Egypt's population grows by 1 million in record 232 days

Statistics agency says Arab world's largest population hit 103 million

Khan El Khalili bazaar in Cairo. About a fifth of Egypt's rapidly expanding population lives in the capital.  Alamy

Egypt’s population reached 103 million on Tuesday, increasing by one million in a record 232 days, according to the country’s statistics agency.

The population, the largest in the Arab world, reached 102 million from 101 million in July, an increase that took 275 days.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (Capmas) said on Tuesday that at this rate, Egypt’s population will hit 124 million by 2032.

The government has been trying to slow population growth. Despite the latest increase in record time, the total number of births in 2021 was 76,000 lower than the previous year, Capmas said.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said in recent months that efforts by the government to create jobs and overhaul the economy are being stymied by the increasing birth rate.

“The Egyptian people started a revolution in 2011 to make their lives better,” Mr El Sisi said in a televised national address in February 2021.

“But we cannot make those lives better until our population growth rate is more congruent with our means as a nation.”

Other government officials said there were no immediate plans to impose a cap on the number of children Egyptian families can have.

Capmas’ statement said more should be done to slow population growth, which, it said, posed serious threats to Egypt's economy and environment.

This issue is in the national spotlight because of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop 27), which Egypt will host in November.

The statistics agency's statement revealed that the provinces of Assiut, Minya, Qena, Sohag, and Beni Suef had the highest birth rates.

Egypt’s population is the third highest in Africa and the 14th largest in the world.