Demographics of Egypt


Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East, and the third-most populous on the African continent, after Nigeria and Ethiopia. About 95% of the country's 107 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 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, 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 116,538,000. According to the OECD/World Bank statistics population growth in Egypt from 1990 to 2008 was 23.7 million and 41%.

History

Image:Historical_population_of_Egypt.svg|thumb|left|Historical population growth in Egypt; data from Our World in Data

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 group1 January 20151 July 20131 January 20131 July 20121 July 20102006199619861976
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

Urban and rural population

Figures from CAPMAS:

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. 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.
  • One birth every 12 seconds
  • One death every 52 seconds
  • One net migrant every 13 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 17 seconds
Vital statistics:
Midyear populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Crude migration rate Total fertility rate
193415,449,000651,663429,851221,81242.227.814.46.08
193515,624,000645,760412,197233,56341.326.414.9-3.75.97
193615,801,000698,186455,832242,35444.228.815.3-4.15.95
193716,009,000694,086434,208259,87843.427.116.2-3.25.93
193816,300,000704,376429,248275,12843.226.316.91.05.91
193916,598,000696,746429,033267,71342.025.816.11.95.90
194016,900,000697,700444,448253,25241.326.315.02.95.88
194117,208,000695,016440,981254,03540.425.614.83.15.92
194217,522,000658,324494,358163,96637.628.29.48.55.97
194317,842,000689,771492,644197,12738.727.611.06.96.01
194418,167,000722,166472,234249,93239.826.013.84.16.05
194518,498,000787,502512,003275,49942.627.714.93.06.10
194618,835,000776,000484,000292,00041.225.715.52.46.21
194719,197,000834,557408,577425,98043.521.322.2-3.36.32
194819,529,000832,728397,976434,75242.620.422.3-5.36.43
194919,989,000831,310410,524420,78641.620.521.11.96.54
195021,514,000904,941388,944515,99744.219.025.245.76.65
195122,020,000934,584402,158532,42644.619.225.4-2.46.66
195222,562,000969,443380,633588,81045.217.827.5-3.56.69
195323,138,000934,830429,097505,73342.619.623.01.96.71
195423,747,000957,158401,306555,85242.617.924.70.96.72
195524,387,000926,500405,663520,83740.317.622.73.56.73
195625,057,000958,880384,974573,90640.716.424.42.36.74
195725,756,000914,494429,512484,98238.017.820.17.06.74
195826,480,0001,013,743409,197604,54641.116.624.52.86.74
195927,228,0001,078,947411,188667,75942.816.326.51.06.73
196027,998,0001,113,888437,822676,06643.016.926.11.46.72
196128,786,0001,166,620420,158746,46243.915.828.1-0.76.70
196229,591,0001,125,798486,699639,09941.317.923.43.86.67
196330,410,0001,196,388431,673764,71542.815.427.4-0.57.65
196431,242,0001,205,785449,375756,41042.115.726.40.26.62
196532,084,0001,220,658411,636809,02241.514.027.5-1.36.58
196632,937,0001,234,976477,021757,95541.015.825.10.86.53
196733,799,0001,210,214440,161770,05339.214.224.90.66.47
196834,660,0001,206,585509,430697,15538.116.122.02.86.40
196935,511,0001,197,245468,017729,22836.814.422.41.66.42
197036,342,0001,161,539500,626660,91334.915.019.83.16.23
197137,152,0001,186,350445,192741,15834.813.121.806.14
197237,945,0001,187,286499,628687,65834.114.319.71.27.06
197338,734,0001,259,004459,816799,18835.312.922.4-2.05.97
197439,534,0001,287,614457,620829,99435.412.622.8-2.65.90
197540,359,0001,331,799456,041875,75836.012.323.7-3.35.83
197641,213,0001,378,917444,228934,68936.411.724.7-4.05.78
197742,094,0001,447,402457,558989,84437.311.825.5-4.65.73
197843,006,0001,479,698415,6051,064,09337.210.526.8-5.85.68
197943,951,0001,633,674444,7531,188,92140.010.929.1-7.65.64
198044,932,0001,569,247421,2271,148,02037.310.027.3-5.55.60
198145,946,0001,593,698432,2641,161,43436.810.026.8-4,75.57
198246,991,0001,601,265441,6211,159,64434.19.424.7-2.55.53
198348,072,0001,666,915412,7001,254,21534.78.626.1-3.65.49
198449,190,0001,797,206400,6001,396,60636.58.128.44.95.44
198550,347,0001,903,022442,2581,460,76437.88.829.0-6.05.38
198651,545,0001,907,975455,8881,452,08737.08.828.2-5.05.29
198752,777,0001,902,604466,1611,436,44336.08.827.2-3.95.18
198854,011,0001,912,765427,0181,485,74735.47.927.5-4.74.4
198955,207,0001,722,934414,2141,308,72031.27.523.7-2.0
199051,911,0001,687,000393,2501,293,75032.57.624.9-88.4
199152,985,0001,636,551391,5881,244,96330.97.423.5-3.24.1
199254,082,0001,496,866382,4651,114,40127.77.120.6-0.3
199355,201,0001,600,549380,0001,220,54929.06.922.1-1.8
199456,344,0001,610,652385,2961,225,35628.66.821.7-1.4
199557,642,0001,604,835384,5481,220,28727.86.721.21.33.6
199658,835,0001,662,065379,9831,282,08228.26.521.8-1.5
199760,053,0001,654,695389,3011,265,39427.66.521.1-0.83.3
199861,296,0001,687,252399,7721,287,48027.56.521.0-0.73.4
199962,565,0001,693,025401,4331,291,59227.16.420.6-0.3
200063,860,0001,751,854404,6991,347,15527.46.321.1-0.83.5
200165,182,0001,741,308404,5311,336,77726.76.220.5-0.2
200266,628,0001,766,589424,0341,342,55526.56.420.21.5
200367,965,0001,777,418440,1491,337,26926.26.519.703.2
200469,304,0001,779,500440,7901,338,71025.76.419.30
200570,653,0001,800,972450,6461,350,32625.56.419.103.1
200672,009,0001,853,746451,8631,401,88325.76.319.5-0.7
200774,828,0001,949,569450,5961,498,97326.56.120.417.3
200876,651,0002,050,704461,9341,588,77027.45.921.52.33.0
200978,522,0002,217,409476,5921,740,81728.86.222.61.2
201080,443,0002,261,409483,3851,778,02428.76.122.61.3
201182,410,0002,442,094493,0861,949,00830.36.124.2-0.3
201284,418,0002,629,769529,2472,100,52231.96.425.5-1.7
201386,460,0002,621,902511,0002,110,71931.06.025.0-1.4
201488,530,0002,720,495531,8642,188,63131.36.125.2-1.83.5
201590,624,0002,685,276573,1292,123,10230.26.523.7-0.63.4
201692,737,0002,600,173556,1482,044,02528.66.122.50.33.25
201795,203,0002,557,400547,2001,971,11526.85.621.24.73.12
201897,147,0002,382,362560,3081,822,05424.55.818.71.33.0
201998,902,0002,304,800570,6001,734,20023.35.817.50.23.009
2020100,617,0002,235,300664,8001,570,50022.26.615.61.32.885
2021102,061,0002,184,605741,9001,442,70521.47.314.10.22.796
2022103,605,0002,193,001601,7811,591,22021.25.815.4-0.52.761
2023105,174,0002,044,891582,7911,462,10019.45.513.9-5.82.537
2024106,556,0001,968,396611,4211,356,97518.55.712.80.32.412
2025

Demographic and Health Surveys

Fertility rate and CBR :

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
Alexandria5163750682935095457
Aswan1473975868820605155
Asyut438328932482251135064
Beheira617161350506301120983
Beni Suef3154100715966
Cairo953967309539673
Dakahlia649238146565921835789
Damietta1496765907542589223
Faiyum35969542768329828625
Gharbia499963335943361405297
Giza863202133658185266203
Ismailia1303993724046579947
Kafr el-Sheikh33621852557058805127
Luxor1250209744669505540
Matruh425624158546267078
Minya54970954507931989164
Monufia43016013410855890746
New Valley241247130253110994
North Sinai450328167217283111
Port Said7493710749371
Qalyubia562742032249292402491
Qena31642812569795594486
Red Sea35988812516347372
Sharqia716382454226981741126
Sohag496740939131091054300
South Sinai1020184807953939
Suez7281800728180
Total94,798,82754,558,42040,240,407

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%. "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 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 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, the Nubians, Dom, Berbers .
In its latest assessment of migratory presences in Egypt, IOM has revealed that the current number of international migrants residing in Egypt is 9,012,582, equivalent to 8.7% of the Egyptian population. This migrant population is made up of people from 133 countries, among whom the largest groups are Sudanese, Syrians, Yemenis and Libyans. These four nationalities make up 80% of the international migrants currently residing in the country.
In 2023, EU's Josep Borrell, then the High Representative/Vice-President, estimated that refugees in Egypt make up 10% of the total population of the country.

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, 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.

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.

Genetics

Autosomal DNA

Almarri, Mohamed A et al. analyzed present-day Middle-Eastern groups. They modelled the components of a sample from Egypt as being made up of four ancient populations: 50% Natufian, 31% Iran Neolithic, 12% Mota, and 7% Eastern Hunter Gatherer.

mtDNA

Saunier, Jessica et al. 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..
HaplogroupnABE1aE1b1aE1b1b1E1b1b1aE1b1b1a1E1b1b1a1bE1b1b1a2E1b1b1a3E1b1b1a4E1b1b1bE1b1b1cFGIJ1J2KLOP, RQR1aR1b1aR1b1bR2T
MarkerM33M2M35M78V12V32V13V22V65M81M34M89M201V88M269M70
Egypt3701.350.542.433.240.817.031.620.819.192.4311.896.761.085.680.5420.816.750.270.810.270.540.272.162.972.970.546.22