Egypt’s rising cost of living drives birth rates down: CAPMAS report

An official report revealed a decline in the average number of children per woman in Egypt to 2.33 in 2025, down from 2.85 in 2021—a decrease of 18.2 percent.

The report, issued on Wednesday by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), presented preliminary findings from the 2025 Egyptian Family Health Survey.

The results indicated that it is possible to achieve the state’s strategic goal of reaching a birth rate of 2.1 children per woman.

Additionally, the birth rate among adolescents (under 20 years of age) fell to 34.6 births per 1,000 women, compared to 50 births in 2021—a decline of 31 percent.

Member of the Association of Economics and Legislation, Mohamed Anis, explained that the decline in the birth rate reflects a drop in fertility rates and rising costs of living.

The use of long-acting family planning methods (such as IUDs and contraceptive implants) has increased, leading to improved service quality and continuity.

Sociology professor Hoda Zakaria said that lower fertility rates are more closely associated with upper and middle classes, whereas poorer groups sometimes view children as a source of income.

The decline in birth rates may stem from parents’ growing awareness of providing their children with better opportunities for education and employment, as well as a shift in young people’s attitudes toward marriage due to financial burdens.

Another sociology professor, Said Sadek, views the decline in birth rates within the framework of the “Demographic Transition Theory.”

He explained that according to this theory, societies undergo successive stages: starting with high birth and mortality rates, followed by a drop in mortality rates while birth rates remain high, and finally reaching a stage where the two rates converge.

Economic and banking expert and former Vice Chairman of Banque Misr, Sahar al-Damaty, emphasized that “unlimited childbearing” is completely incompatible with today’s complex and ever-changing economic reality.

She noted that direct financial pressures on the family budget have become the strongest and most influential driver for adopting family planning practices.

Economic expert Rashad Abdo, said that the fact that a large segment of the population falls below the official poverty line has had a direct and tangible impact on marriage rates and the ability to start new families.