The ISSC’s report, titled “The World in 2050 … How would it look,” says the world’s population is expected to grow to 9.7 billion, up from the current 8 billion.

The report expects that more than half of this population growth to occur in Africa. It also pointed out that as of 2020, Egypt was the world’s 13th most populous nation.

Egypt’s population grew from 103 million in February to 104 million in October, an increase of one million in just seven months.

Approximately 10-14 million Egyptians live abroad, according to official estimates from January 2022.

Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) says that the country’s population could reach 192 million people by 2052 if current growth rates are maintained.

However, CAPMAS predicts in recently released report that the population would only reach 143 million people in the same period if existing state efforts to reduce fertility rates are intensified.

Overpopulation in Egypt is a decades-old challenge to adequate standards of living. The government predicts that they will be required to double its spending on infrastructure projects and development over the coming 30 years to accommodate the expected growth.

In recent years, the country has launched several campaigns and programmes to curb runaway population growth, spending annually over EGP 100 million (approximately $5.2 million) to offer family planning methods for free or at lowered prices.

In August, CAPMAS has reported that there has been a 20 percent drop in the fertility rate per woman in Egypt from 3.5 births per woman in 2014 to 2.8 in 2021

Egypt aims to further reduce the fertility rate to 1.6 births per woman, according to adviser to the chairman of CAPMAS Hussein Abdel-Aziz.

The United Nations Population Division defines any rate below 2.1 births per woman as below replacement level.