CAPMAS: Population growth rate in Egypt decreases for first time in 10 years

The population growth rate has decreased in Egypt for the first time in 10 years, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced in a press conference Saturday. 

The population growth rate, based on the number of births and deaths, decreased marginally from 2.55 percent in 2014 to 2.4 percent in 2015, according to the head of CAPMAS, Abu Bakr al-Guindy, who lauded government efforts to raise awareness on the issue.

Births in 2014 registered 2,720,000, and in 2015 dropped to 2,696,000, despite being on an upward trend since 2005, which saw the lowest rate (1.91 percent), Giundy explained.

In 2015, there were 537,000 deaths recorded, compared to 521,000 in 2014, an increase of 3 percent. The death rate has been increasing steadily, rising from 511,183 in 2013.

“The difference isn’t huge,” Guindy said, “but at least we stopped growing.” He cited the 2015-2030 National Population Strategy, launched by then Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb in October 2014, which was devised to tackle the issue of overpopulation.

He credits policies and societal awareness for the decline in population growth, but says Egypt is still far from reaching a balance between population growth and economic growth, as the latter “needs time and is difficult to achieve.”

The national strategy on population is unlikely to have had an effect on the number of births in 2015, however, as these infants would have had to be conceived between April 2014 and April 2015.

Although long-term declines in birth rate are generally associated with positive socioeconomic indicators, such as access to higher education for women, contraception, etc., a short-term dip in birth rates can also be a sign of economic distress. If people are concerned about supporting their existing families, they are unlikely to plan to conceive more.