Since 2005, Egypt’s digital service imports have consistently exceeded exports, creating a $56b deficit

key takeaways:

Egypt spends twice as much on digital services imports than it earns from exports, with $8.31b on imports and $4.03b from exports recorded in 2024.
Egypt exported $46.007 billion in digital services between 2005 and 2024.
Imports during the same period reached $101.98 billion.
The result was a trade deficit of $55.973 billion in over 20 years.
Export earnings rose from just $1.91 billion in 2005 to $4.03 billion in 2024.

From 2005-2024, Egypt exported a total of $46.007 billion in digital services. During the same period, imports were much higher, amounting to $101.98 billion, resulting in a substantial trade deficit of $55.973 billion. In 2005, Egypt’s exports in digital services stood at just $1.91 billion. By 2024, exports had more than doubled to $4.03 billion, reflecting upward momentum. However, imports in 2024 alone was $8.31 billion, more than twice the export value. This ratio illustrates Egypt’s heavy reliance on foreign digital solutions and platforms.

The rising demand for imports reflects the strength of Egypt’s domestic digital consumption. Yet, the slower pace of export growth highlights structural weaknesses in the competitiveness of local providers. The trade deficit of $55.973 billion represents a significant outflow of value over two decades. This imbalance raises concerns about Egypt’s ability to capture value in the global digital economy.

Source:

World Trade Organization

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights/since-2005-egypts-digital-service-imports-have-consistently-exceeded-exports-creating-a-56b-deficit/" title="Since 2005, Egypt’s digital service imports have consistently exceeded exports, creating a $56b deficit"><img src="https://intelpoint.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/egypts-digital-services-trade-68c5f8ad9c746-1.webp" style="width: 80%; height: auto; max-width:960px;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; margin: 0 auto; display: block;" alt="Chart: Since 2005, Egypt’s digital service imports have consistently exceeded exports, creating a $56b deficit"/></a><br><span>Find more insights at <a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights?utm_source=Insight%20Embed&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=Since+2005%2C+Egypt%E2%80%99s+digital+service+imports+have+consistently+exceeded+exports%2C+creating+a+%2456b+deficit" target="_blank" style="color: #4f9acc; text-decoration: none;">Intelpoint</a>.</span></div>Copied to clipboard!

Period:

2005-2024

HTML code to embed chart

Want a bespoke report?

Reach out

Related Insights

South Africa has 1 in every 3 millionaires in Africa

South Africa dominates with 41,100 millionaires, accounting for more than 1 in 3 African millionaires, far ahead of any other nation.
Egypt (14,800) and Morocco (7,500) round out the top three, highlighting North Africa’s wealth concentration.
Nigeria (7,200) and Kenya (6,800) confirm West and East Africa’s growing wealth hubs, though still far below South Africa.
Mauritius (4,800) and Seychelles (500) rank surprisingly high relative to population size, showing their role as finance and wealth management hubs.

Morocco leads Africa in digital trade surpluses, with $26 billion 20-year cumulative gain

Morocco achieved the highest cumulative surplus in Africa’s digital trade at $26.4 billion between 2005 and 2024.
Mauritius and Tunisia followed distantly with surpluses of $8.7 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively.
Nigeria and Angola recorded the deepest deficits, each exceeding $90 billion cumulatively.
Africa’s overall digital trade balance remained negative, averaging a -$618 million deficit in 2024.
Smaller economies like Kenya and Togo managed modest but consistent surpluses over the years.

Nearly one in six of Africa’s goats are in Nigeria, the continent’s leader since 1998

Africa’s goat population grew from 94 million in 1961 to 522 million in 2023 — more than a fivefold increase.
The continent’s share of the world’s goats rose from 27% in 1961 to 46% in 2023.
Nigeria leads with nearly 89 million goats in 2023, holding the top spot since 1998.
Ethiopia, Chad, Sudan, Niger, and Mali consistently rank among the largest goat producers.
Around 70% of Africa’s goats are concentrated in the top ten countries each year.

In 2024, Asia and Europe together accounted for 63% of the world's copper export value

Asia leads global copper exports with 31.6% of total export value.
Europe follows closely at 31.4%, making the two regions nearly equal in contribution.
Combined, Asia and Europe control 63% of the global copper export market.
Africa ranks third globally, contributing 15.3% to copper exports.
Oceania plays the smallest role, with just 2% of the total export value.

Just 10 countries in Africa control 98% of the continent’s copper export value

The DR Congo is Africa’s copper giant, exporting $19.8 billion in 2024 (56.7% of the total).
Zambia follows with $7.6 billion, representing 21.7% of exports.
Together, the DR Congo and Zambia control almost 80% of Africa’s copper trade.
Tanzania is the third-largest exporter with $2.2 billion (6.3%).
Despite 52 African countries exporting copper, 42 of them collectively make up only 2% of the total value.

South Africa’s digital service imports still outweighed exports as of 2024, even after 300% growth since 2005

South Africa’s digital service imports consistently overshadowed export earnings, despite exports growing by over 300% since 2005.
South Africa exported $76.418 billion in digital services between 2005 and 2024.
Imports during the same period reached $113.67 billion.
The result was a trade deficit of $37.252 billion in over 20 years.
Exports rose from just $1.71 billion in 2005 to $7.05 billion in 2024.