- Education: Cairo contains three of the world's thirty largest mega-slums where children are more likely to spend their days scavenging through rubbish dumps than to attend school. This is particularly true of rural and Upper Egypt. Although free formal education was introduced in the 1950's, low institutional capacity has meant there are scarcely enough teachers to manage the influx of students so even those who are able to attend school usually end up with a compromised quality of education. This then feeds into the problem of unemployment.
- Unemployment: A shrinking public sector, jobless growth in services, low foreign investment and high illiteracy has culminated in an epidemic of unemployment. Whilst international agencies approximate youth unemployment at 13%, the internal census reports figures as high as 39% for school-leavers aged 20-24. Females bear the brunt as they are four times more likely not to find a job. Consequently, they commonly drop out of the job contest as discouraged unengaged people in conjunction with cultural norms to marry and bear children at a young age. More opportunities to upskill youth in specialty industries are required.
- Refugee population: Egypt is flooded with an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers which place added strain on public services and housing. Being a sanctuary of relative peace amidst conflict in Palestine, Iraq and Sudan, anywhere between 500 thousand and 3 million evacuees have taken up residency within Egypt's borders.
Sources:
CIA WorldFact Book - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html
Egypt Tourism Authority - http://en.egypt.travel/practical_info/egypt_facts/#the-people
United nation Development Program - http://www.eg.undp.org/content/egypt/en/home/countryinfo/
