The Egyptian government has severely undermined citizens’ rights to education and health care by failing to allocate sufficient funding, falling short of both constitutional requirements and international standards, Human Rights Watch reported. This chronic underfunding has left schools and hospitals severely under-resourced, with shortages of classrooms, teachers, doctors, and nurses, while families shoulder significant out-of-pocket costs for education and health services.
Analysis by Human Rights Watch shows that over the past five years, education spending in Egypt has steadily declined in inflation-adjusted terms and as a percentage of both government expenditure and GDP. For the 2025–26 fiscal year, the education budget is set at 315 billion Egyptian pounds (around $6.3 billion), equivalent to 1.5 percent of GDP and 4.7 percent of government expenditure, the lowest share since at least 2019. This falls well below the 6 percent of GDP mandated by Egypt’s 2014 Constitution and below international benchmarks, placing Egypt in the 12th percentile among lower middle-income countries.
Health care funding has also remained insufficient. The 2025–26 health budget is 245 billion pounds (approximately $4.9 billion), representing just 1.1 percent of GDP and 3.6 percent of government expenditure. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, per capita spending has barely changed over the last three years. Egypt’s allocation is far below international standards, including the Abuja Declaration target of 15 percent of government expenditure and the WHO’s recommendation of 5–6 percent of GDP for universal health coverage.
The underfunding has tangible consequences. Public schools face severe shortages of teachers and classrooms, forcing families to pay school fees and private tutoring costs, exacerbating inequality. The health care system struggles with low salaries, a doctor-to-population ratio below WHO standards, and a shortage of 75,000 nurses. Many doctors have resigned or emigrated due to poor working conditions and insufficient resources, while over half of health expenses are paid out of pocket, creating barriers to access and worsening disparities.
Despite constitutional and international obligations to ensure free, high-quality education and health care for all, the Egyptian government has included extraneous budget items, such as debt servicing, in its spending calculations to claim compliance. Privatization measures, such as allowing private investors to operate public hospitals without universal access regulations, further threaten the right to health.
Human Rights Watch emphasized that Egypt must take deliberate, targeted steps to fulfill economic, social, and cultural rights to the maximum of its available resources. Reductions in essential spending and inadequate measures to safeguard education and health are presumptively violations of its obligations under international law. The organization called on Egypt to guarantee free primary education and universally accessible health care, stressing that years of underfunding demonstrate a deep disregard for citizens’ rights and undermine both human dignity and economic development.
