Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East, and the fourth-most populous on the African continent, after Nigeria, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of the Congo. About 95% of the country's 104 million people (July 2023) 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 people 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 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 size and distribution

Egypt has a population of 109,500,000 (2023). According to the OECD/World Bank statistics population growth in Egypt from 1990 to 2008 was 23.7 million and 41%.

History

Age distribution

Data taken from Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Percentage distribution of population in censuses by age group Population estimates by sex and age group (1 July 2010): Population estimates by sex and age group (1 July 2012): Population estimates by sex and age group (1 January 2013): Population estimates by sex and age group (1 July 2013): Population estimates by sex and age group (1 July 2014) in thousands: Household population by age and sex (DHS 2014). Total population in thousands: 114 428 (Males 56 926, Females 57 501) [ Population estimates by sex and age group (1 January 2015): Historical and present population distribution:

Urban and rural population

Figures from CAPMAS:

Population projections

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 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. Furthermore, as of 2022, the population of Egypt reached 111 million, which is a figure even higher than what is projected for 2030.

Vital statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022. Vital statistics:

Current vital statistics

Fertility rate (Demographic Health Survey)

Fertility rate (TFR) (wanted fertility rate) and CBR (crude birth rate):

Life expectancy at birth

Average life expectancy at age 0 of the total population.

Demographics by Governorate

Urban and Rural Population of Governorates

Data taken from CAPMAS:

Population density by governorate

As of 1 July 2014; data taken from CAPMAS: Information for population is in thousands, pop density – persons/km2 and area is in km2.

Ethnic groups

The CIA World Factbook lists Egyptians as 99.7%, and "other" as 0.3% (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, the native Egyptians make up 95% of the population. The vast majority of Egyptians are speakers of the Egyptian Arabic dialect. Minorities in Egypt include 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. 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 European occupation 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 (ca. 88,000), the Nubians (ca. 300,000 in 1996), Dom (ca. 230,000 in 1996), Berbers (Siwis) (ca. 5,000).

Languages

Arabic is the official language of Egypt, with the vast majority of Egyptians speaking Egyptian Arabic. In The Upper Nile valley regions, Sa'idi Arabic is prevalent. The Coptic language is still used in the Coptic church for the majority of prayers, hymns, masses, and meditations. English is widely understood. Siwa language is 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

According to the CIA World Factbook, 90% of the population is Muslim and 10% is Christian (majority Coptic Orthodox, other Christians include Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, Maronite, Orthodox, and Anglican).

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 (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).

Genetics

Autosomal DNA

Almarri, Mohamed A et al. (2021) analyzed present-day Middle-Eastern groups. They modelled the components of a sample from Egypt as being made up of four ancient populations: 45% Levant Neolithic/Natufian, 33% Iran Neolithic, 15% Mota, and 8% Eastern Hunter Gatherer.

mtDNA

Saunier, Jessica et al. (2009) sequenced mitogenomes from 277 unrelated Egyptian individuals. The results showed that 20.6% of the Egyptian mtDNA chromosomes were of Sub-Saharan African origin, while 79.4% were of West Eurasian.

Y-DNA

Listed here are some of the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Egypt, according to Bekada, Asmahan et al. (2013).