CAIRO, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's population would reach 128 million in 2030 if birth rate continues to rise, said the health minister Ahmed Emad al-Din on Wednesday.

Every woman of childbearing age is having 3.5 babies according to current birth rate, the minister told reporters during a press conference in Cairo.

He added that if birth rate rises to reach four babies for every woman, the population of Egypt will hit 140 million in 2030.

"Population increase is one of the most dangerous issues that must be solved," he stressed.

According to official statistics, about 65 percent of Egyptian families have nine children, which can frustrate any development in the country.

Egypt's population has exceeded 100 million, as the population timer displayed at the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics reads over 93.4 millions, with an addition of at least 8 million expatriates.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in a recent youth conference that terrorism and growing population are the largest challenges facing the most populous Arab country. Enditem

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