Censuses of 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 (3050 BC)

Egypt had one of the first national censues anywhere. This is documented by papyrus manuscripts, ancient monuments in Pharaonic temples. The first known censuses in Egypt were carried out in 3340 BC and in 3050 BC.

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 millions 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.[1][2] 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.[3]

Modern censuses

Census
Year		 Population[4]
(in thousands)		 Arithmetic Density[5]
(inhabitants/km2)
1882 6,712 6.65
1897 9,669 9.58
1907 11,190 11.09
1917 12,718 12.60
1927 14,178 14.05
1937 15,921 15.78
1947 18,967 18.79
1960 26,085 25.84
1966 30,076 29.79
1976 36,626 36.28
1986 48,254 47.80
1996 59,312 58.76
2006 72,798 70.70

1882

1947

Province or governorate Population
(1947 census)
Alexandria 928,237
Aswan 285,551
Asyut 1,379,875
Beheira 1,242,478
Beni Suef 613,365
Cairo 2,100,486
Dakahlia 1,366,085
Damietta 124,104
Faiyum 671,885
Frontiers 216,872
Gharbia 2,316,619
Girga (currently Sohag Governorate) 1,288,425
Giza 822,424
Ismailia 132,810
Minya 1,061,417
Monufia 1,168,777
Port Said 178,432
Qalyubia 687,169
Qena 1,106,296
Sharqia 1,290,890
Suez 108,250
Total population 19,090,447

1976

1986

1996

2006

Latest census details (2006)

Nationwide demographics

Statement Total 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 Households 17,265,567
Household Population 72,131,096
Family average 4 to 5
Number of university graduates 5,476,704
Number of Illiterates 2006 16,806,657
Raw Birth Rate 26
Raw Death Rate 6

Population by sex and residence

Residence Males Females Total
Urban areas 1 1 1
Rural areas 1 1 1
Total Egypt 1 1 1

Population by governorate

Governorate 1996 2006 Change %
Cairo 6,800,991 7,786,640 14.49
Giza 4,784,095 6,272,571 31.11
Sharqia 4,281,068 5,340,058 24.74
Dakahlia 4,223,338 4,985,187 18.04
Beheira 3,994,297 4,737,129 18.6
Gharbia 3,404,339 4,010,298 17.8
Alexandria 3,339,076 4,110,015 23.09
Minya 3,310,129 4,179,309 26.26
Qalyubia 3,281,135 4,237,003 29.13
Sohag 3,123,114 3,746,377 19.96
Asyut 2,802,334 3,441,597 22.81
Monufia 2,760,429 3,270,404 18.47
Qena 2,442,016 3,001,494 22.91
Kafr el-Sheikh 2,223,383 2,618,111 17.75
Faiyum 1,989,772 2,512,792 26.29
Beni Suef 1,859,213 2,290,527 23.2
Aswan 960,510 1,184,432 23.31
Damietta 913,555 1,092,316 19.57
Ismailia 714,828 942,832 31.9
Port Said 472,331 570,768 20.84
Suez 417,526 510,935 22.37
Luxor 361,138 451,318 24.97
North Sinai 252,160 339,752 34.74
Matruh 212,001 322,341 52.05
Red Sea 157,314 288,233 83.22
New Valley 141,774 187,256 32.08
South Sinai 54,806 149,335 172.48
Total Egypt 59,276,672 72,579,030 22.44%

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.[7]

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ Cuno, Kenneth M., and 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.
  2. ↑ Fargues, Philippe. Family and household in mid-nineeenth century Cairo. In Doumani, Beshara, ed. Family history in the Middle East: household, property, and gender
  3. ↑ 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)
  4. ↑ "Population in Censuses By Sex & Sex Ratio (1882–2006)" (PDF). Egypt in Figures 2010. Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. p. 6. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  5. ↑ Osman, Maged (11–17 May 2006). "No strength in numbers". Al-Ahram Weekly (794). Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Egypt weighed down by population woes". AFP. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 2011-04-18.

External links