The population of Egypt in its ethnic composition is the most homogeneous among the inhabitants of North African states. This country is considered the largest of all the Arab countries and the second among African (after Nigeria) countries.
Ethnic groups
98% of the inhabitants are Egyptians. With them assimilated different, including Arabic-speaking ethnic minorities, who are settled on the periphery of ethnic Egyptian territory. These groups are small in number, not only in comparison with the Egyptians, but also from other African and Arab countries. The population of Egypt includes several large, after the Egyptians, groups: Sinai and Nubians. The former are a transitional ethnic group. They inhabit the Sinai Peninsula, especially coastal zones. Palestinian refugees live in these areas, the Egyptians are mainly people of military professions, employees, workers who come to these areas for a certain period of time. Nubians are also a very peculiar ethnic group. It was formed in the 2nd half of the 20th century, after the ethnic groups Mahas, Kunuz, and local Arabonubian tribes were evicted from Nubia.
The population of Egypt. Berber groups and Bisharin
Representatives of the last ethnic group are the northernmost of the tribes of the Beja. Only part of Bisharin is settled within the state borders , the number of which is 20 thousand. They still lead a semi-nomadic or nomadic way of life, driving flocks of sheep and herds of camels to desert pastures from Lake Nasser and vice versa. Today, among the Bisharin, a large percentage of the inhabitants are citizens. The number of Berbers, also included in the population of Egypt, is not more than a thousand people. They live in the border with Libya, the Mediterranean coast and in the oasis of Siwa.
Disputes over the nation
About half a century, the unresolved question is whether the Egyptians are considered a separate nation or are adjacent to the pan-Arab. Until relatively recently, the lower strata of the townspeople and fellahs vaguely imagined their nationality. Today, opinions are significantly divided. So, for example, some Muslims speak of their belonging to the Egyptian nation, while the other claims that Arabs, and Egyptians, in particular, are elements of one ethnic group. Most residents still hesitate or seek compromise formulations. It should be said that this issue is not only of academic importance. This debate also relates to nationalism of both Egyptian and Arabic, pan-Islamism, relevant political, linguistic and other problems that concern Egypt itself. The population (2013, namely its beginning, in the number of births does not differ much from 2012) today totals about 84 million people. Moreover, the standard of living of people is quite low. Despite the fact that a six-year compulsory education system has been introduced in the country, rural, for example, children during the harvest or sowing season are often deprived of the opportunity to learn. And peasants today make up about 55% of the total population of Egypt.