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Middle East Review of International Affairs
Egypt’s Demographic Challenges and Economic Responses
by Paul Rivlin
*
Abstract
The rate of population growth in Egypt has fallen as it experiences demographic transition, along with many other countries in the Middle East and the developing world. Despite this the absolute annual increase in the population currently exceeds one million and the number of people reaching working age and entering the labor market each year is enormous. The increase in female participation in the labor force has been a major factor behind the decline in fertility, but it has also increased pressures in the job market. The challenge for the economy, in terms of generating new jobs, is therefore formidable. This paper analyzes demographic trends in Egypt in recent years and sets them against the performance of the economy.
Full Text (PDF, 15 pages, 99.9 KB)
Note *: Professor Paul Rivlin is a Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University. He is also the author of "Leadership and the Economy in the Arab World" which appeared in the September 1997 issue of MERIA. Back