Egypt: Life insurance penetration remains low amid population growth
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Oct 2025
While Egypt’s population has reached approximately 108m, according to recent data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, the life insurance penetration rate in the local market remains low at less than 1%, compared to the global average of 7-10%.
Insurance experts have identified several reasons behind the low rate of life insurance penetration in the Egyptian market. These include a lack of insurance awareness among a large segment of citizens, as well as a decline in purchasing power due to the current economic conditions and their impact on customers, reported Amwal Alghad.
They pointed out that widening the spread of life insurance in Egypt requires an effective combination of awareness, product simplification, and the expansion of technological and digital tools to reach the largest segment of customers.
At the same time, the insurance sector has also missed opportunities to expand its customer base and the life insurance penetration rate.
CEO of AXA Egypt Group CEO Omar Shelbaya attributed the continued low penetration of life insurance in Egypt to the fact that most citizens view insurance as a secondary priority.
He added that another hurdle is the complexity of some life insurance products, and the way they are presented makes them incomprehensible to customers, who are looking for simple and flexible products. He emphasised the need for the Egyptian insurance market to raise awareness and simplify products to help expand the sector’s customer base. M