Younger Egyptians Rethink Parenthood Amid Financial Pressures

Hend Mahmoud, 32, an online developer residing in Egypt, spoke with Egyptian Streets a couple of choice that, in her mom’s technology, would have been unthinkable.

“Many ladies my age have both chosen to postpone or utterly surrender the thought of getting kids,” she stated, “despite the fact that we had been raised with the concept having a baby is each lady’s dream.”

Egypt has lengthy grappled with its fast-growing inhabitants, placing stress on infrastructure, training, and employment. Nevertheless, within the first quarter of 2025, Egypt’s inhabitants grew at a record-low fee of 1.34 %, in accordance to an April report by Egypt’s Central Company for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). But, the inhabitants has reached 107 million general.

As of early 2024, kids below 18 make up 39.5 million, marking 37.3 % of the inhabitants, a slight decline from 37.7 % in 2023, in line with CAPMAS.

Moreover, the delivery fee fell to 19.4 per 1,000 folks in 2023, down from 21.1 the 12 months earlier than. Fertility charges have additionally dropped sharply, from 3.5 kids per lady in 2014 to 2.41 in 2024, in line with authorities knowledge.

The numbers replicate a quiet however profound shift happening in Egyptian society, one the place financial pressures, rising training ranges, and altering gender expectations are reshaping the which means of household.

“Ladies are more and more conscious of the accountability that comes with elevating a baby,” Mahmoud stated, noting that because of this they decide to have fewer kids or not have any in any respect.

For years, the federal government has urged households to have fewer kids, launching family-planning campaigns that warned of the prices of overpopulation. However the change unfolding now appears to be much less pushed by coverage and extra by necessity and private selection.

“Elevating a baby isn’t nearly loving them,” Yasser Ibrahim, 34, a software program engineer, informed Egyptian Streets. “It’s additionally about time, cash, and emotional stability. I don’t assume it’s truthful to deliver somebody into the world after I’m undecided I can provide them every thing they deserve.”

Mahmoud agreed with Ibrahim’s perspective. She doesn’t need to have kids and never be capable to give them the perfect upbringing, healthcare, and training, which, in line with her, doesn’t come low-cost.

That monetary calculus is compounded by shifting aspirations. She continued, “Specializing in my profession, my well being, and my passions is what makes me really feel fulfilled, very like having kids, as my mom informed me, as soon as fulfilled her.”

Ibrahim additionally admitted that his selection typically invitations judgment.

“Folks assume it’s unusual, or unhappy,” he revealed. “My household and mates inform me, ‘You’ll change your thoughts someday,’ however I do know myself. I need to construct a significant life with my spouse, and it doesn’t have to incorporate youngsters.”

Rahma Abdallah, 31, a chef, grew up believing that marriage and kids had been inevitable. In any case, it’s “sunnet el hayah,” which means the lifestyle, as most Arabs would say. But her perspective has modified over time.

“I feel that girls are realizing their desires and wishes, and turning into extra brave to not be a part of the system that necessitates having kids.”

The older she turns into, the extra she learns and meets individuals who, like her, don’t need to comply with of their moms’ steps. She stated, “I feel my choice is extra logical and fewer instinctual, taking into account whether or not I can truly handle a baby, emotionally, bodily, and financially.”

Whereas many city girls now have the liberty to make these decisions, Abdallah added, others, significantly in rural areas, stay constrained by custom and lack of know-how of the implication of inhabitants development and elevating kids. 

“In Higher Egypt and locations the place there’s a excessive illiteracy fee, girls have no idea any higher, and household expectations typically drive them into organized marriages,” Abdallah stated. “They don’t actually have a selection.”

Mahmoud echoed Abdallah’s views, stating that training and consciousness are main elements behind girls’s and males’s household planning attitudes.

Whereas campaigns selling household planning have gained floor, Egyptians stay deeply family-oriented, with many nonetheless viewing marriage and kids as central to a satisfying life.

“Folks ask my husband and me once we’ll have kids much more typically than I ever see media protection about household planning,” Abdallah stated. “It reveals how strongly our tradition nonetheless favors having kids.”

Ibrahim, then again, hardly ever will get requested about having kids. “Folks simply assume it’s girls who’re rethinking parenthood, however a number of males are, too. We’re simply much less vocal about it.”

Although he was raised in a big, loving household and stays grateful for all his mother and father gave him and his siblings, he’s additionally aware of the fixed fear and sacrifice it required.

“I don’t need to spend my life chasing stability whereas attempting to lift one other human being on the similar time,” he shared. “The definition of household is altering. Household may very well be your companion, mates, and even work, and that’s okay.”

In accordance to the Financial Analysis Discussion board, the demographic shift may ease stress on Egypt’s strained sources. With fewer kids to teach, feed, and dress, there can be extra sources, healthcare, and alternatives. Ladies may even have a better probability to take part within the workforce as an alternative of being stay-at-home moms. 

“If fewer kids imply a greater life for many who are born, and for the ladies who select when or whether or not to have them, then that’s what this nation wants,” Abdallah stated.