staples in pursuit of efficiency gains. In addition, privatization objectives became a policy priority. These policies may have perpetuated Egypt’s “double burden” of malnourishment.

27. Although SDG 2 indicates the likelihood of a nutrition problem in Egypt, SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being, is performing well. The under-five mortality rate has significantly decreased; therefore, it appears that Egypt is over-performing on this measure; moreover, the under-five mortality rate is projected to continue to decrease relative to GNI per capita by 2030, in line with the ambitious goals of the Egyptian government (Ministry of International Cooperation 2015). In addition, the infant mortality rate has also decreased substantially. Despite these achievements, as compared to countries with similar GNI per capita, the mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory problems is significantly higher (under-performing), suggesting that poor nutrition is a long-standing problem in Egypt across all age cohorts.

28. It appears that SDG 4, Quality Education, is performing well with respect to quantitative measures; however, with respect to the inherent quality of education, Egypt is significantly underperforming. To assess Egypt’s performance more comprehensively, additional indicators were selected to complement the available data relating to this goal. The purpose of adding such indicators is to provide further data points to bolster the qualitative analysis; however, these efforts do not serve to adequately measure the quality of education considerations intended by SDG 4. Hence, it is of utmost importance to reiterate the necessity of collecting accurate and timely data related to the quality of education.

29. Egypt’s literacy rate among the youth appears to be performing as expected; moreover, it should be noted that the youth literacy rate is at 95 percent whereas the adult literacy rate is only about 75 percent, suggesting that Egypt is succeeding in widening access to education. Furthermore, the pupil-to-teacher ratio observed within primary schools is performing at a rate higher than expected. However, indicators pointing to the quality of education reveal a different and less positive picture. It appears that the proportion of teachers within primary schools who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training is performing at the 24<sup>th</sup> percentile. The World Bank (2015) suggests that under-performance can be attributed to the lack of incentives for teachers, which is manifested by absenteeism and low accountability.

30. Therefore, although the quantitative measures relating to Egypt’s progress in education appear to be performing better than expected given the country’s GNI per capita, we reach the probable conclusion that the quality of education is likely to be under-performing. This view is supported by the World Economic Forum’s 2015-2016 Global Competitiveness Report, which accorded Egypt a score of 2.1 out of 7 for the quality of primary education with Egypt ranking 139<sup>th</sup> out of 140 countries for this indicator (World Economic Forum 2016).<sup>19</sup> 31. Relative to GNI per capita growth, SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, has improved significantly as reflected by the proportion of population with access to clean water as well as to improved sanitation facilities. In 2000, Egypt was performing better than expected given GNI per

> 19 The description provided by the Global Competitiveness report indicates that the score for Quality Primary Education is measured on a scale between 1-7 (1 = extremely poor, among the worst in the world; 7 = excellent, among the best in the world). Over 20152016, the statistics indicate that the minimum score for this indicator was 2.02; the maximum score was 6.67; and the median was 4.05.

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