Egypt's New Population of 104 Million is Draining Their Economy

Egypt’s population has reached 104 million, including more than 9 million who live outside the country, a state statistics agency said on Saturday. The announcement comes amid a stepped-up campaign to curb population growth in the country.

The figure marks an increase of 22 million in 10 years, Abu Bakr Al Guindy, the head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, said in a televised ceremony.

Around 94.7 million Egyptians live in the country, as per the latest nationwide census.

Around 10.1 percent of the population lives in Cairo, and 9.1 percent in its twin city Giza.

About 9.4 million Egyptians live abroad, including 6.2 million in the Arab world, Al Guindy added.

Males account for 51.6 percent of the overall population, while women make 48.4 percent.

Egypt’s average population growth over the past 10 years was 2.56 percent, against 2.04 percent in the previous decade.

The census found that about 118,000 Egyptian girls below the age of 18 are married, despite the fact that the law sets the minimum age of marriage for females at 18.