By Troy Carter – The Daily News Egypt
Today is World Population Day, an event that was created in 1987 in what was then called Day of 5 Billion which was organized to bring attention to Earth's rapidly growing population. The event was made an annual one and became what we recognize today.
This year the world's population is expected to reach an astounding 7 billion and on some days in Cairo it feels like everyone of them is driving a car on the 6th of October Bridge or shoving into a subway car at Sadat station.
Egypt's population is 82.9 million according to the World Bank's data. At its current growth rate the population will likely reach 160 million by 2050. This makes Egypt the most populous Arab country, with Sudan coming in a distant second, and the third largest in Africa. (Even after the breakaway of the south, Sudan will probably be slightly more populous than Algeria which has a population of 34.9 million.)
Casual observers believe that overpopulation causes poverty but it is the other way around. Poverty is the fuel of population growth. If the state and civil society effectively address the wide-spread poverty in Egypt, population growth will slow or stop.
Probably the quickest way to both slow population growth and address poverty would be to focus on primary education, particularly that of girls. Female Egyptians are arguably the countries most maltreated resource, by unlocking their potential with education and improved health care Egypt's progress on tackling multiple issues will dramatically accelerate.
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Troy Carter is a former US Senate Defense Fellow and 5-year veteran of the US Army. He now studies political science at The American University in Cairo.
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