Series information
In the light of the lack of data on the social, economic and demographic characteristics of the residents of informal areas, the Population Council, in partnership with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), conducted a comprehensive situation analysis of young people living in such areas in Cairo, the 2016 Survey of Young People in Informal Urban Areas of Greater Cairo (SYPE-IGC), because of the value of such information geographically, economically, socially, politically, and for tourism policy. This survey followed two previous nationally representative longitudinal surveys: the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) in 2009 and in 2014. This series of surveys represent a rich database at the level of individuals, families and communities, a valuable and unique dataset which covers the age group of 15-29 years old, a large segment of the population. The three SYPE surveys cover a broad range of topics, including education, employment, health, migration, marriage and family formation, gender roles, life aspirations, and political and civic engagement. A number of new sections were added to the SYPE-IGC in 2016 in order to gather data specific to those areas. These new modules looked at the economic and social characteristics of informal areas, the conditions and quality of the services provided to residents, the strategies deployed by young people to adapt to life in informal areas and to overcome the challenges they face, and social bonds between the residents of these areas. In addition, a special module was included to measure knowledge and awareness among residents of efforts to improve the quality of services provided.
Abstract
<p style="border:solid thin black;">The SYPE-IGC was designed to be comparable with the Population Council's two previous nationally representative longitudinal surveys: the 2009 and 2014 Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) </p>
Young people living in informal urban areas in Egypt are often perceived as growing up in a context of multiple inequalities of opportunity. Popular and public policy discourse in Egypt purports that informal areas - popularly known as ashwaiyyat - are problematic; they are widely seen as areas of insecurity, poverty and at times extremism (Bayat and Denis 2000; Ismail 2006). It is widely thought that young people living in these areas are disproportionately exposed to multiple hazards and vulnerabilities, not only more than young people in formal urban areas but also more than youth in rural areas. Although the great diversity between and within Egypt's informal settlements has been highlighted in previous research and governmental reports, it is believed that most informal urban residents still suffer from an "urban penalty," due to the slums' overcrowded living conditions, lack of security and poor quality of core public services (Jorgensen and Rice 2012).
Egypt Vision 2030 refers to the vital need to develop the informal urban areas of Egypt through the creation of 7.5 million housing units and finding solutions to problems pertaining to those settlements by 2030. This country vision is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, which highlighted the plight of slum dwellers in its 'urban goal', SDG 11: “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable,” and its Target 11.1: “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.”
Efforts to develop Egypt's informal urban settlements and enhance the living conditions of their dwellers have been ongoing for over a decade, sponsored by the government, civic organizations, private entities, non- profit institutions, individuals and in some cases media officials. Despite this increasing interest in informal urban areas - as well as in young people living in those communities - among researchers, stakeholders, and government officials, there are very limited data that can provide reliable statistics on those areas, and particularly on the characteristics of young people living in those informal communities.
Due to this dearth of data, the Population Council, in partnership with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), conducted a comprehensive situation analysis of young people living in informal urban areas of Greater Cairo: the 2016 Survey of Young People in Informal Urban Areas of Greater Cairo (SYPE-IGC). SYPE-IGC 2016 interviewed a representative sample of 2,947 young people aged 15-29 from the three governorates of Greater Cairo: Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia.
The initial 2009 survey round captured a nationally representative sample of 15,029 young people aged 10 to 29 from 11,372 households (see Population Council 2010). The 2014 round managed to successfully track 10,916 (72.6%) of the same young people who were interviewed for the 2009 SYPE, and re-interview them. Hence, the 2009 and 2014 surveys yield a panel dataset that is nationally representative for both time periods and which is considered the most comprehensive source of data on young people in Egypt and the region today.
All three SYPE surveys cover a broad set of areas crucial to the transition to adulthood, including education, employment, health, migration, marriage and family formation, gender roles, life aspirations, political and civic engagement and exposure to different forms of violence, including gender-based violence. The SYPE also contains a great deal of information on the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of members of young people's households, their housing conditions, ownership of durable goods, access to basic services and infrastructure, and information on any household member who has migrated abroad, including remittances. In order to understand the informalization phenomenon in urban Egypt and the challenges facing youth in the informal areas of Greater Cairo, which has the largest population of informal dwellers in the country, several new modules were added to the SYPE-IGC young people's questionnaire. These modules provide information on opportunities and risks faced by young people in informal areas and how they respond to these opportunities and risks. Additional questions on interpersonal relationships, community-level security and violence, neighborhood improvement initiatives, and household coping strategies were also added. Hence, the SYPE-IGC survey provides rich government-level estimates of the key SYPE indicators pertaining to youth life in the informal urban areas of Greater Cairo.