Demographics
Population:
Population: 77,420,000 inhabitants (2009)
Density: 82.3 inhabitants per sq. km
The five largest cities are:
- Cairo 7,734,614
- Alexandria 3,811,516
- Al Jizah 2,443,203
- Bur Sa`id 500,000
- Suez 488,125
Welfare:
The budget of the Ministry of Health has reflected an increasing expenditure on public-health programs, especially since the 1990s. The numbers of government health centers, beds in public hospitals, doctors, and dentists have increased significantly. An important aspect of health-care development in Egypt always has been the expansion of facilities in the rural areas.
In the mid-20th century, rural people had access to health care primarily through a local facility that functioned simultaneously as a health center, school, social-welfare unit, and agricultural extension station. By the early 21st century, hundreds of hospitals and thousands of smaller health units were serving.
Education:
A decree of 23 July 1962 provided free tuition at all Egyptian universities. The traditional center for religious education in the Muslim world is Al-Azhar in Cairo, which in 1983 celebrated 1,000 years of teaching as the oldest continuously operating school in the world. Al-Azhar offers instruction in three faculties and 14 affiliated institutes and maintains its own primary and secondary schools.
There are a total of 13 universities, and numerous institutes of higher learning. Egypt's universities had a total of 850,051 students in 1996. Universities and equivalent institutions had a faculty of 38,828 in 1994.
There is also the American University in Cairo, which offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as an American school in Cairo and one in Alexandria. The American Research Center in Cairo is supported by US universities and museums. It was established in 1948 to encourage the exchange of archaeologists and other researchers in almost all fields of interest.
Adult education, under the Ministry of Education, is increasingly important. Since 1993 the government conducted a campaign against illiteracy. Business firms are required to combat illiteracy among their employees.
Religion:
The majority religion is Islam, of which the Sunnis are the largest sect. The 1971 constitution declares Islam to be the state religion. According to official estimates, 90% of the population is Muslim and 8% to 10% are Christian, with the Coptic Orthodox Church being the largest Christian denomination.
Other denominations represented include Armenian Apostolic, Greek and Syrian Orthodox, Catholics (including Armenian, Chaldean, Greek, Melkite, Roman, and Syrian), and a variety of evangelical Protestant denominations. The Baha'i faith is also represented. The Jewish community is extremely small.