File Photo: Egyptian citizens walk on a main street during a traffic jam in central Cairo. AFP
The report said Egypt would remain in 13th place through 2035 before climbing two positions over the following 15 years.
The country currently ranks third in Africa and first in the Arab world, the agency added, noting that the country’s domestic population climbed to 108.6 million at the start of 2026, up from 94.8 million in 2017, an increase of 13.8 million over nine years.
Males make up 51.4 percent of the population and females 48.6 percent, a ratio of roughly 106 men for every 100 women.
Rural areas remain home to the majority of Egyptians (57.3 percent), compared to 42.7 percent in urban areas. Cairo remains the country's most populous governorate with 10.5 million residents, followed by Giza at 9.8 million.
Population density has risen sharply, from 92.4 people per square kilometre in 2017 to 108.1 in 2026.
The report noted that Egypt remains a notably young country: under-15s make up about 30.6 percent of the population, while those 65 and older account for just 6.1 percent.
That translates into an age dependency ratio of 58.1 percent as of January 2026, meaning every 100 working-age Egyptians support roughly 58 dependents.
Fertility decline slows population growth
The report points to a clear, sustained decline in fertility. The total fertility rate dropped to 2.33 children per woman in the 2025 Egyptian Family Health Survey, down from 2.85 in the 2021 survey.
Should the rate fall further to 2.1 births per woman by 2032 — the so-called replacement-level fertility— CAPMAS projects Egypt's population would reach approximately 117.8 million in 2032 and 130.7 million by 2042.
Additionally, the report highlighted that the birth rate fell from 26.8 births per 1,000 people in 2017 to 18.1 in 2025.
Death rates, meanwhile, rose during the Covid-19 pandemic, peaking at 7.3 per 1,000 in 2021, before settling back to around 5.5–5.7 per 1,000 between 2023 and 2025.
As a result, the natural increase rate has nearly halved, falling from 21.1 per 1,000 in 2017 to 12.4 per 1,000 in 2025. Longer-term projections put life expectancy at birth at 69.7 years for men and 74.7 years for women, according to the report.
Family planning measures
The figures come as the government continues efforts to expand family planning programs to ease the strain that rapid population growth places on housing, healthcare, education and employment.
The report also outlines the government's Urgent Population and Development Plan, which aims to hit Egypt's population targets by 2027, three years ahead of the original 2030 goal.
The plan started in January 2025, using data from the 2021 Egyptian Family Health Survey. It ranks governorates as green, yellow, or red based on 29 indicators covering health, education, child protection, births, deaths, and population density.
The focus is on 73 red-zone areas, which score below 50 percent on the index and are home to about 27 percent of Egypt's population.
After a trial run from October to December 2024, the plan is now in its main three-year phase through 2027, with progress checked every 100 days as the government works to move red zones up to yellow, and eventually green.
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