Egypt is undergoing a demographic phase marked by a significant ―youth bulge‖: 28 percent of its
population is between 15 to 29 years of age, and this proportion will increase over the next decade. With a
high proportion of the population that can contribute to increased innovation, consumption, and
productivity, this demographic presents an opportunity. However, it is clear from the high levels of
unemployment- and under-employment that it is one from which the country has yet to benefit.
On the 25th of January 2011, Egyptians took to the streets calling for the removal of then President
Hosni Mubarak and his government. These demonstrations were the result of years of mounting
grievances and frustration over poverty, exclusion from social, political and economic opportunity,
endemic corruption, and a widening gap between the rich minority and the poor majority. Youth played a
leading role in this movement.
The January 25th Revolution challenged many assumptions about Egyptian youth, who played a
central role in demanding political change. Youth all over Egypt took the initiative to organize and
protect their communities. However, despite deep disillusion towards the former regime, the inclination
among young Egyptians remains to look to their government to solve social and economic problems.
Building the capabilities, motivations, and institutions to transcend this sense of dependency is one of the
most important tasks facing Egypt today, particularly for the generation that has for so long been in
waiting. Young people have clearly expressed their aspirations for new levels of engagement—it is for
Egyptian society to respond.
This study focuses on the demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural circumstances of young men
and young women (aged 15–29) of Upper Egypt. Upper Egypt is a largely rural area, lagging behind
economically, and trapped in a vicious cycle of low education, high fertility, and severe poverty. The
study also examines the engagement of young people in the January 25th uprising and their aspirations, in
its aftermath, for the future. Finally, it offers recommendations for youth-inclusive policies to expand the
scope of employment and participation opportunities for young people.
More than 64 percent of the population of Upper Egypt is under 29 years of age, and 29 percent is
aged between 15 and 29. While in Egypt as a whole, wealth is fairly evenly distributed among young
people across the lower four wealth quintiles, in Upper Egypt in contrast there are a high proportion (38
percent) of young people in the poorest wealth quintile, and a small percentage (just 5 percent) in the
highest.