# Census in 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

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. 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". Under the Ptolemies and the Romans several censuses were conducted in Egypt by government officials.

### 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.

### Napoleonic era (1798)

In 1798, Egypt's population was estimated at 3 million 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. 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. 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.

## 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 :
| 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 |
| Census Year | Population (in thousands) | Population density (inhabitants/km$^2$) |
| 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

* 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.
| 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 |

### Summary of results from 1976 to 2017

* A census in 1976 revealed that the population had risen to 36.6 million.
* 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.
* In 1996, the census found a population of 59.3 million.
* 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.
* 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.

## Summary of results of 2006 census
### Nationwide demographics

Some statistics for the whole country :
| Statistic | Numerical result |
| Changes in population compared to the 1996 census ||
| All age groups combined | 22% |
| Under 6 years old | 168% |
| Under 15 years old | 256% |
| 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 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 | 18.60 |
| Gharbia | 3,404,339 | 4,010,298 | 17.80 |
| 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 | 23.20 |
| Aswan | 960,510 | 1,184,432 | 23.31 |
| Damietta | 913,555 | 1,092,316 | 19.57 |
| Ismailia | 714,828 | 942,832 | 31.90 |
| 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.