Egypt's story: The unrealistic comparison between ancient and modern Egypt

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Egypt's story: The unrealistic comparison between ancient and modern Egypt

Published: 13 Mar. 2026, 00:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kwack Min-soo

The author is the director of the Korea Institute of Egyptology.

“Why is Egypt, which once produced such a brilliant ancient civilization, now in such an underdeveloped state?” As a scholar of Egypt, this is a question I am often asked. It may sound natural at first, but it deserves more careful reflection. That premise deserves closer scrutiny.

A view of present-day Cairo, the capital of Egypt [KWACK MIN-SOO]

To begin with, the question assumes that Egypt is an underdeveloped country. That assumption is usually based on Western standards. The comparison group, moreover, is often limited to some 20 advanced countries, including Korea. Out of more than 200 countries in the world, a small number are set up as the standard and the rest are judged against it.

That framing says as much about the observer as it does about Egypt itself. It reflects a world order in which a handful of wealthy states are treated as the norm, while other societies with different historical paths are evaluated according to standards they did not create.

Modern Egypt, however, is not a stagnant society in the way many people imagine. Since the 1990s, it has recorded average annual economic growth of about 5 percent. Life expectancy has risen and energy production has steadily increased. The population, which stood at about 50 million in the early 1990s, has now surpassed 100 million.

In terms of economic size, Egypt accounts for a large share of Africa’s economy alongside South Africa and Nigeria. In 2026, its GDP ranks 42nd in the world. Given that there are more than 200 countries globally, that is hardly a low position. By purchasing power parity, its GDP ranks 18th.

Although GDP per capita remains around 100th place, it is difficult to describe Egypt as a backward country if one considers the overall scale of its economy and its role within the African region.

It is also problematic to compare ancient Egypt directly with Egypt today. Thousands of years lie between the two. To link the two periods in a simple and direct way is unrealistic.

If the same logic were applied to the Korean Peninsula, one could ask: “Residents of Ganghwa Island used to be so good at making dolmens. Why don’t they make them now?” The absurdity of that question is obvious.

When we ignore the scale of historical time, we end up asking the wrong question. The issue we should really consider may not be, “Why is Egypt no longer what it once was?” It may instead be, “Why have we come to ask that question in the first place?”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.