CAIRO: The announcement that Egypt’s population is now 101 million means that it has increased by 1 million in less than 8 months. The Population Clock of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said it passed the 100 million mark on Feb. 11, 2020.
Amr Hassan, the former reporter of the National Population Council, said that the population is a major concern for the Egyptian government, as it puts great pressure on natural resources and is a burden on the state budget.
He said that under the National Population and Development Strategy’s goals (2015-2030), Egypt’s population was supposed to reach 94 million by 2020, but it has grown far faster.
“If the National Population Strategy had been implemented, Egypt’s population would have reached 110 million in 2030, but current expectations indicate that the population will reach 119 million by then. It raises the warning signs that the state should make a concerted effort,” Hassan said.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, during a speech at the opening of the Egyptian-Japanese University, made a comparison between Egypt and Germany. In 1995, Egypt’s population was 62 million, while Germany had a population of 83 million people. Now Egypt’s population has passed 100 million, while the population of Germany remains at 83 million.
According to Hassan, this comparison made by the prime minister sheds light on the burden on the Egyptian government and highlights the weakness of educational and health services when compared with developed countries.
NUMBER
119 million population is likely to reach by 2030 in Egypt.
According to the Central Statistical Organization, in 1955 Italy’s population reached 48 million, England’s population was 51 million and Egypt’s was 23.5 million.
In the past 65 years, Italy’s population has increased by 12 million to 60 million and England’s population by 16 million to 67 million. During the same period, Egypt’s population has increased by 77 million.
Hassan said that this means that the population rate increase in Egypt is seven times that of Italy and Germany and five times greater than England, meaning a far greater load on the state budget and a far greater demand for hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, transportation and services.
