Egyptians
This article is about the contemporary
North African ethnic group. See
Egyptians (disambiguation) for other
uses.
Egyptians
مَصريين Maṣreyyīn
??????’????? han.Remenkīmi
Top row (left to right)
Saad Zaghlul • 2nd-century Fayum portrait • Sameera
Moussa • Muhammad Abduh • Ester Fanous
Bottom row (left to right)
Omm Kolsum • Abraam Bishop of Fayoum • Abdel Halim
Hafez • Nefertiti • Naguib Mahfouz
Total population
ca. 83 million (2008)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Egypt
ca. 81.3 million
(2008 estimate)
[2]
Saudi
Arabia
900,000 (2004)
[3]
Libya
333,000 (1999)
[4]
United
States
318,000 (2000)
[5]
Jordan
227,000 (1999)
[4]
Kuwait
191,000 (1999)
[4]
United
Kingdom
147,102 (2000)
[6]
United Arab
Emirates
140,000 (2002)
[3]
Canada
110,000 (2000)
[7]
Italy
90,000 (2000)
[5]
Australia
65,280 (2006)
[8]
Iraq
66,000 (1999)
[4]
Greece
60,000 (2000)
[5]
Germany
40,000 (2000)
[9]
Netherlands 40,000 (2000)
[5]
France
36,000 (2000)
[5]
Austria
14,000 (2000)
[5]
Switzerland
14,000 (2000)
[5]
Spain
12,000 (2000)
[5]
Israel
11,000 (2005)
[10]
Languages
Egyptian Arabic (formerly also Coptic)
Religion
Islam, Coptic Orthodox Christianity
Egyptians
(Standard
Arabic:
????????
miṣriyūn;
Egyptian
Arabic:
???????
maṣreyyīn; Coptic: ?????’????? ni.remenkīmi)
is the name of the nationality and Mediter-
ranean North African ethnic group native to
Egypt.
Egyptian identity is closely tied to the
Geography of Egypt, dominated by the lower
Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land
stretching from the First Cataract to the
Mediterranean Sea and enclosed by desert
both to the east and to the west. This unique
geography has been the basis of the develop-
ment of Egyptian society since antiquity.
The daily language of the Egyptians is the
local variety of Arabic, known as Egyptian Ar-
abic or Masri. Egyptians are predominantly
adherents of Sunni Islam with a Shia minor-
ity and a significant proportion who follow
native Sufi orders.[11] A sizable minority of
Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox
Church, whose liturgical lang