CAIRO, Aug. 30, 2016 (Aswat Masriya) -The amount of Egyptians receiving permits from the ministry of interior to travel abroad for work has increased by 0.9 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014, official statistics showed on Tuesday.    

According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) statement, approximately 1.33 million Egyptians received work permits in 2015, compared to 1.32 million the year before.

In 2015, 97.5 per cent of Egyptians applying to work abroad received permits for Arab countries.

Most Egyptian migrant labour is based in Saudi Arabia. Approximately 54.3 per cent of Egyptians applying to work abroad in 2015 headed to Saudi Arabia while about a third of them went to Kuwait.   

Italy, on the other hand, has the most Egyptian migrant labour compared to the rest of the European continent, with over 20,000 Egyptians applying for work permits to head there last year.