Egypt’s population hits 107 mln: statistics agency

CAIRO, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — Egypt’s population reached 107 million, the population clock of the country’s statistics agency showed on Saturday.
The population of the most populous Arab country has increased by 1 million since Feb. 8, 2024, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
From February 8 to November 2, there was an average of 5,385 births per day, according to the agency.
It added the number of births has declined over the past five years, reflecting tangible efforts to manage population growth, as the fertility rate decreased from 3.5 children per woman in 2014 to 2.54 children in 2023.
However, the agency stressed that the current population growth, exceeding two million per year, poses a great challenge to Egypt’s economy, environment, and society, hindering the country’s ongoing efforts to improve living standards for its citizens.
In the past few years, Egypt has implemented measures to curb overpopulation. In March 2023, the government said it would pay married women aged between 21 and 45 with no more than two children an annual incentive of 1,000 Egyptian pounds (20.44 U.S. dollars). They will receive the total amount when they turn 45.
In February 2022, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi launched a national family development project to tackle the health, education, social, cultural, and economic issues of overpopulation. ■