Demographics of Egypt - Population of Egypt

Population of Egypt

Structure of the population (01.07.2010):

Egypt has a population of 82,999,393 (APR 2011). According to the OECD/World Bank statistics population growth in Egypt from 1990 to 2008 was 23.7 million and 41%.

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 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).

The vast majority of the population of Egypt consists of ethnic Egyptians (99.6% according to the CIA Fact-book, 76.4 million(2007est)according to Al-Ahram Weekly). The vast majority of Egyptians are native speakers of modern Egyptian Arabic (Masri). According to the CIA World Factbook, approximately 91% of the population is Muslim and 9% is Christian (8% Coptic Orthodox, 1% other Christian).

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 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.