The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced that the percentage of the population under the poverty line jumped from 26.3% in 2012/2013 to 27.8% in 2014/2015.
With every price increase the government announces, low-income citizens in Egypt are greatly harmed and left wondering how to deal with the increasing challenges present in their daily life.
Prices of water, food, clothes, public transport, and medicine have increased, followed most recently by electricity, which Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker announced Monday. The price hikes that have occurred over the past three years have negatively affected the poor.
However, despite calls to ease pressure on low-income citizens, the poverty rate is expected to increase over the coming years. The government will apply more austerity measures, given their negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a $12bn loan, adding to the suffering of poorer citizens.
Experts believe that the government has few solutions if it wants to help poor citizens survive in these desperate conditions, especially in Upper Egypt, Sinai, and other rural places.
