According to historical data in a country like Egypt, the population began to form about twelve thousand years ago. Then tribes from North and East Africa came to its territory in search of fertile lands. They were later joined by representatives of other regions of the continent. Thus, several tribes simultaneously lived in the Nile Valley at the same time. Over time, after a series of bloody wars, skirmishes and enslavement, the indigenous population of Egypt was formed. Initially, it consisted of several hundred thousand people, and during the heyday of the country it reached several million.
As of the beginning of the twentieth century, more than forty million people lived in the Nile Valley. Moreover, almost one million more were added to this number every year. The population of Egypt (2013), according to official figures, is 83.66 million people. This is the largest number in the history of the country. Now the state occupies the 16th place in the world in such an indicator as the population growth rate. According to scientists, if the situation does not change, then as of 2050the number of inhabitants of the country will exceed 120 million people.
It should be noted that the territory of the state is populated unevenly. People mostly live on five percent of it, which is about one million square kilometers. The average population density is 76 people per km2. At the same time, in the area of the Suez Canal and the Nile Delta, this figure rises to 1,500 inhabitants per 1 km2. The most sparsely populated in the country are the shores of the bays of the Red and Mediterranean Seas, mining towns in the east, as well as oases in the western desert.
Egypt, whose population is 90 percent Eastern Hamitic Arabs, is a Muslim country (94% believers). The remaining 6% profess Christianity. The ethnic minority includes Bedouins, Nubians and other nomadic peoples who live mainly in the southern part of the state. More than half of the inhabitants are peasants. An interesting fact is that in a state like Egypt, one third of the population consists of children under the age of fifteen.
More than twenty million people live in Cairo, the capital. In all major cities you can meet a large number of Europeans. Despite the relatively poor natural conditions, in Egypt such an indicator as the average life expectancy is quite high: 73 and 68 years for women and men, respectively. Most of the Egyptians, due to the low standard of living of the peasants, are illiterate. The reason for this situation can be called the fact that in the countrythe system of six-year compulsory education practically does not work. The fact is that children mostly work in the fields along with adults during the harvest and sowing.
Due to the lack of arable land, millions of rural residents annually move to big cities. In addition, many Egyptians went to work in neighboring rich oil-producing countries.
The state government believes that Egypt, whose population is constantly growing, will develop better if the rate of this increase is reduced. That is why a lot of efforts are being made in the country to regulate the birth rate. In particular, the idea that each family should have no more than two children is now being actively promoted.
