The population of Egypt more than tripled between 1960 and 2020, registering an increase from 27 million to about 100 million inhabitants. More than 95% of its territory consists of deserts. Its population is concentrated along the Nile, the narrow, fertile strip that runs from southern Egypt (Upper Egypt) to the north (Lower Egypt) over a distance of 1800 km. The population density of the entire country is 90 inhabitants per square kilometre, but the figure rises to 1140 inhabitants per square kilometre taking into account only the populated areas. Despite very rapid urbanization in the twentieth century, mainly benefiting the Cairo agglomeration, Alexandria and a dozen major cities, mostly in the Nile delta, Egypt is still predominantly rural. 1 The total fertility rate (TFR) in Egypt has declined progressively since the early 1960s when it was about 6.7 children per woman (Fig. 1). However, the decline showed an erratic trend until the mid-1980s, when the fertility transition finally started. Fertility continued to decline until the mid-1990s.