Census in Egypt

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Wikipedia

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

The earliest Egyptian census was the cattle count, which counted not people but livestock (especially but not exclusively cows) for taxation purposes. During the early Old Kingdom it was taken every two years; the frequency increased over time. Human censuses in Egypt first appeared in the late Middle Kingdom and develops in the New Kingdom.[1] Herodotus wrote that Ahmose I, first monarch of the New Kingdom, 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.[citation needed]

Napoleonic era (1798)

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

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

Population censuses

During the last 135 years, Egypt has carried out around 14 official population censuses: the first was in 1882 and the most recent in 2017.

Official population censuses in Egypt since 1882[8]
No. Year Population Census Carried out during Image
1 1882 6,806,381 1882 Egyptian Census Reign of the Khedive
Tewfik Pasha
(1879-1892)
(1852–1892)
2 1897 9,734,405 1897 Egyptian Census Reign of the Khedive
Abbas II Helmy
(1892-1914)
(1874–1944)
3 1907 11,189,978 1907 Egyptian Census Reign of the Khedive
Abbas II Helmy
(1892-1914)
(1805–1852)
4 1917 12,716,255 1917 Egyptian Census Reign of Sultan
Fuad I
(1917-1936)
(1868–1836)
5 1927 14,177,864 1927 Egyptian Census Reign of Sultan
Fuad I
(1917-1936)
(1868–1836)
6 1937 15,921,000 1937 Egyptian Census Reign of Sultan
Farouk I
(1936-1952)
(1920–1965)
7 1947 18,967,000 1947 Egyptian Census Reign of Sultan
Farouk I
(1936-1952)
(1920–1965)
8 1960 26,085,000 1960 Egyptian Census Government of President
Gamal Abdel Nasser
(1954-1970)
(1918–1970)
9 1966 30,076,000 1966 Egyptian Census Government of President
Gamal Abdel Nasser
(1954-1970)
(1918–1970)
10 1976 36,626,000 1976 Egyptian Census Government of President
Anwar El-Sadat
(1970-1981)
(1918–1981)
11 1986 48,205,049 1986 Egyptian Census Government of President
Hosni Mubarak
(1981-2011)
(1928–2020)
12 1996 59,276,672 1996 Egyptian Census Government of President
Hosni Mubarak
(1981-2011)
(1928–2020)
13 2006 72,798,031 2006 Egyptian Census Government of President
Hosni Mubarak
(1981-2011)
(1928–2020)
14 2017 94,798,827 2017 Egyptian Census Government of Marshal
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
(2014-Present)
(1954-)
- 2022 103,011,914 Estimates CAPMAS[9]
Census
Year		 Population[10]
(in thousands)		 Population density[11]
(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.[12]
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

Summary of results from 1976 to 2017

  • A census in 1976 revealed that the population had risen to 36.6 million.[citation needed]
  • 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.[citation needed]
  • In 1996, the census found a population of 59.3 million.[citation needed]
  • 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.[citation needed]
  • 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.[13]

Summary of results of 2006 census

Nationwide demographics

Some statistics for the whole country
StatisticNumerical result
Changes in population compared to the 1996 census
All age groups combined22%
Under 6 years old168%
Under 15 years old256%
Over 45 years old289%
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 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
Beheira3,994,2974,737,12918.60
Gharbia3,404,3394,010,29817.80
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 Suef1,859,2132,290,52723.20
Aswan960,5101,184,43223.31
Damietta913,5551,092,31619.57
Ismailia714,828942,83231.90
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.[14]

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. 24 (2). Taylor & Francis, Ltd: 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. ↑ egypt.unfpa.org (June 2018). "National Report of Egypt by census". Retrieved 16 July 2020.[permanent dead link]
  9. ↑ monitordeoriente.com (26 February 2022). "La población de Egipto alcanza los 103 millones de habitantes". Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ Shousha, Aly Tewfik (1947). "Cholera Epidemic in Egypt: A Preliminary Report". Bull. World Health Organ. 1 (2): 371. PMC 2553924. PMID 20603928.
  13. ↑ "الجهاز المركزي للتعبئة العامة والإحصاء" (PDF). www.capmas.gov.eg. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Egypt weighed down by population woes". AFP. 10 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-04-18.