Higher Education Graduates Survey 2012

The sample for the survey is extracted from recent rounds of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) with the help of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The interviewed graduates are hence a sub-sample of Egypt's LFS.

The sample of the LFS is a nationally representative sample extracted based on a two-stage stratified cluster sample and self-weighted to the extent practical. The first sampling stage selects primary sampling units from the 2006 population census at the level of the Enumeration Area (EA), stratified by governorate of residence and then by urban and rural sub-strata. The sample of EA is selected with probability proportional to size (PPS), with the number of census households. The household sample is then selected from each sample EA with equal probability, using the systematic selection method.

The survey sub-sample of the national LFS is selected based on a number of criteria since university graduates are highly heterogeneous in terms of skills and specialization. Therefore, the sample is focusing on business administration and information sciences. These specializations are selected because of the larger role played by private universities in the production of these skills. Moreover, the survey focuses on graduates aged 25-40 in these two disciplines who are currently working or have ever worked.

The final sample of the survey encompasses 1710 graduates. Out of which, 411 graduated from private higher education institutions, constituting 24% of the sample. This is a good representation, as it resonates with national statistics about private higher education in Egypt. About 75% of the respondents in the sample are male. This is due to the fact of limiting the criteria for inclusion to graduates who ever worked. The increasing de-feminization of the Egyptian labor market explains the low representation of female graduates in the sample.