Minister of Health: Egypt's 'red zones' shrink as birth rate declines in 2025

CAIRO - 2 June 2026: Health and Population Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar announced on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, significant progress in controlling population growth and improving demographic indicators by the end of 2025 describing the results as the first outcome of the 2025–2027 Emergency Population and Development Plan implemented in cooperation with the National Population Council.

The minister said the eighth edition of Egypt's composite population indicators showed a marked reduction in the number of "red zones", areas most in need of intervention, to 20 by the end of 2025, down from 43 in the previous edition and 74 in the sixth edition.

Deputy Health Minister and National Population Council Supervisor Abla al-Alfi said the number of governorates free of red zones rose to 13 by the end of 2025, compared with three in the sixth edition.

Alfi added that the number of yellow and green zones reflect better development indicators and has increased significantly.

She also revealed that annual births fell below two million for the first time in years, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The total fertility rate declined to 2.34 children per woman in 2025, compared with 2.54 in 2023, while the crude birth rate fell to 18.1 per 1,000 people from 19.4 per 1,000 in 2023.

Health Ministry Spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar attributed the progress to integrated policies aimed at expanding family planning and reproductive health services and raising public awareness.

He noted that Port Said, Gharbia, Damietta, Dakahlia and Suez have already achieved positive fertility indicators, adding that future efforts will focus on targeted, data-driven interventions, particularly in Upper Egypt governorates facing specific demographic challenges.