Egypt

Egypt’s population is projected to reach approximately 120 million in 2026 and the World Bank estimates its 2025 nominal GDP at around $365.25 billion, placing it among Africa's largest economies by both population and economic output. The economy is commonly split into three sectors - services, industry and agriculture with each contributing [roughly] 51%, 32% and 17% respectively.

The Suez Canal and the River Nile are key monuments that play important roles in the overall economy. The former is the backbone behind the service sector’s contribution to the GDP through transit tolls on all ships passing between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The canal is one of Egypt's top sources of foreign exchange alongside tourism and energy. Its importance also proves to be a vulnerability as it is prone to disruptions by geopolitical events thus directly impacting government revenues. The River Nile, on the other hand, drives energy production through hydropower dams and drives the agriculture sector through irrigation, both of which are also key components of the overall economy.

The combination of the country’s increasing population and the activity in the industrial sector translate to high energy demand which places energy at a central position in Egypt’s economy. In 2024, the country consumed 174TWh of electricity, ranking second across Africa. Egypt meets this demand through a reliance on gas-based power plants which rests heavily on supplies from the Zohr gas field. Declining production from the Zohr field in recent years has increased pressure on supply and renewed the need for imports to meet domestic demand turning the country from a net exporter of gas to a net importer. Maintaining adequate energy supply has therefore become increasingly important not only for export earnings but also for electricity generation, industrial activity and broader economic growth.

The country’s energy strategy is therefore focused on balancing two priorities: restoring upstream oil and gas production to strengthen energy security and export capacity, while also expanding renewable energy production to diversify its resource base and match its rising domestic demand. For investors, this creates opportunities across the value chain, from upstream exploration and gas development to power generation, transmission, renewables and energy-intensive industries.

Egypt’s energy mix is built predominantly around natural gas, which accounted for approximately 79% of electricity generation in 2025. Hydropower, largely from the Aswan High Dam, contributed around 7%, wind and solar together supplied about 7% while the remaining 7% came from other fossil fuels (mainly oil). This relative proportion of energy sources to the mix broadly reflects Egypt's substantial natural gas reserves - estimated at 77 trillion cubic feet ranking the country in third place on the continent only behind Nigeria and Algeria. The reserves have supported rapid growth in gas-fired generation over the past decade, however, gas production has declined at an average rate of 9.6% annually over the last 5 years putting these infrastructure under the risk of underutilisation. The country has had to look to imports to meet the gas demands of its gas-fired power plants.

The country is now focused on diversifying its energy mix leveraging renewable energy. Egypt’s solar and wind power potential represent some of the best on the continent estimated at 52.3GW and 32.5GW respectively. In 2025 alone, 4.5GW of solar and wind capacity was injected into the national grid backed by the commitment of the government to tilt the scale in the energy mix and achieve 42% of electricity from renewables by 2030.