Census in Egypt

The practice of conducting a periodic census began in Egypt in the second millennium BC, where it was used for tax gathering and to determine fitness for military services.

Pre-modern censuses

Pharaonic era

Censuses in Egypt first appears in the late Middle Kingdom and develops in the New Kingdom.[1] Pharaoh Amasis, according to Herodotus, required every Egyptian to declare annually to the nomarch, "whence he gained his living".[2] Under the Ptolemies and the Romans several censuses were conducted in Egypt by government officials.[3]

Roman era

Roman censuses in Egypt estimated the population at 4.5 million inhabitants in the year 14 AD and 5 million in 164 AD.

Islamic era (600 AD)

A census also took place in the era of Hesham Abdel Malek ben Marwan in the year 600 AD including the number of people, their ages and residences.

Napoleonic era (1798)

In 1798, Egypt's population was estimated at 3 million when Napoleon invaded the country.

1848 and 1868 Censuses

After preliminary enumerations in some urban areas and villages the first countrywide census was carried out in 1848.[4][5] A modern analysis of the 1848 census records, which attempts to adjust for various discrepancies in the data, concluded that Egypt's population was 4,476 million people back then.[6] The 1848 census is said to be the first in a non-Western country to include demographic, social, and economic data on practically all individuals including females, children, and slaves. Digitization of the 1848 and 1868 census records is underway based on documents in the National Archives of Egypt.[7]

Modern censuses

Census
Year
Population[8]
(in thousands)
Arithmetic Density[9]
(inhabitants/km2)
18826,7126.65
18979,6699.58
190711,19011.09
191712,71812.60
192714,17814.05
193715,92115.78
194718,96718.79
196026,08525.84
196630,07629.79
197636,62636.28
198648,25447.80
199659,31258.76
200672,79870.70

1882

  • 1882 — The first census in Egypt had been carried out. The total population was 6.7 million.

1947

  • According to the 1947 census, Egypt's population had reached 19 million inhabitants.[10]
Province or governoratePopulation
(1947 census)
Alexandria928,237
Aswan285,551
Asyut1,379,875
Beheira1,242,478
Beni Suef613,365
Cairo2,100,486
Dakahlia1,366,085
Damietta124,104
Faiyum671,885
Frontiers216,872
Gharbia2,316,619
Girga (currently Sohag Governorate)1,288,425
Giza822,424
Ismailia132,810
Minya1,061,417
Monufia1,168,777
Port Said178,432
Qalyubia687,169
Qena1,106,296
Sharqia1,290,890
Suez108,250
Total population19,090,447

1976

  • A census in 1976 revealed that the population had risen to 36.6 million.

1986

  • In 1986, a census indicated that the population of Egypt reached a total of 50.4 million, including about 2.3 million Egyptians working in other countries.

1996

  • In 1996, the census found a population of 59.3 million.

2006

  • In 2006, the thirteenth census in the Egyptian census series revealed that the Egypt's population hit 76.5 million inside and outside the country.

2017

A new census was done in 2017. Census day was 18 April 2017 and Egypt's population on that date was estimated to be 94,798,827.[11]

Latest census details (2006)

Nationwide demographics

StatementTotal country
% Change in Population compared with Census 1996% 22
% Change in Population Under 6 Years Old% 168
% Change in Population Under 15 Years Old% 256
% Change in Population Over 45 Years Old% 289
Number of Households17,265,567
Household Population72,131,096
Family average4 to 5
Number of university graduates5,476,704
Number of Illiterates 200616,806,657
Raw Birth Rate26
Raw Death Rate6

Population by sex and residence

ResidenceMalesFemalesTotal
Urban areas111
Rural areas111
Total Egypt111

Population by governorate

Governorate19962006Change %
Cairo6,800,9917,786,64014.49
Giza4,784,0956,272,57131.11
Sharqia4,281,0685,340,05824.74
Dakahlia4,223,3384,985,18718.04
Beheira3,994,2974,737,12918.6
Gharbia3,404,3394,010,29817.8
Alexandria3,339,0764,110,01523.09
Minya3,310,1294,179,30926.26
Qalyubia3,281,1354,237,00329.13
Sohag3,123,1143,746,37719.96
Asyut2,802,3343,441,59722.81
Monufia2,760,4293,270,40418.47
Qena2,442,0163,001,49422.91
Kafr el-Sheikh2,223,3832,618,11117.75
Faiyum1,989,7722,512,79226.29
Beni Suef1,859,2132,290,52723.2
Aswan960,5101,184,43223.31
Damietta913,5551,092,31619.57
Ismailia714,828942,83231.9
Port Said472,331570,76820.84
Suez417,526510,93522.37
Luxor361,138451,31824.97
North Sinai252,160339,75234.74
Matruh212,001322,34152.05
Red Sea157,314288,23383.22
New Valley141,774187,25632.08
South Sinai54,806149,335172.48
Total Egypt59,276,67272,579,03022.44

Future projections

At current pace, Egypt's population is expected to reach 160 million by 2050. However, if the current rate of reproduction diminishes, the population may be limited to 120 million by 2050. Egypt already has one of the highest real population densities in the world.[12]

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. D. Valbelle. "Les recensements dans l'Egypte pharaonique des troisième et deuxième millénaires" CRIPEL 9 (1987) 37 - 49.
  2. Herodotus, Histories II, 177, 2
  3. Paul Cartledge,Peter Garnsey,Erich S. Gruen Hellenistic Constructs: Essays in Culture, History, and Historiography 242 ss.
  4. Cuno, Kenneth M.; Reimer, Michael J. (1997). "The Census Registers of Nineteenth-Century Egypt: A New Source for Social Historians". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 24 (2): 193–216. doi:10.1080/13530199708705646. JSTOR 195772.
  5. Fargues, Philippe. Family and household in mid-nineeenth century Cairo. In Doumani, Beshara, ed. Family history in the Middle East: household, property, and gender
  6. Alleaume, G. and P. Fargues. 1998. La naissance d'une statistique d'état. Histoire & Mesure 13: 147-193
  7. Saleh, Mohamed. “A Pre-Colonial Population Brought to Light: Digitization of the Nineteenth Century Egyptian Censuses,” Historical Methods 46:1 (January 2013) 5-18. (online draft)
  8. "Population in Censuses By Sex & Sex Ratio (1882–2006)" (PDF). Egypt in Figures 2010. Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  9. Osman, Maged (11–17 May 2006). "No strength in numbers". Al-Ahram Weekly (794). Archived from the original on 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  10. Shousha, Aly Tewfik (1947). "Cholera Epidemic in Egypt: A Preliminary Report". Bull. World Health Organ. National Center for Biotechnology Information. 1 (2): 371. PMC 2553924. PMID 20603928.
  11. "الجهاز المركزي للتعبئة العامة والإحصاء" (PDF). www.capmas.gov.eg. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  12. "Egypt weighed down by population woes". AFP. 10 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
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