In what’s been seen as a desperate bid to keep costs down, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi hasadvised families not to have more than two children. Al Sisi said, “Living conditions are getting worse and we need a trillion dollars to match the population increase.”

Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics had, on January 1, announced that Egypt’s population had hit 101.38 million. According to the agency, it had increased by 1.38 million over just ten months.

The Egyptian President added that the standard of living in the country would not improve until the population growth was under control. Al-Sisi had previously claimed that overpopulation and terrorism were the two biggest threats facing the country. According to the MEMO, Egypt , in 2018 had launched the ‘Ithneen Kefaya’, or ‘Two is Enough’, campaign to alter the mindset of Egyptians about high birth rates in the country. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about contraception.

The Middle East Monitor reports that roughly a third of Egyptians live below the poverty line.

Last year Al-Sisi compared Egypt’s population to that of Germany, claiming that it had not increased for the past 25 years. He claimed that Germany, therefore, did not need a power station, new infrastructure, or a water treatment facility.

Critics, meanwhile, have slammed the attempts to blame the country’s poor living conditions on the population increase, saying Al Sisi’s pouring enormous funds into luxury projects have little benefit to the average Egyptian.

According to the MEMO, the Egyptian military, which holds a monopoly on many industries, is a key source of corruption in Egypt, resulting in poverty in the country. The government also spends vast amounts on buying arms from Western countries which are seldom used.

Al-Sisi, meanwhile, has four children.

Umm Muhammed Umar