For The First Time In 10 Years, Egypt's Population Growth Rate Decreases

Perhaps the efforts of so many social organisations in Egypt have finally come to fruition now that the population growth of the country has actually decreased for the first time in ten years, according to Aswat Masriya. Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Saturday that the population growth dropped slightly during 2015 to 2.4% from the 2.5% it had reached in 2014. 

CAPMAS also stated that Egyptian birth rate decreased from 2.724 million in 2014 to 2.696 in 2015, which makes up a 28,000 difference between the two years. Death rates have simultaneously increased from 532,000 in 2014, to 573,000 in 2015; a difference of 41,000 deaths. CAPMAS noted that during the first six months of 2015, there has been a decrease in birth rate by 1.93% compared to the same period the year before, according to Aswat Masriya.

Abu Bakr al-Guindy, head of CAPMAS, praised efforts that the government has been putting in raising awareness about the population growth problem in the country, according to Mada Masr.

Guindy stated that, “The difference isn’t huge, but at least we stopped growing,” according to Mada Masr. Guindy referenced the 2015-2030 National Population Strategy which was launched by Ibrahim Mehleb, the Prime Minister at the time, made with the aim of tackling the issue of overpopulation.

Guindy added that the reason for this drop is due to the policies that have been implemented to tackle the issue as well as the societal awareness; despite that the country is still hardly near balancing its population and economic growth. According to Guindy, economic growth “needs time and is difficult to achieve,” citing Mada Masr. 

However, the slight decrease in the population growth might not necessarily be a good indicator. This is because apart from women's education and contraception, the decrease might be signifying economic distress. Families would probably opt out of conceiving more children if they believe they won’t be able to support them, according to Mada Masr.