Demographics of Egypt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Egypt is the most populous country in the Arabic speaking world and the third-most populous on
the African continent (after Nigeria and Ethiopia). About 95% of the country's 93 million people
[1]

(2017) live along the banks of the Nile and in the Nile Delta, which fans out north of Cairo; and along
[2]

the Suez Canal. These regions are among the world's most densely populated, containing an
average of over 1,540 per km², as compared to 96 persons per km² for the country as a whole.
Small communities spread throughout the desert regions of Egypt are clustered around historic trade
and transportation routes. The government has tried with mixed success to encourage migration to
newly irrigated land reclaimed from the desert. However, the proportion of the population living in
rural areas has continued to decrease as people move to the megacities in search of employment
and a higher standard of living.
According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics and other proponents of
demographic structural approach (cliodynamics), the basic problem Egypt has is unemployment
driven by a demographic youth bulge: with the number of new people entering the job force at about
4% a year, unemployment in Egypt is almost 10 times as high for college graduates as it is for
people who have gone through elementary school, particularly educated urban youth, who
comprised most of the people that were seen out in the streets during the Egyptian Revolution of
2011. An estimated 75% of Egyptians are under the age of 25 with just 3% over the age of 65,
making it one of the most youthful populations in the world. [3][4]

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Population[edit]
Egypt has a population of 92,000,000.1 (2016, rounded to 1 d.p.). According to the OECD/World
[5][6]

Bank statistics population growth in Egypt from 1990 to 2008 was 23.7 million and 41%. In 2020 the
[7]

population is expected to grow by 20%.

Egyptians abroad[edit]
According to the International Organization for Migration, an estimated 2.7 million Egyptians live
abroad and contribute actively to the development of their country through remittances (US$7.8
billion in 2009), circulation of human and social capital, as well as investment. Approximately 70% of
Egyptian migrants live in Arab countries (923,600 in Saudi Arabia, 332,600 in Libya, 226,850
in Jordan, 190,550 in Kuwaitwith the rest elsewhere in the region) and the remaining 30% are living
mostly North America (318,000 in the United States, 110,000 in Canada) and Europe (90,000
in Italy). [11]

Future Population Projections[edit]

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) had released high/medium/low
population projections for 2011-2031 based on Final Results of 2006 Population Census. The 2020 [12]

high variant was 92.6 million, the medium - 91.0 million, the low - 90.0 million. The 2030 high variant
is 104.4 million, the medium - 101.7 million, the low - 99.8 million. However the information could be
misleading as the 2013 population figure of 84.6 million is higher than the projected high of 83
million. In fact, due to an unexpected rise in the fertility rate (from 3.0 to 3.5), the population already
surpassed 91 million on 5 June 2016 while reaching 92 million on 30 November, average population
age remaining stable despite a rising life expectancy.

Vital statistics[edit]
Demographics by Governorate[edit]
Main article: Governorates of Egypt
Urban and Rural Population of Governorates[edit]

The CIA World Factbook lists "Egyptians" as 88.6%, and "other" as 11.4% (2006 census). "Other"
refers to people who are not citizens of Egypt, who come to Egypt to work for international
companies, diplomats, etc.
The vast majority of the population of Egypt consists of Egyptians including Copts, Egyptians make
up 95% of the population. The vast majority of Egyptians are native speakers of modern Egyptian
[20]

Arabic.
Minorities in Egypt include the Copts who represent around 10% of the entire population and live all
over the country, the Berber-speaking community of the Siwa Oasis (Siwis) and the Nubian
people clustered along the Nile in the southernmost part of Egypt. There are also sizable minorities
of Beja and Dom.
The country was host to many different communities during the colonial period,
including Greeks, Italians, Lebanese, Syro-Lebanese, Jews, Armenians, Turks and Albanians,
though most either left or were compelled to leave after political developments in the 1950s. The
country still hosts some 90,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly Palestinians and Sudanese.
Other sources give more detailed statistics, including the Beja (ca. 1 million), the Nubians (ca.
[citation needed]

300,000 in 1996), Dom (ca. 230,000 in 1996), Berbers (Siwis) (ca. 5,000).

Languages[edit]
Main article: Languages of Egypt
Arabic is the official language of Egypt, with the vast majority of Egyptians speaking Egyptian Arabic.
In The Upper Nile valley, Sa'idi Arabic is prevalent. The Coptic language is used in the Coptic church
for the majority of prayers, hymns, masses, and meditations. English widely understood as well
as French. Siwa language used in ethnic Berber tribal areas in the western desert (Siwa),
and Nubian language is widely used among the ethnic Nubians in the southern areas.

Religions[edit]
Main articles: Religion in Egypt, Islam in Egypt, and Christianity in Egypt

Religion in Egypt (est. 2017)[21]

Islam (90%)

Christianity (10%)

According to the CIA World Factbook, approximately 90% of the population is Muslim and 10% is
Christian (9% Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, 1% other Christian). Estimates of the Christian
population in Egypt range from 6% to 20%.
[22][23][24]

• Muslim 90% (Mostly Sunni) [20]

• Christianity 10% [20]

• Bahá'í: fewer than 2,000 individuals (< 0.003%).

• Judaism: 6 individuals [23]
Education[edit]
Main article: Education in Egypt
The literacy rate in modern Egyptian society is highly debated. Education is free through university
and compulsory from ages six through 15, though enforcement may be lax. Rates for primary and
secondary education have strengthened in recent years. The vast majority of children enter primary
school though a significant number drop out. There are approx. 200,000 primary and secondary
schools with some 10 million students, 13 major universities with more than 500,000 students, and
67 teacher colleges. Major universities include Cairo University (100,000 students), Ain Shams
University, Alexandria University, the 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar University, one of the world's major
centers of Islamic learning and the AUC (American University in Cairo), . The former first lady has
created many project towards the advancement of Egyptian education and the efforts to force
education to the remaining 7-9% of students who drop out illegally. Child labor is a contributing
factor to these dropouts but it is considered a serious crime to work children under the legal age and
charges are taken very seriously at this time.