Egypt's economy grew at a 5.6% clip in 1H2019-2020, Planning Minister Hala El Said told cabinet yesterday. Retail was the primary driver of growth during the first six months of the fiscal year, accounting for 14.7% of the period’s economic expansion, followed by the industrial sector (12.6%) and agriculture (12%). The growth was also driven by the oil refining, communications, and construction sectors, as well as continued growth in the tourism industry.

Egypt is easily growing faster than the global average this year, which the IMF revised downward to 3.3% in January, El Said noted. The FY2019-2020 state budget (pdf) targets GDP growth coming in at 6% throughout the fiscal year, up from 5.6% in FY2018-2019. The Finance Ministry recently revised downward this projection to 5.8-5.9%. Egypt’s GDP is expected to grow at an annual clip of at least 5.5% over the next few years, according to a quarterly report published by the government in December