Egyptians
Egyptians (Arabic: مِصرِيُّون, romanized: Miṣriyyūn, IPA: [mɪsˤrɪjˈjuːn]; Egyptian Arabic: مَصرِيِّين, romanized: Maṣriyyīn, IPA: [mɑsˤɾɪjˈjiːn]; Coptic: ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, romanized: remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to the Mediterranean and enclosed by desert both to the east and to the west. This unique geography has been the basis of the development of Egyptian society since antiquity.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 120 million (2023) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Egypt 109,000,000 (2023 estimate) | |
| Saudi Arabia | 2,900,000 |
| United States | 1,000,000–1,500,000 |
| Libya | ~1,000,000–2,000,000 (pre-2011) |
| United Arab Emirates | 750,000 |
| Jordan | 600,000–1,600,000 |
| Kuwait | 500,000 |
| Sudan | 500,000 |
| Qatar | 230,000 |
| Italy | 140,322 |
| Canada | 73,250 |
| Israel | 57,500 |
| Oman | 56,000 |
| Lebanon | 40,000 |
| South Africa | 40,000 |
| United Kingdom | 39,000 |
| Australia | 36,532 |
| Germany | 32,505 |
| Greece | 29,000 |
| Netherlands | 28,400 |
| Austria | 15,939 |
| France | 15,000 |
| Iraq | 14,710 |
| Sweden | 8,846 |
| Yemen | 7,710 |
| South Sudan | 5,000 |
| Morocco | 2,000 |
| Japan | 2,000 |
| Tunisia | 1,000 |
| Mali | 1,000 |
| Languages | |
| Majority: Arabic (mainly Egyptian Arabic) Minority: Coptic | |
| Religion | |
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| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afroasiatic-speaking peoples | |
The daily language of the Egyptians is a continuum of the local varieties of Arabic; the most famous dialect is known as Egyptian Arabic or Masri. Additionally, a sizable minority of Egyptians living in Upper Egypt speak Sa'idi Arabic. Egyptians are predominantly adherents of Sunni Islam with a Shia minority and a significant proportion who follow native Sufi orders. A considerable percentage of Egyptians are Coptic Christians who belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose liturgical language, Coptic, is the most recent stage of the ancient Egyptian language and is still used in prayers along with Egyptian Arabic.