ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the recent record of development in Egypt. To do this, it is first necessary to define development, which is a notoriously difficult term to delineate. Within the past decade one of the most commonly cited definitions of development is that contained in the Human Development Index (HDI). As set forth by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the HDI declares that:
Human development is a process of enlarging people’s choices. In principle, these choices can be infinite and change over time. But at all levels of development, the three essential ones are for people to lead a long and healthy life, to acquire knowledge and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living.
