Egypt’s births reach 2.55M in 2017, rate decline recorded: CAPMAS

CAIRO – 7 June 2018: Egypt’s number of births reached 2.55 million in 2017, with 1.288 million in urban areas, and 1.264 million in rural areas, according to a recent report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The report said that the birth rate in 2017 recorded a decline reaching 26.8 births per 1000 people, compared to 28.6 births per 1000 people in 2016.

There was an increase in female births, recording 27 births per 1000 people, compared to 26.6 male births.

In February, Egypt’s National Population Council (NPC) of the Health Ministry said that Egypt has successfully managed to decrease the birth rate in the past three years with about 62 percent, adding that “birth rate is on the right track to decline due to a successful strategy.”

What's being done about overpopulation in Egypt?

CAIRO - 16 January 2018: "The population in Egypt is currently growing at a rate of 2.6 million individuals per year and the ministry is planning to raise awareness of family planning particularly contraception methods, with special focus on women in rural areas," said the newly appointed Deputy Health Minister Tarek Mohamed Tawfik in a televised interview on Monday.

Deputy Health Minister Tariq Tawfiq said that Egypt is applying a population strategy that aims to set the number of births at 112 million instead of estimated 128 million by the year 2030.

Overpopulation in Egypt continues to risk the country’s resources and commitment to achieve sustainable development in accordance with Egypt’s development strategy vision 2030.

According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt loses nearly 60,000 acres per year as a result of soil erosion and construction.

Moreover, the country’s share of water from the Nile, approximately 55 billion cubic meters per year, has remained unchanged since 1954 despite the increase in population.

If the population increase rate continues, the state will not be able to support that many people, and national production would not be insufficient to meet their needs, thus making the country dependent on imports, further burdening the economy.

CAPMAS indicated that Cairo has the highest population of about 9.6 million, while South Sinai has the lowest population among the governorates with 173,000 people, as of January 2017.

“Two are enough”

The Ministry of Social Solidarity launched a family planning campaign Wednesday with the slogan “Two are enough”, aiming to contain the increasing population.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said that population growth is “a challenge as critical as that of terrorism.” The campaign aims to reduce the birth rate to 2.4, targeting rural areas where many view large families as a source of economic strength and resist birth control, believing that it is un-Islamic.

The Ministry of Social Solidarity pointed out that the project will be implemented through 100 NGOs selected by a technical committee that includes experts in various fields. These organizations were selected from 250 NGOs that submitted to participate in the implementation of the project. They were evaluated to assure their technical, financial and administrative performance.


A general view of a street in downtown Cairo, Egypt March 9, 2017. Picture taken March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX30OAU

MP Fayez Baraka, a member of Parliament's Education Committee, told Egypt Today that this campaign will help in providing a better level of education and providing employment opportunities for graduates.

The Egyptian population hit 104.27 million, both domestically and abroad, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics’ (CAPMAS) latest census in 2017. Those living inside the country amount to 94.8 million, while expats are estimated at 9 million, according to statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry of Health and Population, headed by Minister Ahmed Emad el-Din Rady, launched a new program on May 10 for family planning in Egypt, in cooperation with USAID, to respond to Egypt’s rapid population growth.

The program aims to improve citizens’ health behavior and support the quality of family planning services and reproductive health, according to Soaad Abdel Megid, head of the Population and Family Planning Sector.

Additionally report by Jehad el-Sayed and Fatma Al-Wahaidy