ACCORDING to the latest estimates from the State-backed watchdog Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt's population could increase to 100 million within seven years, unless the floundering birth control campaign begins to bear more fruit. Officials responsible for the birth control campaign across the country must be frantically biting their fingernails, as CAPMAS says that the country's population could soar to 160 million people in 2050. The fertility of Egyptian women is allegedly to blame for the frustration of the Government and birth control strategists. Despite the fact that their standard of living is far lower, Egyptian women are as fertile as women in the UK and France. Revealing his reservations about the performance of local officials steering the birth control campaign, CAPMAS Chairman Major-General Abu Bakr el-Gendi warns that the uncontrolled population growth is swallowing up all benefits of economic growth. Maged Osman, head of the Cabinet's Information and Decision-making Support Centre, is also critical of these officials. He suggests that families should be encouraged to have no more than two children. “This should be a strategic target for the officials concerned,” he stresses. Osman is afraid that the everincreasing population will have a negative impact on people's quota of Nile water. He urges Egyptian parents to take into consideration the fact that Egypt's share of Nile water is fixed at 55.5 billion cubic metres per annum. “The population keeps on increasing. By 2017, Egypt's quota of water will probably fall to 586 cubic metres per annum. It is predicted that this will fall as low as 468 cubic metres by 2030,” Osman notes.
