The aim of this paper is to examine how the size of the Egyptian state has developed during the last three decades. The questions that I will try to answer during the paper are following: Has the Egyptian state contracted the last three decades? Can I based on the result of the study draw some conclusions about if the states dominant position in the society has been reduced? The theory and the method are built on the theoretical framework of the authoritarian state. The modern authoritarian state bases its dominant role in the society on a large centralized and hierarchical bureaucracy. This composes the main theoretical assumption that the method is based on. The method is built on the operationalization of four indicators that examine the size of the state. The conclusion of the first question is that the Egyptian state can be said both has contracted and maintained status quo, and the conclusion of the second question is that the states ability to dominate the society still is big, this assumption is mostly based on the high rate of employment in the public sector witch creates the foundation of the large bureaucracy.