Egypt the 15th most populous country of the world is the most populous country
of the Middle East. Not only this it is the second largest populous country of
the African continent. Egypt has a population of around 79 million (July 2006.estimate),
which is mostly concentrated around the banks of Nile River, in the Delta and
near the Suez Canal.
Demographically Egypt population is divided according to the residing areas-
major urban areas and the rural villages. Egypt's population growth rate is
1.75% (2006 est.) while there is a remarkable difference between the birth rate
and the death rate. Birth rate is around 22.94 births per 1000 population (2006
est.) while death rate is 5.2 deaths per 1000 population (2006 est.)
Beside of this division, population of Egypt can also be divided into according
to basis of its religion. 85% of the total population of Egypt is the followers
of Islam while the second major adherents are of Christianity.
By far the largest ethnic group in Egypt is of Egyptians who form 97-98% of
the total population. Beside of them there are number of ethnic minorities scattered
all over the country. Among theses, the Bedouin Arab residing in the eastern
deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Siwis of Siwa Oasis and the Nubian communities
that sheltered along the Nile in the southernmost part of Egypt are the main
groups.
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