Zakat World Map

Egypt

Egypt's zakat ecosystem combines voluntary public-religious institutions, locally organized zakat committees, nonprofit organizations, and direct personal giving. Bait Al-Zakat wa Al-Sadaqat operates under the supervision of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, while Nasser Social Bank oversees a separate network of community-based zakat committees. Neither institution administers all zakat payments nationwide.

Governance model: Hybrid public-private system

Last updated 16 October 2026 · Beta, data under verification

At a glance

Centralization Level: Level 3 Semi-public or hybrid system
Apex Institution: N/A
Supervising Authority: Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (Bait Al-Zakat); Nasser Social Bank under the Ministry of Social Solidarity (its affiliated zakat committees)
Collection / Distribution: Same entity collects and distributes
Shariah Supervision: State religious authority
Transparency Level: Level 2 Occasional reports
Data Availability: Level 2 Some reports or partial data
Data Confidence: Medium

Key institutions

Preliminary CIRIC assessment

Egypt illustrates the coexistence of formally established zakat institutions and decentralized, relationship-based redistribution practices. While Bait Al-Zakat operates under a dedicated legal framework and Nasser Social Bank supervises an extensive network of local committees, survey evidence points to the prevalence of direct giving through family and neighborhood networks.

This configuration provides a case for examining how public-religious institutions, community-based networks, and informal redistribution interact. It also raises questions concerning institutional coordination, the visibility of financial flows, and the relationship between statutory reporting requirements and publicly accessible data.

NB1: The classification Voluntary Public System accurately describes Bait Al-Zakat as an individual institution, whereas Hybrid Public-Private System better captures Egypt's broader zakat ecosystem. CIRIC retains the latter because its country classifications seek to reflect actual institutional and informal arrangements, rather than focusing exclusively on officially designated authorities.

NB2: No verified national zakat-only collection total has been identified. Nasser Social Bank reports EGP 1.738 billion in zakat-related resources for FY2024–2025, but this figure covers its affiliated network and may include other charitable contributions. It must not be interpreted as total national collection.

NB3: Egyptian legislation requires Bait Al-Zakat to produce and make available annual activity and financial reporting. However, a complete, independently verifiable series of its annual financial statements has not been identified through the publicly accessible sources reviewed. Nasser Social Bank publishes more detailed institutional figures, although national coverage remains incomplete.

NB4: Survey evidence collected in 2020 indicates widespread direct giving through personal networks, but does not establish the corresponding share of monetary flows. Although the principal institutions identify eligible recipient groups and program categories, no consolidated breakdown of actual disbursements across the eight asnaf has been verified.

Sources

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