Egypt's population has reached 104 million, including 9.4 million who live abroad.

There has been an increase of 22 million in the past 10 years, with an average growth of 2.56 percent.

There are approximately 118,000 Egyptian girls under 18 who are married.

The Egyptian government recently launched a campaign aimed at encouraging families to only have two children.

Egypt’s population has reached 104 million, including more than 9 million who live outside the country, a state statistics agency said on Saturday. The announcement comes amid a stepped-up campaign to curb population growth in the country.

The figure marks an increase of 22 million in 10 years, Abu Bakr Al Guindy, the head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, said in a televised ceremony.

Around 94.7 million Egyptians live in the country, as per the latest nationwide census.

Around 10.1 percent of the population lives in Cairo, and 9.1 percent in its twin city Giza.

About 9.4 million Egyptians live abroad, including 6.2 million in the Arab world, Al Guindy added.

Males account for 51.6 percent of the overall population, while women make 48.4 percent.

Egypt’s average population growth over the past 10 years was 2.56 percent, against 2.04 percent in the previous decade.

The census found that about 118,000 Egyptian girls below the age of 18 are married, despite the fact that the law sets the minimum age of marriage for females at 18.

President Abdul Fattah el-Sissi attended the ceremony in which the results of the census were announced. He criticized the practice of child marriages, believed to be rife in some rural areas.

“I was astonished to find out the number of girls married at the age of 12 is not small,” el-Sissi said.

“How can a girl aged 12 become responsible for a husband and a family? I tell society: take care of your children.”

The Egyptian leader has previously compared uncurbed population growth to the terrorism that Egypt has suffered over the past few years.

In recent months, the Egyptian government launched a campaign aimed at encouraging families to have a maximum of two children instead of the average four. Egypt is the Arab world’s most populous country.

Some members of parliament have suggested limiting food subsidies to families with not more than two children.

Around 70 million Egyptians benefit from a socialist era-ration system that gives them access to subsidized food items, including bread and cooking oil.

Egypt’s first official census was conducted in 1882 when the country’s population was estimated at 6.7 million.

This article has been adapted from its original source.