Egypt - Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) has published its Egypt Household International Migration Survey (EGYPT – HIMS) with IOM support.

The project is part of regional project – Regional Household International Migration Surveys in the Mediterranean (MED-HIMS) – and is the first of its kind in Egypt.

The survey aims to provide the government and partner agencies dealing with international migration and mobility in Egypt with ways to formulate, implement and evaluate migration policies and programmes in a cost-effective manner.

The findings show that some 87 per cent of Egyptian migrants leave for economic reasons. The main destination countries are Saudi Arabia (40 per cent), Libya (21.2 per cent) and Kuwait (13.5 per cent). Some 66 percent of Egyptian migrants are aged between 25 - 44 and 98 per cent are male.

The survey also showed that some 5 per cent of surveyed households included a migrant who had returned home. Two thirds (63.3 per cent) were in the 25-44 working age bracket and may impact the domestic labour market.

IOM has been supporting CAPMAS through the provision of technical assistance and human resources needed for data collection, management and analysis; reporting of results; and dissemination of research findings and their policy implications, according to IOM Egypt Head of Office Amr Taha. Financial support was provided by the IOM Development Fund.

MED-HIMS collects data in the Mediterranean countries on out-migration, return migration, forced migration, intention to migrate, circular migration, migration of highly skilled persons, irregular migration, type and use of remittances, behaviour, attitudes, perceptions and cultural values of people with regard to international migration, as well as relevant information on individuals and households, and local communities involved.

It was launched by the European Commission in 2008 as part of its MEDSTAT programme bringing together the work of national statistical authorities in Mediterranean states neighbouring the European Union. It has since evolved into a joint initiative of the European Commission, World Bank, IOM, UNFPA, UNHCR, ILO and the League of Arab States.

For further information, please contact Teuta Grazhdani at IOM Egypt, Tel: +2 02 2736 5140/1, Email: iomcairo@iom.int