After the 1952 revolution Egypt committed itself to expanding educational opportunity in pursuit of social justice and economic development. Enrollments have expanded rapidly, further
encouraged by a large school construction program in the last two decades. It is often assumed that educational expansion, in itself, will reduce socioeconomic disparities in educational access and attainment. Studies in industrial societies, however, differ on whether expansion leads to greater equality of opportunity. Few studies have been done in a developing country context, but
those few have found little evidence of a lessening effect of socio-economic background on educational attainment. We use data from the 1988 through 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Surveys to assess the effect of educational expansion on attainment in Egypt, focusing on changes in gender and wealth ratios. We find that, while large socioeconomic inequalities persist, the effects of parental background on attainment in Egypt have declined. The effects are strongest at the beginning of children’s educational careers (ever-enrollment and completion of primary school), diminishing in subsequent transitions. We discuss implications for further research and educational policy.