Egypt hosts 9 million refugees among 133 countries – IOM
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Egypt estimated on Sunday about current number of international migrants living in Egypt reached 9 million people across 133 countries.
IOM said in a report that the current number of international migrants residing in Egypt accounts for 8.7 percent of the total Egyptian population.
The organisation’s report indicated that Sudanese immigrants record 4 million, Syrians reach 1.5 million, Yemenis represent 1 million, and Libyans show 1 million.
These four nationalities make up 80 percent of the immigrants currently residing in the North African country.
The data collected from embassies and studies conducted by IOM also revealed that 37 percent of the population work in stable jobs, which indicates that immigrants in Egypt contribute positively to the labour market and the growth of the Egyptian economy.
Moreover, the report shows that 56 percent of the immigrants reside in five governorates: Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Damietta, and Dakahlia.
The rest of the immigrants live in other governorates such as Assiut, Aswan, Gharbia, Ismailia, Luxor, Marsa Matrouh, Menoufia, Minya, Port Said, Qaliuba, and Qena.
The organisation explained that the positive discourse of the Egyptian government towards migrants and refugees has encouraged refugees to come to Egypt, according to the statement.
The immigrants have increased since 2019, due to the prolonged instability in Egypt’s neighbouring countries, including thousands of Sudanese, South Sudanese, Syrians, Ethiopians, Iraqis, and Yemenis seeking asylum in Egypt.
Egypt has always including migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in the national education and health systems, equally with Egyptians in many cases, despite the challenges faced by these sectors and the heavy economic costs.
Egyptian government also included the immigrant population in the national virus vaccination plan, which reflects the government’s approach to treat immigrants same as Egyptian citizens.
