Egypt census workers detect another baby boom
CAIRO — Census workers going door to door in Egypt’s teeming neighbourhoods and crowded towns are discovering a new country — of more than 20 million people born in the last decade alone.
Family planning efforts have lapsed over the past decade, particularly during the chaotic years following the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Today the government is mainly focused on combatting Islamic militancy and repairing the tattered economy.
But the staggering growth rate in the most populous Arab country, already home to more than 93 million people, could worsen both problems by giving rise to yet another bulging generation with few job prospects and widespread reliance on dwindling government assistance.
“In 10 years, we’ve made what can be considered an entirely new country,” said Hussein Sayed, the co-ordinator of the national census. The results will be finalized and released in August.