Population
According to
Countryaah, Egypt, on the surface, is more than twice as large as
Sweden, but 96 percent is desert. The inhabited parts are
confined to the Nile Delta in the north and to a narrow
strip of land on either side of the river in the south;
these areas are among the most densely populated in the
world. Population growth is very fast; from around 10
million residents in 1900, the population has increased to
just over 98 million. Above all, the very high birth rates
and declining death rates are behind the rate of increase.
Urban growth is also fast. In 2019, 43 percent of the
population lived in cities, of which Cairo (9.3 million
residents, 2019), Alexandria (5.1 million) and Giza (4.2
million) are the largest.
For information on life expectancy and other demographic
statistics, see Country facts.
In northern Egypt, the population is characterized by
repeated migrations, while in the southern parts they
exhibit physical features that are still strongly
reminiscent of the people of the Pharaohs.
Ethnically, the people of Egypt today are more
homogeneous than ever in the country's modern history. The
Arab majority is overwhelming. Bedouins, found on the Sinai
Peninsula, number 900,000. In the Siwaoas, 30,000 berber
live. Immigrant minorities - mainly Greeks, Italians,
Englishmen, Frenchmen and Jews of different nationalities -
played an important role in economic development during the
first half of the 20th century, reaching a maximum of
200,000 in the 1920s. In line with Egypt's modernization,
the often privileged position of these minorities was
undermined, which led to extensive emigration. In total,
there are still smaller groups today, including Armenians
(6,000), Greeks (just over 3,000) and Italians (3,000),
which, however, are declining rapidly. Newer immigrant
groups include Filipino, Korean and Pakistani guest workers.
Other ethnic groups are Nubians (900,000) and beja(60,000),
however, who are Egyptian citizens. Related to beja is
hedareb (81,000). There are also several groups of domes,
which in a lifestyle resemble European Roma. According to
some estimates, they amount to 1 million.
The Christian population of Egypt, the Copts, is a
religious minority whose size and significance is highly
contested. According to official data, the number amounts to
between four and six million (about 5-8 percent of the
population), while Coptic sources claim that they make up at
least 10 percent (see Religion).
Language
The official language of Egypt is highly Arabic. In the
spoken language, both main types are found by New Arabic
dialects, hadari and badawi. The most important dialect
boundary is between the Bahraini dialects at the Nile delta
and the Saadian dialects in the Nile valley. The former
belong to the hadaric pen, while the latter are of badawi
type or are old hadaric dialects strongly influenced by
badawi. The dialect in Cairo, a hate speech, plays an
increasingly important role as a prestigious spoken
language. It is also used as a literary medium, especially
in the theater.
Egypt also speaks a Berber language (in the Siwaoas), two
Nubian dialects (mahas and kanuz) around Assuan, and in the
southeast the Cushitic Beja.
Religion
According to official data from 2011, about 90% of the
population are Muslims, the vast majority of whom are Sunni
Muslims. The Hanafite law school has traditionally had some
dominance, but all of the Sunni schools have supporters in
the country. Today, Shia occupies a modest place (just under
1% of the population), despite Egypt being the most
important Shiite state under Fatimids over 200 years of age,
with the year 970 inaugurating al-Azhar University as a
propaganda center. After the fall of the Fatimid dynasty
(1171) and the closure of a century, al-Azhar instead became
the theological and legal center of Sunni Islam. The
university today attracts students from all over the Muslim
world. Important to the Shiites is the Husayn Mosque in
Cairo (which, like several other holy places, claims to hold
Husayn's head), III 's mausoleum in Assuan (this "descendant
descended to the fatimids" wanted to rest in the "land of
his fathers").
Islam is a state religion and since 1980 Islamic law
(Sharia) has been the guiding source of the country's
legislation. However, the Provisional Constitution of 2011
guarantees freedom of belief and prohibits discrimination on
the basis of faith. It also provides that political parties
or political activities based on religious authority may not
occur. Despite this, the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood and
Salafists were allowed to register as political parties in
2011, which, on the other hand, was denied a Shia-oriented
party.
Despite the constitutional formulations of religious
freedom, Copts and other Christian groups are limited in
their religious practice. It is, for example, it is very
difficult to get permission to build or repair churches. It
is also forbidden to convert from Islam to any other
religion and Muslim women are not allowed to marry men who
are not Muslims. Coptic law does not allow Coptic men to
marry Muslim women. The state pays the pay of imams but not
Coptic priests.
Egypt has had a prominent place in the Islamic world in
several respects. expressed itself that Egypt provided Kaba
in Mecca with its annual garments up to the 1950s (which the
Saudis themselves did). In cultural and educational
contexts, Egypt has been a leader, a relationship that has
especially entered the day in modern times.
The Copts, the ancient Christians of Egypt, who would
like to see themselves as inheritors to the ancient
Pharaonic culture, constitute the largest Christian church
in the Middle East (see Coptic-Orthodox Church). In addition
to the Copts, there are a number of other Christian churches
represented in the country. the Greek Orthodox and a number
of unified churches (Roman Catholic with Orthodox
liturgies). The Copts were in the majority until the 11th
century, although the Coptic language was replaced 200 years
earlier with Arabic and only survived in the liturgy, above
all.
According to official data, the number of Christians
including Copts amounts to between 7 and 12% of the
population. Egypt also has Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and Mormons. In addition, Bahai has about 2,000
members in the country.
The Copts have usually had decent conditions under Muslim
rule, protected as "the Coptic nation". However, tensions,
sometimes pure persecution, have occurred, e.g. in Middle
Egypt, where the Copts are particularly numerous. The Muslim
Brotherhood, founded in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna (assassinated
in 1949), advocates increased Islamization of the state's
institutions. The ultimate goal is to make Egypt an Islamic
state. The organization was banned in 1954, but from the
1970s onwards it has been able to operate fairly freely from
time to time. It has an effective network and a great
influence over wide peoples layers and within the trade
union movement. More militant groups have emerged from the
Muslim Brotherhood, of which al-Jamat al-Islamiyya("The
Islamic Group") and Islamic Jihad are among the more famous.
In connection with the regime's attempts to combat these
groups, the heads suffered revenge campaigns. Several
attacks against Coptic Christians took place during the
1990s. Attacks were also directed at foreign tourists as
well as government officials and Egyptian writers and
intellectuals. Throughout the 1990s, there were fighting
between Islamists and Egyptian security forces, with mass
arrests and executions as a result. Conflicts in the early
2000s have again shown strong contradictions between Muslims
and Copts.
The sectarian violence between Muslims and Copts has
increased since 2007, to further escalate after the January
revolt in 2011. This year, Muslims destroyed Coptic churches
in, among other places. Imbaba and Itfeeh. Clashes have also
occurred in 2012.
Of the particularly large Jewish population in Egypt,
which played a prominent role in the Middle Ages, some 600
people still remain today, while others state that only
about 100 Jews, most of them elderly, are in the country.
The vast majority of the 66,000 Jews from 1947 have
emigrated to Israel.
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