Though the problem of the ‘population explosion’ has been occupying the U.A.R.’s leaders, progress towards a solution has not been very rapid. The revolutionary government began to take in 1953 the initiative to solve the population problem in two directions: an attempt to encourage emigration and careful activities regarding birth-control. In 1962 President Nasser took an unequivocal stand by saying that birth-control by modern methods was vital. The author discusses the main fields of activity of the authorities in this respect: the establishment of birth-planning centers and the distribution of anti-pregnancy pills. The success depends on many diverse factors; the attitude of the Moslem clergy towards the problem is a crucial one. The belief that religion forbids birth-control is still prevailing.
