From Reuters:
The proportion of Egyptians living in absolute poverty has risen despite relatively rapid economic growth this decade, the head of United Nations operations in Egypt said on Wednesday.
Between 2000 and 2005 the absolute poverty rate rose to 19.6 percent from 16.7 percent of the population, U.N. resident coordinator James Rawley told a news conference.
“One in every five Egyptians cannot meet their basic living needs,” he added, quoting a survey completed in June.