Cars are bumper to bumper on a bridge in Cairo, Egypt (AP)
Egypt's population increased by over 17 million in the past decade, the country's official census authority said in a statement on Monday to mark World Population Day.
The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said the Egyptian population has swelled from 72.8 million in 2006 to 90.1 million in the beginning of 2016, a rise of 23.7%.
The statistics agency said that an increase of 3.3 million people was estimated from 2006 to 2009 before another whopping 14 million added to the overall population over the next seven years.
In April, CAPMAS deputy head Mohamed Abdel-Gelil, said that the population saw a significant rise from 80 million to 90 million in the past five years, whereas it took 50 years for the population to increase from 10 million in 1900 to 20 million in 1950.
One third of the Egyptian population (31.3%) is comprised of people aged under 15 years, while the elderly (65 years of age onwards) make up a meager 4% of the total population, CAPMAS added in the Monday statement.
The statistics agency said that 26.3% of Egyptians live in poverty, while 12.8% are unemployed.
The world population was estimated at 7.3 billion in July 2015 and is forecast to hit 9.8 billion by 2050, CAPMAS said, citing data by the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau.
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