Abstract
Background: The demography of Copts in Egypt is subject to an intense debate in the context of a dearth of analytical studies on this community. Our objective was to estimate the size of the Coptic community in Egypt, map its geographical clustering, and describe demographic, socioeconomic, and health-associated indicators. Methods: We conducted descriptive and Kulldorff spatial scan statistics analyses using the 2008 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data. We also used chi-square trend analysis and earlier EDHS data to examine the temporal trend in the proportion of Copts. Results: The proportion of Copts in the 15–59 years population was 5.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.6%–5.5%). This translates to 4,274,145 (95% CI: 3,855,111–4,609,372) Copts. We identified three main clusters of Copts: Minya-Assuit cluster (17.6%), Assuit-Souhag cluster (15.1%) and the metropolitan Cairo cluster (9.4%). The proportion of Copts was stable since 1988 (P = 0.11). Copts had higher educational attainment (P = 0.002), and a wealth index quintiles distribution skewed towards the rich (P < 0.001). Copts also had stronger representation in white collar job types, but limited representation in security agencies. The majority of demographic, socioeconomic and health indicators were similar among Copts and Muslims. Conclusions: One in every 20 Egyptians is a Copt, a proportion smaller than commonly circulated in the scholarly literature and public sphere. Despite some identified disparities, our study indicates a well-integrated Egyptian society regardless of religious affiliation. Our study provides evidence to inform the ongoing debate on the status of Copts in Egypt.
Highlights
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the native land of Christianity, but the rich link between MENA and Christianity runs deeper than the link between a religion and its birthplace
One of the widely held perceptions cited for this lack of credible demographic measures is the apparent absence of reliable statistical data on the Coptic community in Egypt.[7,16]
MATERIALS AND METHODS Source of data Data was extracted from the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) conducted in 2008
Summary
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the native land of Christianity, but the rich link between MENA and Christianity runs deeper than the link between a religion and its birthplace. The Coptic Orthodox Christian community in Egypt is one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, with conversion to Christianity starting in the very first century of the Common Era.[2] Followers of the Coptic Orthodox Church, founded by Saint Mark in the middle of the first century,[2] constitute the largest Christian community in MENA and the majority Christian group in Egypt.[6] Despite their prominent role in Egyptian history, there is a dearth of analytical studies on the modern Egyptian Coptic community.[7] Basic estimates on the size of the Christian population in Egypt vary widely, ranging between about 10% and 20% in scholarly journals and books,[6,8,9,10] and up to 30% in popular media.[11,12,13,14] The size of the Coptic community has become an intensely debated and controversial issue both in scholarly circles and mass media.[8,11,12,13,15] One of the widely held perceptions cited for this lack of credible demographic measures is the apparent absence of reliable statistical data on the Coptic community in Egypt.[7,16]. Results: The proportion of Copts in the 15 – 59 years population was 5.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.6%–5.5%). Our study provides evidence to inform the ongoing debate on the status of Copts in Egypt
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