Egypt’s Current Account Deficit Falls 45% as Remittances and Tourism Rise
Egypt’s balance of payments showed improvement in the July–September quarter, even though some capital left the country. The current account deficit fell sharply, helped by higher remittances from Egyptians abroad, stronger tourism, and more income from the Suez Canal. However, capital outflows, mainly from banks increasing their foreign assets, reduced the overall gains.
The current account deficit dropped by 45.2% to $3.2 billion, compared with $5.9 billion in the same period last year, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). This improvement was supported by rising remittances, better tourism revenues, higher Suez Canal earnings, and a smaller non-oil trade deficit. These positive factors were partly offset by higher oil imports and money flowing out of the capital account.
Despite the improvement in the current account, Egypt recorded an overall balance of payments deficit of $1.6 billion, up from $991.2 million a year earlier. This was mainly due to a net capital outflow of $366.4 million, compared with a net inflow of $3.8 billion in the same quarter last year.
The main driver of the current account improvement was a strong rise in remittances. Net current transfers increased by 28.4% to $10.7 billion, reflecting higher money sent home by Egyptians working abroad. On a gross basis, remittances rose by 29.8% to $10.8 billion.
The services surplus also improved, rising by 23.4% to $5 billion. Tourism played a major role, with tourism revenues increasing by 13.8% to $5.5 billion. The number of tourist nights rose to 58.7 million, up from 51.6 million a year earlier.
Income from the Suez Canal also increased. Transit receipts rose by 12.4% to $1.1 billion, supported by higher shipping activity. The net tonnage of ships passing through the canal grew by 8.6%, and the number of vessels increased by 2.5%.
The non-oil trade deficit narrowed by 4% to $9.5 billion. Non-oil exports increased by $1.9 billion to $9.8 billion, helped by higher exports of gold, household appliances, vegetables, fruits, and ready-made clothing. Non-oil imports also rose by $1.5 billion to $19.3 billion, mainly due to higher imports of cars, spare parts, corn, plastics, and mobile phones.
These gains were partly offset by a wider oil trade deficit, which increased by $946.6 million to $5.2 billion. Oil imports rose by $1 billion to $6.4 billion, mainly due to higher imports of natural gas and crude oil. Oil product imports fell, while oil exports increased slightly to $1.3 billion.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows totaled $2.4 billion, slightly lower than $2.7 billion a year earlier. Non-oil sectors attracted most of the inflows, supported by reinvested profits, new projects, and real estate purchases by foreigners.
Overall, Egypt’s external position improved, driven by strong remittances, tourism, and services, even though capital outflows and higher oil imports remained a challenge.
Published: 22th January 2026
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