Egyptian Army Officer Salary: What Is Public and What Is Not
The Egyptian army officer salary is not published in any open rank-by-rank pay table, and the monthly figures that circulate online cannot be tied to a decree or ministry document. What can be verified is narrower: the law that governs officers’ service and promotion, the public-sector pay rises announced for the current fiscal year, the history of military pension increases and the entry conditions set by the Armed Forces. This guide sets those facts out, flags what remains undisclosed and explains why. It gives no monthly figure for any rank, because none has been confirmed by the Ministry of Defence or the Finance Ministry in the sources reviewed.
Egyptian army officer salary: what is public and what is not
Egypt’s Armed Forces do not publish pay scales. The only open legal reference located is Law 232 of 1959 on the service and promotion conditions of armed forces officers, which the Manshurat legal database lists as amended. A presidential decision of 1984 (No. 279) amended the salary schedule annexed to that law. The database pages carry titles and dates only, so the current schedule itself could not be read.
Opacity is a documented feature of the system. Yezid Sayigh of the Carnegie Middle East Center wrote that the military’s enterprise revenue does not pass through public accounts and that how it is spent is guarded as a military secret. The UK Home Office’s June 2025 country note on Egyptian military service also records that its researchers could not find information on pay. The table separates what is documented from what is not.
| Item | What is documented | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis for officers | Law 232 of 1959, with an annexed salary schedule amended in 1984 | Manshurat legal database |
| State employee minimum wage | EGP 8,000 a month (about $162.8) from the July pay round | Egyptian Streets, July |
| Supplementary allowance | EGP 750 a month for public sector employees | Egyptian Streets, July |
| Annual increases | 12% on functional wage under the Civil Service Law; 15% on basic pay outside it | Egyptian Streets, July |
| Conscript service | One to three years, depending on education | UK Home Office, June 2025 |
| Pay by officer rank | Not published | None |
How pay is structured
Public-sector pay in Egypt is built from a functional or basic wage plus allowances, which is why the July announcement gave separate percentages for employees under and outside the Civil Service Law. Officers sit under their own statute, Law 232, so those percentages cannot be applied to them without an official statement. The Egyptian Streets report on the announcement does not mention the armed forces, the police or the judiciary.
Any Egyptian army officer salary quoted by online aggregators cannot be traced to a published schedule, so no such amount is used here. A reader who needs a defensible figure should ask for the Ministry of Defence’s current schedule or rely on the employer’s offer letter, not on a website table.
Salary table by rank: the ladder without the numbers
The rank structure is public even though the pay attached to it is not. The table follows the Egyptian officer ladder as set out in our African military ranks comparison, with the NATO officer code for reference.
| NATO code | Rank | Egyptian title | Official monthly pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| OF-10 | Field marshal | Mushir | Not published |
| OF-9 | General | Fariq awwal | Not published |
| OF-8 | Lieutenant general | Fariq | Not published |
| OF-7 | Major general | Liwa | Not published |
| OF-6 | Brigadier general | Amid | Not published |
| OF-5 | Colonel | Aqid | Not published |
| OF-4 | Lieutenant colonel | Muqaddam | Not published |
| OF-3 | Major | Ra’id | Not published |
| OF-2 | Captain | Naqib | Not published |
| OF-1 | Lieutenant; second lieutenant | Mulazim awwal; Mulazim | Not published |
Service, promotion and the annexed salary schedule are governed by Law 232. Anyone quoting a monthly amount for a “Mulazim” or an “Aqid” should be asked which decree or pay table it comes from.
Allowances and additional benefits
No official list of officer allowances is available in the sources reviewed. The general public-sector supplement of EGP 750 a month is documented, but the reports do not say whether it reaches officers. Sayigh wrote in 2012 that military enterprise revenue probably helps fund officers’ allowances, housing and other benefits, while stressing that this cannot be confirmed without independent analysis.
Pensions are better documented than pay. News24 reported in 2018 that military pensions and civil servants’ salaries were raised by 15% from 1 July. In May 2019 The New Arab reported a further 15% rise before parliament, with a minimum pension of 900 pounds, and described it as the tenth military pension increase since 2013. Sayigh put retired major generals’ end-of-service pensions near LE 3,000, about $500, a month in 2012. That conversion implies roughly six pounds to the dollar, against about 49 implied by the July minimum-wage conversion, so the dollar figure is a historical marker, not a current one.
Sayigh also cited reports of very high pay for posts at military-dominated state holding companies. These accounts are second-hand and dated, and they cannot be turned into a salary figure for serving officers.
How the Egyptian army officer salary compares regionally
Egypt is not unusual in withholding rank-level pay data. The comparison below uses only what other published guides on this site and their sources establish.
| Country | Documented | Not published |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt | EGP 8,000 minimum wage for state employees | Officer pay by rank |
| Nigeria | Tiered pay rise of 30% to 80% across the armed forces, effective 1 September | A new rank-by-rank table (see Nigerian Army salary) |
| South Africa | Defence vote rising from R57.6 billion to R61.5 billion; salary overspend approaching R4 billion | Not assessed here (see South Africa’s defence budget) |
The common thread is that governments announce percentages and totals but seldom print the table that would let an outsider calculate a lieutenant’s or colonel’s pay. For Egypt’s wider spending context, our Egypt military strength profile notes that published defence-budget figures do not agree with each other.
Career path and promotion
Officer careers in Egypt start at the Military Academy or at a specialist college, followed by commissioning as a second lieutenant. GlobalSecurity’s personnel profile, which draws on older reference material, describes a three-year academy course, a Command and General Staff College founded in 1939 for majors and junior lieutenant colonels, and the Nasser High Military Academy, founded in 1965, for senior officers. Treat these details as a long-standing outline, not a current syllabus.
The same profile says senior non-commissioned officers could become candidates for commissions after eight years of service, usually as warrant officers with specialist functions. For graduates called up for conscription, the Home Office note, citing a Cairo 52 report, says reserve officers spend about six months at a college and about two and a half years with an assigned unit. Promotion rules are part of Law 232.
Requirements and how to apply
Recruitment is announced by the Armed Forces each year, so dates and cut-offs change. The most recent published conditions, carried by the Cairo Governorate news portal from Akhbar El Yom, include the following:
- A General Secondary, Al-Azhar Secondary or equivalent certificate from the current or previous year; higher-degree holders can apply for combat officer roles and master’s or PhD holders for specialist officer roles.
- Egyptian nationality, with Egyptian parents and grandparents, and no second nationality.
- Minimum height of 170 cm for men (158 cm for the Air Force College) and 155 cm for women.
- Unmarried status with a pledge not to marry during study, and no criminal record.
- Aptitude, psychological, medical and physical tests and an interview; men must also complete a jump from 7.5 metres into a pool.
The portal gives no minimum grade or age limit, so applicants should check the Armed Forces’ own announcement. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in November 2025 that most assessment is now computerised, that fitness results are measured by automated devices and that a final interview remains, according to Egypt Independent.
Frequently asked questions about Egyptian officer pay
How much does an Egyptian army officer earn?
No official rank-by-rank figure has been published, so no verified amount exists. Officers are governed by Law 232 of 1959 and its annexed salary schedule, which is not available in open sources. Figures on salary websites cannot be traced to a decree or Ministry of Defence table and should be treated as unverified.
What is the minimum wage for Egyptian state employees?
Egypt raised the state employee minimum wage to EGP 8,000 a month in the July pay round, about $162.8, according to Egyptian Streets. The report also lists an EGP 750 supplementary allowance. It does not say whether officers, police or judges receive the same increases, so it is not an officer pay scale.
How do I become an officer in the Egyptian army?
Applicants apply to the Military Academy or a military college when the Armed Forces announce an intake. Candidates need Egyptian nationality, a qualifying certificate, the minimum height and a clean record, then pass aptitude, medical, physical and interview stages. Check the current announcement for age limits and grade cut-offs.
Do retired Egyptian officers receive pensions?
Yes. Military pensions exist and have been raised repeatedly, including 15% increases reported in 2018 and 2019. The 2019 report called it the tenth rise since 2013. Current pension levels by rank are not published, and a 2012 estimate for retired major generals is outdated.
Sources
- Manshurat: Law 232 of 1959 on service and promotion conditions for armed forces officers
- Manshurat: Presidential Decision 279 of 1984 amending the officers’ salary schedule
- Egyptian Streets: Egypt to raise public sector minimum wage to EGP 8,000
- The New Arab: Egypt to raise army pensions for the tenth time since 2013
- News24: Egypt raises military pensions amid austerity measures
- Zawya: Egypt’s military economy (Yezid Sayigh, Carnegie Middle East Center)
- UK Home Office: Country policy and information note, military service, Egypt
- GlobalSecurity: Egypt military personnel
- Cairo Governorate: Admission requirements for the military academy and colleges
- Egypt Independent: Sisi on Military Academy admissions
