

    Author’s calculations based on World Bank Remittances Database.

  47. 47.

    World Bank Bilateral Remittances Database (2017).

  48. 48.

    World Bank Remittances Database (2010–2014).

  49. 49.

    World Bank Development Indicators (2017).

  50. 50.

    See annex G.

  51. 51.

    Chimhowu et al. (2005).

  52. 52.

    Wahba (2014).

  53. 53.

    Wahba (2010).

  54. 54.

    IOM (2010).

  55. 55.

    Chimhowu et al. (2005).

  56. 56.

    IOM (2010).

  57. 57.

    CAPMAS (2016).

References

  • Amer, M., & Fargues, P. (2014). Labour Market Outcomes and Egypt’s Migration Potential. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute. http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/31384/RSCAS2014_55_rev.pdf?sequence=4. Accessed on 1 Dec 2017.

  • Awad, I. (2007). Migration and Human Security in the Arab Region. Input Paper to the Arab Human Development Report, 2008–2009 (Unpublished).

    Google Scholar 

  • Awad, I. (2013). Labour Migration and Its Institutional Setup in Egypt: A Review and Policy Recommendations. Report Submitted to the ILO (Unpublished).

    Google Scholar 

  • Barsoum, G., Ramadan, M., & Mostafa, M. (2014). Labour Market Transitions of Young Women and Men in Egypt. Work4Youth Publication Series, No. 16, International Labour Office, Youth Employment Programme, Employment Policy Department, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). (2016). Egypt Household International Migration Survey: Primary Report. Cairo: CAPMAS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chimhowu, A., Piesse, J., & Pinder, C. (2005). Chapter 3: The Socioeconomic Impact of Remittances on Poverty Reduction. In S. Munzele & D. Ratha (Eds.), Remittances: Development Impact and Future Prospects. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Egypt-HIMS. (2013). Egypt Household International Migration Survey 2013: Main Findings and Key Indicators. Cairo: Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • El-Sakka, M. I. T. (2010). Remittances of Egyptian Migrants: An Overview. Middle East Institute. http://www.mei.edu/content/remittances-egyptian-migrants-overview. Accessed on 11 Jan 2019.

  • ESCWA and Arab Region Migration Report. (2016). 2015 Situation Report on International Migration: Migration, Displacement and Development in a Changing Arab Region. Beirut.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gatti, R., Angel-Urdinola, D. F., Silva, J., & Bodor, A. (2011). Striving for Better Jobs: The Challenge of Informality in the Middle East and North Africa Region. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/10857. Accessed on 4 Jan 2019.

  • Haq, T., & Zaki, C. (2015). Macroeconomic Policy for Employment Creation in Egypt: Past Experience and Future Prospects. International Labour Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • The International Organization for Migration (IOM). (2010). Intra-Regional Labour Mobility in the Arab World. Geneva: The International Organization for Migration (IOM).

    Google Scholar 

  • The Migration Policy Centre (MPC) Team. (2014). Migration Profile Egypt. The Migration Policy Centre. http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/docs/migration_profiles/Egypt.pdf. Accessed on 12 Jan 2019.

  • The World Bank. (2017). World Development Indicators. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TERT.ZS?page=1. Accessed on 25 Jan 2019.

  • Tsourapas, G. (2015). The Politics of Egyptian Migration to Libya. Middle East Research and Information Project.http://www.merip.org/mero/mero031715. Accessed on 29 Jan 2019.

  • Wahba, J. (2008). Return Migration in Egypt. Migration, Return and Development. In International Conference Jointly Organized by the OECD, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institute for International Policy Studies (ISPI) DELSA/ELSA/MI/RD(2008)9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wahba, J. (2010). Chapter I: National Background Paper: Labour Markets Performance and Migration Flows in Egypt. In European Economy – Labour Markets Performance and Migration Flows in Arab Mediterranean Countries: Determinants and Effects. 1: National Background Papers Mashreq. Vol. 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wahba, J. (2014). Through the Keyhole: International Migration in Egypt. 830, Working Paper Series, Economic Research Forum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wahba, J. (2015). Selection, Selection, Selection: The Impact of Return Migration. Journal of Population Economics, 28(3), 535–563. doi:10.1007/s00148-015-0541-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2015). World Development Indicators (English). Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2016). Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank Remittances Database. (2014). Bilateral Remittances Matrices 2010–2014. Prospects – Migration and Remittances Data. Washington, DC. http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTDECPROSPECTS/0,,contentMDK:22759429~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:476883,00.html. Accessed 8 Sep 2018.

  • Zachariah, K. C., Mathew, E. T., & Rajan, S. I. (2003). Dynamics of Migration in Kerala: Determinants, Differentials and Consequences. Hyderabad: Orient Longman Private Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zohry, A. (2005). Interrelationships Between Internal and International Migration in Egypt: A Pilot Study. Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalization and Poverty, University of Sussex. http://eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/0708/DOC18825.pdf. Accessed on 15 Jan 2019.

  • Zohry, A. (2016). Migration and Development. In M. Bommes, H. Fassmann, & W. Sievers (Eds.), MENA and Migration: Real and Potential Migration in the Middle East and North Africa. Amsterdam: IMISCOE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zohry, A., & Debnath, P. (2010). A Study on the Dynamics of the Egyptian Diaspora: Strengthening Development Linkages. Cairo: International Organization for Migration (IOM).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS), The American University in Cairo (AUC), Cairo, Egypt

    Ibrahim Awad & Lina Lotayef

Authors
  1. Ibrahim Awad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lina Lotayef
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ibrahim Awad .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Development Studies, Ulloor Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

    S. Irudaya Rajan

  2. Department of Population Studies, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

    Prem Saxena

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Awad, I., Lotayef, L. (2019). Egyptian Labour Migration in the Arab Middle East. In: Rajan, S.I., Saxena, P. (eds) India’s Low-Skilled Migration to the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9224-5_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9224-5_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-9223-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-9224-5

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation