Introduction
Egypt is a transcontinental nation that extends to the southwest corner of Asia and the northeast corner of Africa. Moreover, the country is bordered in the north by the Mediterranean Sea, east by the Red Sea, south by Sudan, and west by Libya. Its capital city is Cairo, with Alexandria as the second largest city, considered a key tourist and industrial center on the Mediterranean coast. Egypt gained its independence in 1922 from the British Empire and was later declared the republic of Egypt in 1953. In addition, Egypt is considered third of the largest economies in Africa after Nigeria and South Africa, with a gross domestic product of approximately 402.84 billion dollars (Galal, 2022b; O’Neill, 2022). Moreover, Egypt is a very arid country, and most of its landscape is dominated by large deserts to the west and east of the Nile River, considered as the country’s most vital geographical facet.
Population and Health
Egypt has been experiencing increasing population growth for decades, with approximately a 2% rise yearly. The current population of Egypt totals over 106 million as of 2022. This population is estimated to make up about 1.31% of the world population and ranks the country at number 14 globally by population (Radwan et al., 2019). According to Worldometer (2022), the female population in Egypt takes up 49.5% of the total population, while the male population makes up 50.5%. One of the reasons that have contributed to the steady growth in population in the country is the availability of better health services offered to its citizens since the Egyptian Republic was founded.
In Egypt, the healthcare system is comprised of private and public bodies, with the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) as the primary actor of the government. As a result, the healthcare system is managed by the Ministry of Health and Population, established in 1995 to govern the population’s welfare and health by providing the majority of the nation’s services at public free hospitals (Garcia et al., 2020). However, because of the low care standards in public facilities, a majority of Egyptians opt to seek private healthcare services if they can be able to afford them. In addition, Egyptian citizens combine traditional practices with the modern health system, especially those residing in rural areas. For example, the midwife, mostly found in reserve villages, takes a vital role not only in childbirth as well as the associated ceremonial activities but also in offering or giving general medical guidance to women.
Languages
Egypt considers Arabic as its official language, irrespective of religion, and many of its citizens speak one of the various local dialects of the same language. In Egypt, the spoken vernacular varies significantly from the literary language, as is the case in every other Arab country. The modern literary or standard Arabic, also known as al-fuṣḥa or clear Arabic, is considered as the lingua franca of educated persons and is learned only in schools in Egypt. Apart from this written language, there also exist several regional local Arabic vernaculars referred to collectively as al-ʿammiyyah or common Arabic, which varies broadly from the literary variant. In addition, there are some vernacular groups within the amorphous grouping known as Egyptian colloquial that can be discerned to be fairly homogenous yet with more variation levels within the group (Sawe, 2022). Among these local variations is the Bedouin dialect of the Eastern Desert as well as that of the Eastern Desert constitute.
In addition, there are other minor Arabic dialectical groups, including the Beja of the southern section of the Eastern Desert, which uses an Afro-Asiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch referred to as Bedawi. Moreover, there are groups at the Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert whose languages are somewhat related to the Berber languages of the Afro-Asiatic family (Sawe, 2022). Furthermore, the Nubians group speaks Eastern Sudanic languages that contain some Cushitic characteristics.
Religions
Religion takes a key role in Egypt, with Islam dominating the society. This is because, despite the country being regarded as a secular state, its political interactions and laws are primarily influenced and governed by Islamic principles regarding social customs, politics, and law. A majority of Egypt’s citizens identify as Muslim, with approximately 90% of the total population, particularly of the Sunni denomination, and the remaining 10% make up the Christian religion. Moreover, 90% of the Christian community identifies with the Coptic Orthodox Christian (Office of International Religious Freedom, 2020). Furthermore, the other 10% of the Christian community consists of Armenian Apostolic, Greek and Syrian Orthodox, Anglican, and Catholic (Office of International Religious Freedom, 2019). Additionally, the majority of the Protestant denominations are grouped under the Protestant Churches of Egypt (PCE), including Apostolic Grace, Assemblies of God, Baptists, Gospel Missionary, Church of Christ, and Seventh-Day Adventists, among others.
Culture and Social Media
Social media platforms provide ways in which individuals can easily exchange messages and communicate, interact, and share messages irrespective of the separating distance between people (Radwan, 2022). Egyptians have increasingly embraced the use of social media, with Facebook being the most used platform having over 56.2 million users in 2022. Facebook messenger ranks second with approximately 49.3 million users, Instagram third with about 18.2 million users, and LinkedIn fourth with 6.9 million users (Galal, 2022a). Social media has had significant meaning in Egypt, especially for political reasons.
Egypt has had ample culture and history, such as the Islam and Pharaonic cultures, that can be dated back to over a thousand years ago. For instance, the country’s architecture, such as the Giza pyramids, is guided by pharaonic culture. Moreover, family members are obligated to mourn their dead due to their shared connection. They will have to dress only in black for 40 days to one year after the death of their loved one (“Traditions and Cultures of Egypt,” 2017). Conversely, Egyptians love to organize big wedding festivities and holidays where they invite all friends and family to celebrate and feast with them.
Besides Egypt being regarded as one of the earliest civilizations, its culture has been greatly influenced by many other cultures from various ethnic groups. To some point, this has been enhanced by the development and growth of social media, which has helped bring together diverse cultures. Therefore, the cultures have been able to blend together over time and have grown to be the most unique. Egypt contains incredible cultural, historical, and natural attractions making tourism its primary source of income. Moreover, Egyptians are very friendly and hospitable individuals who are ready and open to embracing other cultures (“Traditions and Cultures of Egypt,” 2017). Additionally, Egyptians consider family relationships and values to be the most important aspect of their society. In the family context, responsibilities are usually divided, with women taking roles in childcare and the home, whereas men have to financially support their families.
Food and Agriculture
Agriculture is the main aspect that largely contributes to the Egyptian economy. The agricultural sector contributes about 11.5% of Egypt’s GDP (Galal, 2021). The agriculture sector in Egypt is largely controlled by small farms that utilize traditional practices with low international standards. The country is able to produce various crops, including vegetables, cotton, sugar, cereals, fruits, and rear livestock, which are used to meet the domestic consumption demand and exports to generate income. Due to the fast-growing population, the agricultural sector has not been able to meet the food demand in the country. For this reason, the country has opted to use subsidized imports of basic cereals like wheat, maize, and rice to help meet the food needs from eastern Europe in countries such as Russia and Ukraine. However, with the Russia-Ukraine war, the food supply for Egypt has decreased, making it challenging to meet the demands of the country (Tanchum, 2022). Additionally, insufficient local food production has also been caused by urban expansion following rapid population growth. Urbanization has resulted in severe consequences for agricultural productivity as arable farmland has been directed towards development and growth in the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the rapid population growth mostly affects the country in terms of food security as it strains the agricultural sector to meet the food demand forcing the country to consider imports to curb the problem. The rapid population growth has been largely influenced by the better healthcare services provided in the country. The Islamic religion takes a key role in the country as all the life aspects of its citizens are governed by Sharia laws. On the other hand, the Arabic language in the country builds on Egyptians’ identity and helps bind them in unity despite having cultural differences. The agriculture sector helps supplement the country with food and contributes to its GDP, which builds upon its economy. The pharaonic culture has influenced Egypt’s infrastructure, such as pyramids which act as tourist sites in the country. Finally, social media use has helped enhance social interaction by providing a means for different cultures to come together in a social setting which has guided cultural change in the country.
References
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