While Germany's population is falling, Egypt's continues to rise. Here, the birth rate grew unexpectedly by 8.1 per cent in 2009, compared with 2008. To encourage working couples to have more than one child, Germany started offering them incentives in 2007. These incentives have cost the country around 3.5 billion euros, but the German Government sees it a must to curb the depopulation in a country whose population is expected to fall from 82 million now to 50 million in 2050, so as not to affect the growth of Europe's biggest economy. Despite its apparent failure in Germany, this incentive policy could be the ideal solution for curbing overpopulation in Egypt. A family planning programme that lasted many years and cost the State billions of pounds has failed to convince local couples to have no more than two children. China's policy of couples having only one child wouldn't be acceptable to Egyptians. The only alternative left is to offer direct or indirect financial incentives to poor citizens to encourage them to have only two children. For example, more tax exemptions could be offered to working parents who have only two children, while subsidised fertilisers, pesticides and seeds could be given to farmers who follow the family planning programme. The Government could also give citizens who stick to this a pay rise.At the same time, couples need to be made aware of the negative repercussions of the continuous rise in population for future generations. In the meantime, the Government should also consider how to better exploit the country's human resources, so that the country's economy can flourish like China's, which has become the world's second biggest economy.
