International labour office geneva

Table 4: Work permits granted to Egyptians in some Arab countries by occupation (%) - (1985-2002) 

Countries 

Occupation 

Scientists 

and 

technicians 

Managers 

Clerical 

Workers 

Sales and 

Services 

Agriculture 

Production 

workers 

Total 

Bahrain 

27.2 

5.5 

24.3 

24.3 

  0.0 

33.7 

100 

Iraq 

  2.6 

0 

  1.5 

  1.5 

33.0 

62.9 

100 

Jordan 

  1.4 

  0.0 

  1.7 

  1.7 

31.9 

62.9 

100 

Kuwait 

53.5 

  1.1 

21.5 

21.5 

  0.2 

14.1 

100 

Lebanon 

  0.0 

  0.0 

  2.3 

  2.3 

21.1 

76.6 

100 

Libya 

57.0 

  9.0 

  0.0 

  0.0 

  0.0 

34.0 

100 

Oman 

52.9 

  8.1 

  4.1 

  4.1 

  1.4 

31.5 

100 

Qatar 

51.5 

  1.9 

  6.1 

  6.1 

  1.0 

37.4 

100 

Saudi 

Arabia 

40.5 

  0.4 

  0.3 

  20.6 

  7.1 

31.1 

100 

United 

Arabs 

Emirates 

41.1 

  4.0 

  2.9 

  2.9 

  0.9 

50.1 

100 

Yemen 

69.1 

18.1 

  1.1 

  1.1 

  0.0 

  7.7 

100 

Total

 

39.0 

  2.4 

12.7 

12.7 

  8.6 

35.8 

100 

Source: Wahba, Jackline (2005), "International Migration, Education and Market Failure in MENA", Background Paper for the World Bank’s 

MENA Regional Report on Education. 

Permanent migrants are less than 1 million according to CAPMAS. About 80 per cent 

of them are concentrated in five countries, namely USA (around 40 per cent), Canada (14 

per cent), and Italy, Australia, and Greece (together 35 per cent). The other 20 per cent are 

mainly in Western European countries, such as the Netherlands, France, UK, Germany, 

Switzerland, Austria and Spain. Hence, on the EU side, Italy is considered the main 

European destination for permanent Egyptian emigrants, absorbing more than 10 per cent. 

It follows the USA and Canada (Talani, 2003; IOM, 2003). In light of the tightened 

policies adopted by the EU on migration, as well as the replacement of Egyptian by Asian 

labour in the Arab countries (Girgis, 2002), and the rising unemployment in the GCC 

countries, together with the projected rapid expansion in the national supply of the 

receiving countries (Yousef, 2004), a new trend of irregular migration from Egypt to the 

EU has started to be significant. This trend follows, to a large extent, the model of 

temporary migration adopted in Arab countries where Egyptians tend to migrate to Europe 

on temporary basis and then return home. As identified by Zohry (2006a and 2006b) 

irregular2 migration from Egypt to Europe is characterized by a high level of geographical 

concentration at both ends. In the case of Egypt, migrants are concentrated in specific 

villages whose inhabitants have been used to migration and have adopted the job of 

 

2

 Irregular migration and irregular migration are used interchangeably in this study. 

---

 

migration brokers. On the receiving side, specific countries and specific regions represent 

the main destination where most of the former migrants are present and well-established.