Egypt and Ramadan: Day-long fasts leads to shortened work days, toll on the GDP

Our take: Egypt's economy experiences a significant drop in productivity every year during Ramadan. The practice of day-long fasts leads to shortened work days and exhaustion that take a toll on the GDP.

Usually one of Cairos busiest districts, Ataba stood still and empty on a recent afternoon, its vendors wilting under the summer sun and weary from a day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started this year on July 20th. Atabas streets are normally a churning sea of vendors and shoppers, but the combination of scorching summer temperatures and the day-long fast drives down business here and across the country.

Between the heat and the fasting, no one goes out to shop in the daytime, says Adel Khalil, an elderly clerk in a fabric shop. He busily fans himself with a piece of cardboard while a dozen co-workers sprawl out, exhausted, on the shops display cases. Ramadan in August means longer, hotter days of fasting, with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius. Some people shop at night, says Mr Khalil, but there is no real work until the end of the month.

Economic productivity drops sharply every year during Ramadan, when workers abstain from food and drink in daylight. The festive mood and physical exhaustion take a visible toll on many Egyptians, whose energies weaken and tempers flare as the weeks of fasting drag on. This affects all good Muslims, from manual labourers to office workers.

Read more about Egypt and Ramadan on The Economist.