Number of Foreign Workers in Egypt Drops 7.2% in 2025

The number of foreign workers in Egypt declined by 7.2% in 2025, falling to 21,973 from 23,683 in 2024, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) annual bulletin.

The private sector accounted for the overwhelming majority of foreign employment, with 21,462 workers, while government, public-sector and public business-sector entities employed 511 foreign nationals.

Senior officials and managers represented the largest occupational category, accounting for 7,386 workers, or 33.6% of the total. Professionals in scientific and specialist occupations followed with 5,435 workers (24.7%), while craft and related trades workers numbered 3,893 (17.7%).

The distribution differed between sectors. Within government and public-sector entities, professionals accounted for 68.3% of foreign employees, followed by senior officials and managers at 20%. In the private and investment sectors, managers formed the largest group at 33.9%, followed by professionals at 23.7% and craft workers at 18.1%.

European nationals represented the largest share of Egypt's foreign workforce, with 10,260 workers, accounting for 46.7% of the total. Non-Arab Asian nationals followed with 6,801 workers (31%), while workers from Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand, accounted for just 122 employees (0.6%).

The figures cover a year of changes to Egypt's employment regulations, including the introduction of a new labour law on September 1st, 2025, which established provisions for remote and platform-based employment. In October 2025, authorities also introduced measures allowing foreign domestic workers to regularise their employment through annual work permits costing EGP 2,500.