Egyptians 'having too many babies'

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has urged Egyptians to breed less.

War and political instability in the Middle East along with a stalled reform programme has meant economic growth has been unimpressive.

Mr Mubarak said the state would not be able to continue basic services such as free health, education and subsidized bread, if Egyptians continued to have so many babies.

With the population growing at just under 2% a year, creating 1.3 million babies last year, most Egyptians are getting poorer.

While Egyptian women have an average 3.5 babies during their lifetime, British women have 1.6.

Mr Mubarak's is in stark contrast to a statement earlier this week by British politician David Willetts.

Mr Willetts, shadow minister for work and pensions with the opposition Conservative party, urged British women to "breed for Britain".

He said creating workers of the future is the only way of generating income for a growing population dependent on pensions.

Britain's birth rate is steadily falling.