Egypt’s population hits 100 million

Egypt’s population has hit the 100 million mark, Ahram Online has reported.

According to the official Egyptian news website, the live counter “clock” of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) showed that the swelling population at home reached the landmark figure at 2:30pm yesterday.

The figure excludes those Egyptians who live abroad.

According to Emigration Minister Nabila Makram, they account for a further 13 million people. There are two million Egyptians living in Saudi Arabia alone.

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Lieutenant Colonel Khayrat Barakat, the head of CAMPAS, told a press conference that 2019 witnessed the fastest population increase. There were one million births in the first 216 days of the year.

The population of Egypt has thus almost doubled over the past 30 years. Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli said last week that population control is now an issue of national security.

Officials describe the matter as a “catastrophe” that demands the immediate attention of the state, on a par with the war against terrorism.