A recent report issued by the Cabinet's Information Center revealed that the average age for marriage for Egyptian women had risen from 19.2 in 1992 to 20.6 in 2008, due largely to the high costs associated with marriage. It also revealed that the number of unmarried working women over the age of 30 had risen by 6.3 percent for the same period, compared to an increase of only 2.9 percent among unmarried women that do not work. Meanwhile, the rate of unmarried women with university degrees rose by 8.8 percent during the same period, compared to an increase of only 2.4 percent among unmarried women without university degrees. The report went on to note that the total number of unmarried young men and women in Egypt in 2006 stood at 1.44 million, of which 11.7 percent were between 30 and 34 years of age; 4.5 percent between 35 and 39; and 1.6 percent over 40. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
