Central Bank of Egypt wants the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to include the country’s informal sector in their gross domestic product figures.

The country wants other macro-indicators for Egypt to be included , the bank’s deputy governor Gamal Negm said on Wednesday.

“We are seeking support to quantify the informal sector and recognise it in the overall size of our GDP,” Negm told a financial technology conference in Abu Dhabi.

He added that the informal sector accounted for about 40 to 50 per cent of GDP.

He did not discuss the response of the World Bank and IMF to the idea, or say when the proposal might take effect.