Does the currency exchange rate affect achieving the sustainable development goals?

The currency exchange rate is a number that converts directly into the price of bread, medicine, and all citizens’ needs. This means that the stability of the pound’s exchange rate directly serves the goals of sustainable development, such as the goal of: eradicating poverty, decent work, and the complete elimination of hunger. Provided that it is accompanied by social protection, economic governance, and investment in human capital.

Hence, we at The Earth Guards Foundation We write through this article about the currency exchange rate market, because this market touches humans before it touches many sectors of daily life; When the currency price changes, the cost of imported food and fuel changes And production inputs, and with them the ability of families to live a decent life changes.

Therefore, we treat the exchange rate as a development indicator that has a direct impact on achieving the seventeen sustainable development goals in their social, economic and environmental dimensions, and this is what the article attempts to explain. So keep reading.

What is meant by the exchange rate?

The currency exchange rate is – in detail – the number of pounds required to buy one unit of a foreign currency; That is, it is the basis on which foreign currency rates are calculated against the Egyptian pound, and currency conversion operations in banks and currency exchange companies are calculated.

If you ask, for example: What is the price of the dollar in Banque Misr today? You will not find a fixed number that works for every time; Because the price changes from one day to the next, and varies slightly from one bank to another, and the purchase price also differs from the selling price. For all this reason, it is necessary to know the exchange rate from a reliable source, such as the official rates page of the bank itself, or the bulletin of the Central Bank of Egypt.

How do you calculate the exchange rate value?

There is a practical way to calculate the value of the currency, which is a process that consists of three steps as follows:

• Get the current exchange rate for a currency pair (a quote for two different currencies) from an official source.
• Select the base currency (dollar) and the quote currency (other currency).
• Multiply the amount by the exchange rate to get the instantaneous value.

Illustration

Let’s say you want to convert 100 US dollars (USD) to euros (EUR), and the default exchange rate is 1 USD = 0.90 EUR; The result will be: 100 x 0.90 = 90 euros.

Factors for determining the value of a currency

The value of a currency compared to others is determined by a group of overlapping factors, which are:

• Supply and demand: The value of the currency rises when the demand for buying it increases, and decreases when the supply for sale increases.
• Interest rates: Determined by the central bank, they directly affect the attractiveness of the currency to investors.
• Inflation rates: affect capacity Purchasing currency locally and internationally.
• Reserves and assets: The size of a country’s economy and its export strength reflects its ability to support its currency.

Currency exchange rate and sustainability

Now that we know the meaning of the currency exchange rate and how to calculate the value of any currency, we move to the broader picture, which is how does the impact of this term – the term currency exchange rate – extend to the seventeen sustainable development goals?

This is answered by a study published in 2026 in the International Journal of Legal and Informatics Sciences, which deals with Egypt’s experience after liberalizing the exchange rate in November 2016. It concludes that the impact passes through the dimensions of sustainable social, economic and environmental development.

The decision was to liberalize an exchange rate Currencies – according to study data – are a turning point in the history of the Egyptian economy. It was implemented within a comprehensive reform program in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, and it provided relative stability in foreign exchange reserves and supported Egyptian exports and tourism. Hence the necessity of evaluating the decision according to the broader development criterion, not the market criterion alone, which we explain part of in the following lines.

Currency exchange rate saves energy

The study – which came under the title: The role of the free exchange rate system in achieving sustainable development – describes the relationship between exchange rate stability and sustainability in the energy sector as a complex and intertwined relationship! Because the exchange rate affects sectors such as electricity, education, and others.

Here are the power plants that depend on – about 60% – on natural gas, and this was the reason that Egypt was forced to reduce loads in the summer of 2024; Because these purchases are paid in foreign currency, meaning that the decline in the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound doubles the energy bill. Therefore, those interested in this sector follow the price of the dollar.

Because of this cost that devours foreign currency, Egypt turned to alternatives that reduce this dependence, such as:

• Increase the contribution of renewable energy to 42% of the energy mix by 2035.
• Issuing $750 million in green bonds and launching a voluntary carbon market.
• “Novi” program, which mobilizes concessional climate financing with investments estimated at approximately $14 billion.

Good education at the forefront

On the other hand, the study confirms that education is an essential driver of development. Public spending on education is constantly increasing, and this means that it always requires a broader partnership between the state, the private sector, and civil society. This partnership is reflected in the exchange rate itself. Because the more diverse the sources of foreign exchange are: exports, tourism, remittances, and real investments, the less reliance on a single, volatile source.

The reason for this is that the general budget does not It alone is sufficient to build an advanced educational system. Expanding the infrastructure to increase student capacity requires huge funding, and improving the efficiency of the educational process requires cadres, training, and curricula that keep pace with the labor market. All of this can be achieved through a flexible and effective exchange rate.

In the end, the currency exchange rate reveals a truth that is often hidden behind economic numbers and indicators, which is that the value of the currency is measured by the impact it has on society’s ability to secure its needs and finance its services.

Therefore, The Earth Guards Foundation confirms that looking at the currency exchange rate as a financial file separate from development reduces the problem to half its form; Because a sustainable economy is able to make monetary stability a productive capacity, and thus provide opportunities for decent work, which achieves a decent life. For all members of society, present and future.