Egyptian Australian
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (70,000+ (by ancestry, 2006) 36,532 (by country of birth, 2011)) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide, Newcastle, Brisbane | |
| Languages | |
| Australian English, Egyptian Arabic, Coptic, Nobiin, Sa'idi Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Majority: Christianity (Coptic Orthodox), Minorities: Islam (Sunni), Bahá'í, Judaism. |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Egyptians, Egyptian diaspora, Arab Australians, Egyptian Americans, Egyptian Canadians |
Egyptian Australians are Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents of Egyptian descent. According to the Australian 2011 Census, 36,532 Australian citizens and permanent residents declared that they were born in Egypt, while based on the 2006 Census, at least an additional 31,786 declared that they were of full or partial Egyptian ancestry and born in a country other than Egypt (including most numerously Australian-born persons of full or partial Egyptian ancestry).
An additional 1,890 persons in the 2006 Census reported themselves as being of "Coptic" ancestry. The term Coptic ordinarily refers to adherents of Coptic Christianity, but when used as a term referring to ethnicity means "Egyptian" (almost always in the context of Coptic Christian Egyptians). The 1,890 persons who described their ancestry as "Coptic" are thus most likely Egyptian Australians. Copt as an ethnonym is etymologically derived from the Greek "Aiguptious", via the Late Egyptian "Gyptios", via the Classical Arabic "Qubt", into the English "Copt", and ordinarily refers to Coptic Christian Egyptians, though there have been instances of Muslim Egyptians referring to themselves as "Copts" to emphasise the non-Arabian ancestral origin of Egyptians in general.
The 2006 Census shows that the majority of Egypt-born Australians are located in Sydney (16,238) or Melbourne (11,156), with smaller communities located in Perth (1,407), Adelaide (982) and Brisbane (897).
The majority of Egyptian Australians are Christians, predominantly Coptic Christianity, which is in contrast to the religious affiliation to Islam of the majority of the population of ethnic Egyptians within modern Egypt. Centuries of a steady continuous rate of conversions of the local indigenous Egyptian population has resulted in modern Egypt's Muslim majority, although the indigenous Christian Church of Egypt has retained a sizeable minority throughout its history, up until today. Christians comprise much of the Egyptian diaspora, both in Australia and elsewhere. The majority religion of Egypt before the introduction of Islam from Arabia was Christianity, and prior to introduction of Christianity to Egypt the majority religion was the Ancient Egyptian religion.
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