ISTANBUL 

The Egyptian population grew 1.4% in the past year, its lowest in 50 years, the Egyptian Ministry of Planning said Thursday. 

The ministry, which cited a report by the National Project for Egyptian Family Development, said Egypt achieved success in reducing the growth rate by 46% from 2017 to 2023.

It noted that the birth rate hit 2 million in 2023, a decline of 15% compared to 2018.

Egypt's population as of Jan. 1 stood at 105.8 million up from 104.4 million in 2022, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

The agency estimates that 12 million Egyptians live abroad.  

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar