Egyptian diaspora
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 8 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Libya
|
2,000,000 (2012) |
 United States
|
800,000 - 2,000,000 (2010) |
 Jordan
|
550,000 |
 United Kingdom
|
147,02 (2000) |
 Italy
|
135,284 |
 Israel
|
57,500 |
 Canada
|
47,375 |
 Germany
|
45,000 (2011) |
 Australia
|
40,000 (2011) |
| Languages | |
|
Egyptian Arabic Sa'idi Arabic Coptic English and many others |
|
| Religion | |
|
Islam Christianity Judaism |
|
Egyptian diaspora consists of citizens of Egypt abroad sharing a common culture and Egyptian Arabic language.
The phenomenon of Egyptians emigrating from Egypt was rare until Nasser came to power after overthrowing the monarchy. Before then, Cleland's 1936 declaration remained valid, that 'Egyptians have the reputation of preferring their own soil. Few ever leave except to study or travel; and they always return... Egyptians do not emigrate.'
Under Nasser, thousands of Egyptian professionals were dispatched across Africa and Latin America under Egypt's secondment policy, aiming to support host countries' development but to also support the Egyptian regime's foreign policy aims. At the same time, Egypt also experienced an outflow of Egyptian Jews, and large numbers of Egyptian Copts.
After Nasser's death Egypt liberalised its emigration policy, which led to millions of Egyptians pursuing employment opportunities abroad, both in Western countries, as well as across the Arab world. In the 1980s many emigrated mainly to Iraq and Kuwait, this happened under different circumstances but mainly for economic reasons. A sizable Egyptian diaspora did not begin to form until well into the 1980s and today it is estimated that about 4.7 million Egyptians live abroad.
According to studies conducted by the International Organization for Migration, migration is an important phenomenon for the development of Egypt. An estimated 4.7 million (2010) Egyptians abroad contribute actively to the development of their country through remittances (US$7.8 million in 2009), circulation of human and social capital, as well as investment. In 2006, approximately 70% of Egyptian migrants lived in Arab countries, 950,000 in Libya, 500,000 in Jordan, 300,000 in Kuwait and 160,000 in UAE; also Qatar lists 180.000 Egyptian residents. The remaining 30% are living mostly in Europe and North America (635,000 in the US, and 141.000 in Canada. Europe totals 510.000, with almost half of them - 210,000 - living in Italy). There is also a large Egyptian population of around 80.0000 in Australia.
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Wikipedia