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The modern Arab Republic of Egypt, to give it its full title, is home to almost 80m people who are homed in 26 governorates (administrative areas).
Just over half the population is made up of peasant farmers, who live in rural villages and whose lifestyle has evolved little since ancient times. The bulk of the remainder of Egyptians are located along the Nile, specifically clustered in and around the big cities of Cairo and Alexandria; so much so that the Egyptian government has launched initiatives to draw business away from these areas. There are also a small number of minorities include Siwis and Bedouin Arabs as well as refugees from Palestine and the Sudan.
Islam is the country's official religion with approximately 90% of the population subscribing to the faith. The remaining 10% are largely Christians, mostly of Coptic denomination. A tiny Jewish community of only several hundred remains; a mere shadow of the 75,000 who lived there in the early 20th century.
Arabic is the official language and Egypt is for all intents and purposes the centre of Middle East media and communications. It has a strong film-making and cinematic tradition and a reasonably free press. Television is state-owned and sets the tone for daily programming throughout the Middle East but a number of private radio stations have begun to operate in recent years.
Although this thriving media industry forms a significant part of Egypt's economy, about half of the country's export revenue is from oil and there are high hopes for its natural gas exports. Various other minerals are mined but, for the most part agriculture and tourism are the other undisputed major players.
Although recent years have seen significant economic growth, many average Egyptians are still living in poverty and are subsidised by the government. This has come at some considerable cost and while the population continues to rise rapidly it is clear that this will need to be addressed.
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