Demographics of Egypt

Population density

Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East and the third-most populous on the African continent (after Nigeria and Ethiopia). Nearly 100% of the country's 82.5 million (2012 est.) people live in three major regions of the country: Cairo and Alexandria and elsewhere along the banks of the Nile throughout the Nile Delta, which fans out north of Cairo; and along the Suez Canal. These regions are among the world's most densely populated, containing an average of over 3,820 persons per square mile (1,540 per km².), as compared to 181 persons per sq. mi. for the country as a whole.

Small communities spread throughout the desert regions of Egypt are clustered around oases and 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 cities 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.

Population

Recent population growth in Egypt, Data of FAO, year 2005; number of inhabitants in thousands.

Egyptian Population Density and Distribution

Historical populations in thousands

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1805	4,000	—
1882	6,712	+0.67%
1897	9,669	+2.46%
1907	11,190	+1.47%
1917	12,718	+1.29%
1927	14,178	+1.09%
1937	15,921	+1.17%
1947	18,967	+1.77%
1960	26,085	+2.48%
1966	30,076	+2.40%
1976	36,626	+1.99%
1986	48,254	+2.80%
1996	59,312	+2.08%
2006	72,798	+2.07%
2013	84,314	+2.12%
Source: Population in Egypt

Egypt has a population of 88.8 million (2015-05-20). According to the OECD/World Bank statistics population growth in Egypt from 1990 to 2008 was 23.7 million and 41%.

Age distribution

Percentage Distribution of Population in Censuses by Age Group

Age group	2006	1996	1986	1976
Less than 5 years old	10.6	11.6	15.3	13.9
5-9	10.5	12.9	13.2	12.8
10-14	10.6	13.3	11.6	13.4
15-19	11.8	11.6	10.6	10.9
20-24	10.8	8.6	8.9	8.4
25-29	8.8	7.4	7.7	7.3
30-34	6.5	6.7	6.4	5.8
35-39	6.4	6.5	6.1	5.6
40-44	5.6	5.3	4.4	5.1
45-49	5.1	4.5	4.0	4.2
50-54	4.2	3.4	3.5	4.0
55-59	3.1	2.5	2.6	2.4
60-64	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.7
65-69	1.6	1.6	1.4	1.4
70-74	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.2
75+	1.0	0.8	0.8	1.0

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01/07/2010) :

Age group	Male	Female	%	Total
Less than 5 years old	4,282	4,072	10.6	8,354
5-9	4,265	4,007	10.5	8,272
10-14	4,330	4,023	10.6	8,353
15-19	4,738	4,501	11.7	9,239
20-24	4,358	4,155	10.8	8,513
25-29	3,412	3,498	8.8	6,910
30-34	2,614	2,503	6.5	5,117
35-39	2,498	2,536	6.4	5,034
40-44	2,237	2,186	5.6	4,423
45-49	2,029	1,942	5.0	3,971
50-54	1,668	1,640	4.2	3,308
55-59	1,312	1,136	3.1	2,448
60-64	971	871	2.3	1 842
65-69	693	597	1.6	1 290
70-74	435	419	1.1	854
75+	408	392	1.0	800
Total	40,250	38,478	100	78,728

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01/07/2012) :

Age group	Male	Female	%	Total
Less than 5 years old	4,780	4,410	11.17	9,190
5-9	4,534	4,192	10.60	8,726
10-14	3,970	3,706	9.33	7,676
15-19	3,970	3,746	9.37	7,710
20-24	4,236	4,024	10.04	8,260
25-29	4,084	3,924	9.73	8,008
30-34	3,346	3,249	8.01	6,595
35-39	2,589	2,524	6.21	5,113
40-44	2,262	2,206	5.43	4,468
45-49	2,077	2,037	5.00	4,114
50-54	1,821	1,798	4.40	3,619
55-59	1,494	1,480	3.61	2,974
60-64	1,105	1,113	2.69	2,218
65-69	767	785	1.89	1,552
70-74	501	517	1.24	1,018
75+	522	536	1.29	1,058
Total	42,058	40,247	100	82,305

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01/01/2013) :

Age group	Male	Female	%	Total
Less than 5 years old	4,861	4,481	11.17	9,342
5-9	4,610	4,259	10.60	8,869
10-14	4,038	3,765	9.33	7,803
15-19	4,038	3,805	9.37	7,843
20-24	4,309	4,089	10.04	8,398
25-29	4,152	3,987	9.73	8,139
30-34	3,403	3,300	8.01	6,703
35-39	2,633	2,564	6.21	5,197
40-44	2,300	2,241	5.43	4,541
45-49	2,113	2,069	5.00	4,182
50-54	1,852	1,827	4.40	3,679
55-59	1,519	1,504	3.61	3,023
60-64	1,124	1,130	2.69	2,254
65-69	781	797	1.89	1,578
70-74	510	525	1.24	1,035
75-79	291	303	0.71	594
80+	239	242	0.57	481
Total	42,773	40,888	100	83,661

Age group	2013/01/01	2012/07/01	2010/07/01	2006	1996	1986	1976
0-14	31.1 (26,014,000)	31.1 (25,592,000)	31.7 (24,979,000)	31.7	37.8	40.1	40
15-64	64.49 (53,959,000)	64.48 (53,085,000)	64.6 (50,805,000)	64.6	58.7	56.6	56.4
65+	4.41 (3,688,000)	4.42 (3,628,000)	3.7 (2,944,000)	3.7	3.5	3.3	3.6

Egyptians abroad

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 Kuwait with 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).

Urban and Rural Population

	Midyear Population	Urban Population (in thousands)	Urban Population (per cent)	Rural Population (in thousands)	Rural Population (per cent)
1990	51 911	22 519	43.4	29 392	56.6
1991	52 985	22 908	43.2	30 077	56.8
1992	54 082	23 366	43.2	30 716	56.8
1993	55 201	23 804	43.1	31 397	56.9
1994	56 344	24 276	43.1	32 068	56.9
1995	57 642	24 709	42.9	32 933	57.1
1996	58 835	25 053	42.6	33 782	57.4
1997	60 053	25 578	42.6	34 475	57.4
1998	61 296	26 104	42.6	35 192	57.4
1999	62 565	26 559	42.5	36 006	57.5
2000	63 860	27 132	42.5	36 728	57.5
2001	65 182	28 118	43.1	37 064	56.9
2002	66 628	28 554	42.9	38 074	57.1
2003	67 965	29 130	42.9	38 835	57.1
2004	69 304	29 653	42.8	39 651	57.2
2005	70 653	30 187	42.7	40 466	57.3
2006	72 009	30 585	42.5	41 424	57.5
2007	73 644	31 720	43.1	41 924	56.9
2008	75 194	32 249	42.9	42 945	57.1
2009	76 925	33 083	43.0	43 842	57.0
2010	78 685	33 804	43.0	44 881	57.0
2011	80 530	34 489	42.8	46 041	57.2
2012	82 550	35 373	42.9	47 177	57.1
2013	84 629	36 213	42.8	48 416	57.2

Future Population Projections

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

Vital statistics

Vital statistics:

	Midyear population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate
1934	15,449	651,663	429,851	221,812	42.2	27.8	14.4
1935	15,624	645,760	412,197	233,563	41.3	26.4	14.9
1936	15,801	698,186	455,832	242,354	44.2	28.8	15.3
1937	16,009	694,086	434,208	259,878	43.4	27.1	16.2
1938	16,300	704,376	429,248	275,128	43.2	26.3	16.9
1939	16,598	696,746	429,033	267,713	42.0	25.8	16.1
1940	16,900	697,700	444,448	253,252	41.3	26.3	15.0
1941	17,208	695,016	440,981	254,035	40.4	25.6	14.8
1942	17,522	658,324	494,358	163,966	37.6	28.2	9.4
1943	17,842	689,771	492,644	197,127	38.7	27.6	11.0
1944	18,167	722,166	472,234	249,932	39.8	26.0	13.8
1945	18,498	787,502	512,003	275,499	42.6	27.7	14.9
1946	18,835	776,000	484,000	292,000	41.2	25.7	15.5
1947	19,197	834,557	408,577	425,980	43.5	21.3	22.2
1948	19,529	832,728	397,976	434,752	42.6	20.4	22.3
1949	19 989	831,310	410,524	420,786	41.6	20.5	21.1
1950	21,514	904,941	388,944	515,997	44.2	19.0	25.2
1951	22,020	934,584	402,158	532,426	44.6	19.2	25.4
1952	22,562	969,443	380,633	588,810	45.2	17.8	27.5
1953	23,138	934,830	429,097	505,733	42.6	19.6	23.0
1954	23,747	957,158	401,306	555,852	42.6	17.9	24.7
1955	24,387	926,500	405,663	520,837	40.3	17.6	22.7
1956	25,057	958,880	384,974	573,906	40.7	16.4	24.4
1957	25,756	914,494	429,512	484,982	38.0	17.8	20.1
1958	26,480	1,013,743	409,197	604,546	41.1	16.6	24.5
1959	27,228	1,078,947	411,188	667,759	42.8	16.3	26.5
1960	27,998	1,113,888	437,822	676,066	43.0	16.9	26.1
1961	28,786	1,166,620	420,158	746,462	43.9	15.8	28.1
1962	29,591	1,125,798	486,699	639,099	41.3	17.9	23.4
1963	30,410	1,196,388	431,673	764,715	42.8	15.4	27.4
1964	31,242	1,205,785	449,375	756,410	42.1	15.7	26.4
1965	32,084	1,220,658	411,636	809,022	41.5	14.0	27.5
1966	32,937	1,234,976	477,021	757,955	41.0	15.8	25.1
1967	33,799	1,210,214	440,161	770,053	39.2	14.2	24.9
1968	34,660	1,206,585	509,430	697,155	38.1	16.1	22.0
1969	35,511	1,197,245	468,017	729,228	36.8	14.4	22.4
1970	36,342	1,161,539	500,626	660,913	34.9	15.0	19.8
1971	37,152	1,186,350	445,192	741,158	34.8	13.1	21.8
1972	37,945	1,187,286	499,628	687,658	34.1	14.3	19.7
1973	38,734	1,259,004	459,816	799,188	35.3	12.9	22.4
1974	39,534	1,287,614	457,620	829,994	35.4	12.6	22.8
1975	40,359	1,331,799	456,041	875,758	36.0	12.3	23.7
1976	41,213	1,378,917	444,228	934,689	36.4	11.7	24.7
1977	42,094	1,447,402	457,558	989,844	37.3	11.8	25.5
1978	43,006	1,479,698	415,605	1,064,093	37.2	10.5	26.8
1979	43 951	1,633,674	444,753	1,188,921	40.0	10.9	29.1
1980	44,932	1,569,247	421,227	1,148,020	37.3	10.0	27.3	5.3
1981	45 946	1,593,698	432,264	1,161,434	36.8	10.0	26.8
1982	46,991	1,601,265	441,621	1,159,644	34.1	9.4	24.7
1983	48,072	1,666,915	412,700	1,254,215	34.7	8.6	26.1
1984	49,190	1,797,206	400,600	1,396,606	36.5	8.1	28.4	4.9
1985	50,347	1,903,022	442,258	1,460,764	37.8	8.8	29.0
1986	51 545	1,907,975	455,888	1,452,087	37.0	8.8	28.2
1987	52 777	1,902,604	466,161	1,436,443	36.0	8.8	27.2
1988	54,011	1,912,765	427,018	1,485,747	35.4	7.9	27.5	4.4
1989	55,207	1,722,934	414,214	1,308,720	31.2	7.5	23.7
1990	51,911	1,687,000	393,250	1,293,750	32.5	7.6	24.9
1991	52,985	1,636,551	391,588	1,244,963	30.9	7.4	23.5	4.1
1992	54,082	1,496,866	382,465	1,114,401	27.7	7.1	20.6
1993	55,201	1,600,549	380,000	1,220,549	29.0	6.9	22.1
1994	56 344	1,610,652	385,296	1,225,356	28.6	6.8	21.7
1995	57,642	1,604,835	384,548	1,220,287	27.8	6.7	21.2	3.6
1996	58 835	1,662,065	379,983	1,282,082	28.2	6.5	21.8
1997	60,053	1,654,695	389,301	1,265,394	27.6	6.5	21.1	3.3
1998	61,296	1,687,252	399,772	1,287,480	27.5	6.5	21.0	3.4
1999	62,565	1,693,025	401,433	1,291,592	27.1	6.4	20.6
2000	63,860	1,751,854	404,699	1,347,155	27.4	6.3	21.1	3.5
2001	65,182	1,741,308	404,531	1,336,777	26.7	6.2	20.5
2002	66,628	1,766,589	424,034	1,342,555	26.5	6.4	20.2
2003	67,965	1,777,418	440,149	1,337,269	26.2	6.5	19.7	3.2
2004	69,304	1,779,500	440,790	1,338,710	25.7	6.4	19.3
2005	70,653	1,800,972	450,646	1,350,326	25.5	6.4	19.1	3.1
2006	72,009	1,853,746	451,863	1,401,883	25.7	6.3	19.5
2007	73,644	1,949,569	450,596	1,498,973	26.5	6.1	20.4
2008	75 194	2,050,704	461,934	1,588,770	27.4	5.9	21.5	3.0
2009	76,925	2,217,409	476,592	1,740,817	28.8	6.2	22.6
2010	78,685	2,261,409	483,385	1,778,024	28.7	6.1	22.6
2011	80,530	2,442,094	493,086	1,949,008	30.3	6.1	24.2
2012	82,550	2,629,769	529,247	2,100,522	31.9	6.4	25.5
2013	84,629	2,621,957	511,847	2,110,110	31.0	6.0	25.0	≈4

Source: Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)

Ethnic groups

The vast majority of the population of Egypt consists of ethnic Egyptians The vast majority of Egyptians are native speakers of modern Egyptian Arabic.

Ethnic minorities in Egypt include the Bedouin Arab tribes of the Sinai Peninsula and the eastern desert, 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, Syrians, Jews and Armenians, 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.

The CIA World Factbook lists "Egyptians" as 99.6%, and "other" as 0.4% (2006 census). "Other" refers to people who are not citizens of Egypt, who come to Egypt to work for international companies, diplomats, etc.

Other sources give more detailed statistics, including Bedouins, the Beja (ca. 1 million), the Nubians (ca. 300,000 in 1996), Dom (ca. 230,000 in 1996), Berbers (Siwis) (ca. 5,000).

Languages

Main article: Languages of Egypt

Arabic (official; see also Egyptian Arabic and Sa'idi Arabic); English widely understood as well as French.

Religions

According to the CIA World Factbook, approximately 91% of the population is Muslim and 9% is Christian (8% Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, 1% other Christian).

• Muslim 90% (Mostly Sunni)
• Christianity 10%
• Bahá'í: fewer than 2,000 individuals (< 0.003%).
• Judaism: fewer than 200 individuals.

Education

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.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Population pyramid in 2005. Many of those 30 and younger are educated citizens who are experiencing difficulty finding work.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Infant mortality rate

22.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.45 years

male: 70.82 years

female: 76.2 years (2014 est.)

Nationality

noun: Egyptian(s)

adjective: Egyptian

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 73.85%

male: 82.1% (2015 est.)[3]

female: 65.6% (2015 est.)[4],

Genetics

Y-Chromosome

Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Egypt.

Haplogroup

n

A

B

E1a

E1b1a

E1b1b1

E1b1b1a

E1b1b1a1

E1b1b1a1b

E1b1b1a2

E1b1b1a3

E1b1b1a4

E1b1b1b

E1b1b1c

F

G

I

J1

J2

K

L

O

P,R

Q

R1a

R1b1a

R1b1b

R2

T

Marker

M33

M2

M35

M78

V12

V32

V13

V22

V65

M81

M34

M89

M201

V88

M269

M70

Egypt

370

1.35

-

0.54

2.43

3.24

0.81

7.03

1.62

0.81

9.19

2.43

11.89

6.76

1.08

5.68

0.54

20.81

6.75

0.27

0.81

0.27

0.54

0.27

2.16

2.97

2.97

0.54

6.22

See also

• Health in Egypt
• List of cities in Egypt
• Population history of Egypt

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)
•  This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

External links

• Demographics of ancient Egypt