Demographics of Egypt


is the most populous country in the entire Middle East and the third-most populous on the African continent. About 95% of the country's 100 million people live along the banks of the Nile and in 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 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, the basic problem Egypt has is an unemployment rate 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 51.2% of Egyptians are under the age of 25, with just 4.3% over the age of 65, making it one of the most youthful populations in the world.

Population

Egypt has a population of 92,000,000. According to the OECD/World Bank statistics population growth in Egypt from 1990 to 2008 was 23.7 million and 41%.

Age distribution

Data taken from Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Percentage Distribution of Population in Censuses by Age Group
Age group2006199619861976
0–410.611.615.313.9
5–910.512.913.212.8
10–1410.613.311.613.4
15–1911.811.610.610.9
20–2410.88.68.98.4
25–298.87.47.77.3
30–346.56.76.45.8
35–396.46.56.15.6
40–445.65.34.45.1
45–495.14.54.04.2
50–544.23.43.54.0
55–593.12.52.62.4
60–642.32.42.42.7
65–691.61.61.41.4
70–741.11.01.11.2
75+1.00.80.81.0

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group :
Age groupMaleFemale%Total
0–44,2824,07210.68,354
5–94,2654,00710.58,272
10–144,3304,02310.68,353
15–194,7384,50111.79,239
20–244,3584,15510.88,513
25–293,4123,4988.86,910
30–342,6142,5036.55,117
35–392,4982,5366.45,034
40–442,2372,1865.64,423
45–492,0291,9425.03,971
50–541,6681,6404.23,308
55–591,3121,1363.12,448
60–649718712.31 842
65–696935971.61 290
70–744354191.1854
75+4083921.0800
Total40,25038,47810078,728

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group :
Age groupMaleFemale%Total
0–44,7804,41011.179,190
5–94,5344,19210.608,726
10–143,9703,7069.337,676
15–193,9703,7469.377,710
20–244,2364,02410.048,260
25–294,0843,9249.738,008
30–343,3463,2498.016,595
35–392,5892,5246.215,113
40–442,2622,2065.434,468
45–492,0772,0375.004,114
50–541,8211,7984.403,619
55–591,4941,4803.612,974
60–641,1051,1132.692,218
65–697677851.891,552
70–745015171.241,018
75+5225361.291,058
Total42,05840,24710082,305

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group :
Age groupMaleFemale%Total
0–44,8614,48111.179,342
5–94,6104,25910.608,869
10–144,0383,7659.337,803
15–194,0383,8059.377,843
20–244,3094,08910.048,398
25–294,1523,9879.738,139
30–343,4033,3008.016,703
35–392,6332,5646.215,197
40–442,3002,2415.434,541
45–492,1132,0695.004,182
50–541,8521,8274.403,679
55–591,5191,5043.613,023
60–641,1241,1302.692,254
65–697817971.891,578
70–745105251.241,035
75–792913030.71594
80+2392420.57481
Total42,77340,88810083,661

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group :
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
0–44 910 5944 538 7409 449 33411,17
5–94 657 9004 313 8488 971 74810,60
10–144 079 8943 812 9517 892 8459,33
15–194 079 8943 853 8407 933 6349,37
20–244 353 2894 140 2798 493 56810,04
25–294 195 5614 037 8438 233 4049,73
30–343 438 4673 342 7216 781 1888,01
35–392 660 3432 596 4875 256 8306,21
40–442 323 8572 269 3704 593 2275,43
45–492 134 5842 095 5904 230 1735,00
50–541 871 7041 850 2523 721 9564,40
55–591 535 2181 523 1363 058 3543,61
60–641 135 6411 144 9072 280 5482,69
65–69788 639807 5691 596 2081,89
70–74515 244531 5641 046 8091,24
75–79294 425306 672601 0970,71
80+241 849246 108487 9570,58
Total43 217 10541 411 87784 628 982100

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group in thousands:
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
0–45 1024 7289 83011,3
5–94 7294 3989 12710,5
10–144 2253 9598 1849,4
15–194 3124 0778 3899,7
20–244 5654 3658 93010,4
25–294 2804 1198 3999,7
30–343 4133 3196 7327,8
35–392 6782 6045 2826,1
40–442 3912 3494 7405,5
45–492 1942 1564 3505,0
50–541 8981 8773 7754,3
55–591 5471 5363 0833,6
60–641 1301 1312 2612,6
65–697898011 5901,8
70–745155351 0501,2
75+5375551 0921,3
Total44 30542 50986 814100

Household population by age and sex.
Total Population in thousands: 114 428
Age GroupMale Female Total
0–414,112,613,4
5–912,111,111,6
10–1410,79,910,3
15–199,19,09,1
20–247,88,68,2
25–298,29,48,8
30–347,07,77,3
35–395,96,26,0
40–444,85,14,9
45–494,74,74,7
50–544,24,54,4
55–593,43,73,5
60–643,43,33,4
65–692,01,91,9
70–741,41,31,3
75–790,60,50,5
80+0,50,60,6

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group :
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
0–45 168 2304 791 8129 960 04211,3
5–94 790 3384 456 4939 246 83110,5
10–144 279 0724 013 0088 292 0809,4
15–194 367 9884 131 9918 499 9799,7
20–244 623 6214 424 0439 047 66410,3
25–294 334 6454 175 2588 509 9039,7
30–343 456 6013 364 0046 820 6057,8
35–392 711 9322 639 2825 351 2146,1
40–442 422 9542 379 6824 802 6365,5
45–492 222 8932 184 9804 407 8735,0
50–541 922 8031 903 7453 826 5484,4
55–591 567 1391 557 6103 124 7493,6
60–641 144 7891 146 5742 291 3632,6
65–69800 241811 2541 611 4951,8
70–74522 379540 8371 063 2161,2
75+544 608562 4701 107 0781,3
Total44 880 23343 083 043 87 963 276100

Historical and Present Population Distribution:
Age group2015/01/012013/07/012013/01/012012/07/012010/07/012006199619861976
0–1431.26 31.09 31.1 31.1 31.7 31.737.840.140
15–6464.44 64.50 64.49 64.48 64.6 64.658.756.656.4
65+4.30 4.41 4.41 4.42 3.7 3.73.53.33.6

Egyptians abroad

Egyptians have a long history of mobility, primarily across the Arab world, but emigration became much more popular once it was recognised as a right in the 1971 Constitution. 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, circulation of human and social capital, as well as investment. Approximately 70% of Egyptian migrants live in Arab countries and the remaining 30% are living mostly North America and Europe.

Urban and Rural Population

Figures from CAPMAS:
Midyear
Population
Urban Population Urban Population Rural Population Rural Population
199051 91122 51943.429 39256.6
199152 98522 90843.230 07756.8
199254 08223 36643.230 71656.8
199355 20123 80443.131 39756.9
199456 34424 27643.132 06856.9
199557 64224 70942.932 93357.1
199658 83525 05342.633 78257.4
199760 05325 57842.634 47557.4
199861 29626 10442.635 19257.4
199962 56526 55942.536 00657.5
200063 86027 13242.536 72857.5
200165 18228 11843.137 06456.9
200266 62828 55442.938 07457.1
200367 96529 13042.938 83557.1
200469 30429 65342.839 65157.2
200570 65330 18742.740 46657.3
200672 00930 58542.541 42457.5
200773 64431 72043.141 92456.9
200875 19432 24942.942 94557.1
200976 92533 08343.043 84257.0
201078 68533 80443.044 88157.0
201180 53034 48942.846 04157.2
201282 55035 37342.947 17757.1
201384 62936 21342.848 41657.2
201486 81437 09542.749 71957.3

Future Population Projections

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics had released high/medium/low population projections for 2011–2031 based on Final Results of 2006 Population Census. The 2020 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, 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

Vital statistics:
Midyear populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Total fertility rate
193415,449,000651,663429,851221,81242.227.814.4-
193515,624,000645,760412,197233,56341.326.414.9-
193615,801,000698,186455,832242,35444.228.815.3-
193716,009,000694,086434,208259,87843.427.116.2-
193816,300,000704,376429,248275,12843.226.316.9-
193916,598,000696,746429,033267,71342.025.816.1-
194016,900,000697,700444,448253,25241.326.315.0-
194117,208,000695,016440,981254,03540.425.614.8-
194217,522,000658,324494,358163,96637.628.29.4-
194317,842,000689,771492,644197,12738.727.611.0-
194418,167,000722,166472,234249,93239.826.013.8-
194518,498,000787,502512,003275,49942.627.714.9-
194618,835,000776,000484,000292,00041.225.715.5-
194719,197,000834,557408,577425,98043.521.322.2-
194819,529,000832,728397,976434,75242.620.422.3-
194919,989,000831,310410,524420,78641.620.521.1-
195021,514,000904,941388,944515,99744.219.025.2-
195122,020,000934,584402,158532,42644.619.225.4-
195222,562,000969,443380,633588,81045.217.827.5-
195323,138,000934,830429,097505,73342.619.623.0-
195423,747,000957,158401,306555,85242.617.924.7-
195524,387,000926,500405,663520,83740.317.622.7-
195625,057,000958,880384,974573,90640.716.424.4-
195725,756,000914,494429,512484,98238.017.820.1-
195826,480,0001,013,743409,197604,54641.116.624.5-
195927,228,0001,078,947411,188667,75942.816.326.5-
196027,998,0001,113,888437,822676,06643.016.926.1-
196128,786,0001,166,620420,158746,46243.915.828.1-
196229,591,0001,125,798486,699639,09941.317.923.4-
196330,410,0001,196,388431,673764,71542.815.427.4-
196431,242,0001,205,785449,375756,41042.115.726.4-
196532,084,0001,220,658411,636809,02241.514.027.5-
196632,937,0001,234,976477,021757,95541.015.825.1-
196733,799,0001,210,214440,161770,05339.214.224.9-
196834,660,0001,206,585509,430697,15538.116.122.0-
196935,511,0001,197,245468,017729,22836.814.422.4-
197036,342,0001,161,539500,626660,91334.915.019.8-
197137,152,0001,186,350445,192741,15834.813.121.8-
197237,945,0001,187,286499,628687,65834.114.319.7-
197338,734,0001,259,004459,816799,18835.312.922.4-
197439,534,0001,287,614457,620829,99435.412.622.8-
197540,359,0001,331,799456,041875,75836.012.323.7-
197641,213,0001,378,917444,228934,68936.411.724.7-
197742,094,0001,447,402457,558989,84437.311.825.5-
197843,006,0001,479,698415,6051,064,09337.210.526.8-
197943,951,0001,633,674444,7531,188,92140.010.929.1-
198044,932,0001,569,247421,2271,148,02037.310.027.35.3
198145,946,0001,593,698432,2641,161,43436.810.026.8-
198246,991,0001,601,265441,6211,159,64434.19.424.7-
198348,072,0001,666,915412,7001,254,21534.78.626.1-
198449,190,0001,797,206400,6001,396,60636.58.128.44.9
198550,347,0001,903,022442,2581,460,76437.88.829.0-
198651,545,0001,907,975455,8881,452,08737.08.828.2-
198752,777,0001,902,604466,1611,436,44336.08.827.2-
198854,011,0001,912,765427,0181,485,74735.47.927.54.4
198955,207,0001,722,934414,2141,308,72031.27.523.7-
199051,911,0001,687,000393,2501,293,75032.57.624.9-
199152,985,0001,636,551391,5881,244,96330.97.423.54.1
199254,082,0001,496,866382,4651,114,40127.77.120.6-
199355,201,0001,600,549380,0001,220,54929.06.922.1-
199456,344,0001,610,652385,2961,225,35628.66.821.7-
199557,642,0001,604,835384,5481,220,28727.86.721.23.6
199658,835,0001,662,065379,9831,282,08228.26.521.8-
199760,053,0001,654,695389,3011,265,39427.66.521.13.3
199861,296,0001,687,252399,7721,287,48027.56.521.03.4
199962,565,0001,693,025401,4331,291,59227.16.420.6-
200063,860,0001,751,854404,6991,347,15527.46.321.13.5
200165,182,0001,741,308404,5311,336,77726.76.220.5-
200266,628,0001,766,589424,0341,342,55526.56.420.2-
200367,965,0001,777,418440,1491,337,26926.26.519.73.2
200469,304,0001,779,500440,7901,338,71025.76.419.3-
200570,653,0001,800,972450,6461,350,32625.56.419.13.1
200672,009,0001,853,746451,8631,401,88325.76.319.5-
200773,644,0001,949,569450,5961,498,97326.56.120.4-
200875,194,0002,050,704461,9341,588,77027.45.921.53.0
200976,925,0002,217,409476,5921,740,81728.86.222.6-
201078,685,0002,261,409483,3851,778,02428.76.122.6-
201180,530,0002,442,094493,0861,949,00830.36.124.2-
201282,550,0002,629,769529,2472,100,52231.96.425.5-
201384,629,0002,621,902511,0002,110,71931.06.025.0-
201486,814,0002,720,495531,8642,188,63131.36.125.23.5
201589,279,0002,685,276573,1292,123,10230.26.523.7
201692,216,0002,600,173556,1482,044,02528.66.122.5
201794,190,0002,557,400547,2001,971,11526.85.620.13.1
20182,382,362560,3081,822,05424.55.818.72.9
20192,312,000570,0001,741,00023.45.817.62.77

Current natural increase for Egypt

Fertility Rate and CBR :
YearCBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR
199229,73,93 23,32,92 35,04,91
199528,03,63 23,93,01 31,44,19
19973,32,73,7
1998273,4232,8313,9
200027,83,53 24,83,09 30,13,88
200326,33,2 21,72,6 29,83,6
200527,13,1 23,62,7 29,63,4
200826,63,0 23,32,7 29,13,2
201429,13,5 23,32,9 32,73,8

Life expectancy at birth

Average Life expectancy at age 0 of the total population.
PeriodLife expectancy in
Years
PeriodLife expectancy in
Years
1950–195541.11985–199063.5
1955–196046.41990–199565.4
1960–196549.31995–200068.0
1965–197051.62000–200569.0
1970–197553.02005–201069.9
1975–198056.82010–201570.8
1980–198559.9

Demographics by Governorate

Urban and Rural Population of Governorates

Data taken from CAPMAS:
Governorate% UrbanPopulation RuralUrban
Alexandria4812186566984755488
Aswan1431488826543604945
Asyut424521531191121126103
Beheira580426246743461129916
Beni Suef2856812662941
Cairo927844109278441
Dakahlia594900142714281677573
Damietta1330843815244515599
Faiyum31701502456368713782
Gharbia475186533246301427235
Giza758511531383104446805
Ismailia1178641643778534863
Kafr el-Sheikh31727532441246731507
Luxor1147058713422433636
Matruh447846131841316005
Minya51567024183284973418
Monufia39412933128460812833
New Valley225416117180108236
North Sinai434781173095261686
Port Said6665990666599
Qalyubia510597228250452280927
Qena30455042445051600453
Red Sea34577517062328713
Sharqia648541249877071497705
Sohag46038613618543985318
South Sinai1674268192485502
Suez6228590622859
Total42.787,963,27650,384,18837,579,088

Population Density by Governorate

Data taken from CAPMAS:. Information for population is in thousands, pop density – persons/km2 and area is in km2.
GovernoratePopulation in thousands Pop. Density Pop. Density % Inhabited to TotalInhabited AreaTotal Area
Alexandria4761
Aswan1412
Asyut4181
Beheira5720
Beni Suef2812
Cairo9184
Dakahlia5881
Damietta1316
Faiyum3118
Gharbia4698
Giza7487
Ismailia1162
Kafr el-Sheikh3132
Luxor1132
Matruh437
Minya5076
Monufia3890
New Valley222
North Sinai428
Port Said660
Qalyubia5044
Qena3001
Red Sea341
Sharqia6402
Sohag4536
South Sinai166
Suez615
Total86,8141109.185.97.878272.981010407.87

Ethnic groups

The CIA World Factbook lists Egyptians as 99.7%, and "other" as 0.3%. "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 Egyptian 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 and the Nubian people clustered along the Nile in the southernmost part of Egypt. There are also sizable minorities of Beja and Dom. There are also refugees mainly composed of Sudanese, and the over all refugees are estimated to be around 3–5 million, those from war-zone areas like Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Eritrea.
The country was also host to many different communities during the colonial period, including Greeks, Italians, and also from war-torn areas; the Lebanese, Syro-Lebanese, and other minority groups like 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, the Nubians, Dom, Berbers .

Languages

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 is widely understood as well as French.
Siwa language used in ethnic Berber tribal areas in the western desert, and Nubian language is widely used among the ethnic Nubians in the southern areas.

Religions

According to the CIA World Factbook, approximately 90% of the population is Muslim and 10% is Christian.
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, 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,. 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

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

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth

Nationality

Literacy

Genetics

Y-Chromosome

Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Egypt.
HaplogroupnABE1aE1b1aE1b1b1E1b1b1aE1b1b1a1E1b1b1a1bE1b1b1a2E1b1b1a3E1b1b1a4E1b1b1bE1b1b1cFGIJ1J2KLOP,RQR1aR1b1aR1b1bR2T
MarkerM33M2M35M78V12V32V13V22V65M81M34M89M201V88M269M70
Egypt3701.35-0.542.433.240.817.031.620.819.192.4311.896.761.085.680.5420.816.750.270.810.270.540.272.162.972.970.546.22