Egyptian diaspora
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Egyptian diaspora
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image =
| image_caption =
| population = 14 million{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819035716/https://www.cairo24.com/1831131|title=وزيرة الهجرة: عدد المصريين في الخارج يصل إلى 14 مليون مصري|date=August 19, 2023|website=web.archive.org}}
| region1 = {{flagcountry|Saudi Arabia}}
| region2 = {{flagcountry|UAE}}
| pop2 = 750,000
| region3 = {{flagcountry|Kuwait}}
| pop3 = 644,000
| region4 = {{flagcountry|Jordan}}
| pop4 = 636,000
| ref4 = {{cite web|url=
https://www.khaberni.com/news/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-241263|title= الاردن الثاني عالميا في استضافة المصريين |date=1 October 2017|access-date=3 January 2018}}
| region5 = {{flagcountry|Sudan}}
| pop5 = 500,000
| region6 = {{flagcountry|United States}}
| pop6 = 279,672↑ Talani, Leila S. Out of Egypt. University of California, Los Angeles. 2005.
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/84t8q4p1
| region7 = {{flagcountry|Qatar}}
| pop7 = 230,000
| region8 = {{flagcountry|Italy}}
| pop8 = 140,322
| region9 = {{flagcountry|Canada}}
| pop9 = 105,245
| ref9 = {{cite web |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/sip/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&PoiId=2&TId=0&FocusId=64&AgeId=1&Dguid=2021A000011124#sipTable |title=Profile of interest, 2021 census |author=Statistics Canada |date=11 March 2024|access-date=24 September 2024}}
| region10 = {{flag|Israel}}
| pop10 = 60,000
| ref10 =
| region11 = {{flagcountry|Oman}}
| pop11 = 56,000
| region12 = {{flagcountry|Lebanon}}
| pop12 = 40,000
| region13 = {{flagcountry|South Africa}}
| pop13 = 40,000
| region14 = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
| pop14 = 39,000
| ref14 = {{ONSCoB2019|access-date=28 June 2020}}
| region15 = {{flagcountry|Australia}}
| pop15 = 36,532-340,000
| region16 = {{flagcountry|Austria}}
| region17 = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| pop17 = 29,600
| region18 = {{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
| pop18 = 27,504
| ref18 = {{Cite web|url=https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/|title=CBS Statline|website=opendata.cbs.nl}}
| region19 = {{flagcountry|Turkey}}
| pop19 = 25,800
| region20 = {{flagcountry|Greece}}
| pop20 = 25,000
| region21 = {{flagcountry|France}}
| pop21 = 15,000
| languages = Egyptian Arabic
Sa'idi Arabic
English and many others
| philosophies =
| religions = Islam
| related_groups =
| footnotes =
}}
The Egyptian diaspora consists of citizens of Egypt abroad sharing a common culture and Egyptian Arabic dialects. The phenomenon of Egyptians emigrating from Egypt was rare until Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power after overthrowing the monarchy in 1952. 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".{{Cite book|title=The Population Problem in Egypt; A Study of Population Trends and Conditions in Modern Egypt|last=Cleland|first=Walter|publisher=Science Press|year=1936|location=Lancaster|pages=36}}
Under Nasser, thousands of Egyptian professionals were dispatched across Africa and North America under Egypt's secondment policy, aiming to support host countries' development but to also support the Egyptian regime's foreign policy aims.{{Cite journal|last=Tsourapas|first=Gerasimos|date=2016|title=Nasser's Educators and Agitators across al-Watan al-'Arabi: Tracing the Foreign Policy Importance of Egyptian Regional Migration, 1952-1967|journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies|volume=43 |issue=3|pages=324–341|doi=10.1080/13530194.2015.1102708|s2cid=159943632|url=http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21822/1/s1-ln210934022089525479-1939656818Hwf-2143436348IdV150395290621093402PDF_HI0001.pdf}} At the same time, Egypt also experienced an outflow of Egyptian Jews,{{Cite book|title=The dispersion of Egyptian Jewry : culture, politics, and the formation of a modern diaspora|author=Beinin, Joel|date=1998-01-01|publisher=University of California Press|oclc=44963168}} and large numbers of Egyptian Copts.{{Cite journal|last=Tadros|first=Mariz|date=2009-05-01|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-middle-east-studies/article/div-classtitlevicissitudes-in-the-entente-between-the-coptic-orthodox-church-and-the-state-in-egypt-19522007div/C3D5A63D8B6223705397743B804E12B1|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|volume=41|issue=2|pages=269–287|doi=10.1017/S0020743809090667|issn=1471-6380|title=Vicissitudes in the Entente Between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the State in Egypt (1952–2007)|s2cid=154925473}}
After Nasser's death, Egypt liberalised its emigration policy, which led to millions of Egyptians pursuing employment opportunities abroad,{{Cite journal|last=Tsourapas|first=Gerasimos|date=2015|title=Why Do States Develop Multi-tier Emigrant Policies? Evidence from Egypt|journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies|volume=41 |issue=13|pages=2192–2214|doi=10.1080/1369183X.2015.1049940|s2cid=73675854|url=http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/20161/1/CJMS_A_1049940.pdf}} both in Western countries,{{Cite book|title=From Egypt to Europe : globalisation and migration across the Mediterranean|last=Simona.|first=Talani, Leila|date=2010-01-01|publisher=Tauris Academic Studies|oclc=650606660}} as well as across the Arab world.{{Cite journal |last=Choucri |first=Nazli |author-link=Nazli Choucri |date=1977-01-01 |title=The New Migration in the Middle East: A Problem for Whom? |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/1721.1/81914/1/03021309.pdf |journal=The International Migration Review |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=421–443 |doi=10.2307/2545397 |jstor=2545397 |pmid=12278662 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1721.1/81914}} 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. In 2011, Egyptian diaspora communities around the world mobilised extensively in the context of the Egyptian revolution.{{Cite journal|last=Müller-Funk|first=Lea|date=2016-07-02|title=Diaspora Mobilizations in the Egyptian (Post)Revolutionary Process: Comparing Transnational Political Participation in Paris and Vienna|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2016.1180471|journal=Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies|language=en|volume=14|issue=3|pages=353–370|doi=10.1080/15562948.2016.1180471|s2cid=151831503}}
Trends
At the end of 2016, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics stated that there are 9.47 million Egyptian expatriates, where 6.23 million Egyptians live in the Arab world, 1.58 million in the Americas, 1.24 million in Europe, 340,000 in Australia and 46,000 in Africa (mostly in South Africa).{{cite web |title=الجهاز المركزي للتعبئة العامة والإحصاء |url=http://www.capmas.gov.eg/Pages/ShowPDF.aspx?page_id=%20/Admin/Pages%20Files/2017109143840cns.pdf |website=www.capmas.gov.eg |access-date=24 February 2020}}
Previously, 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 billion 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, 636,000 in Jordan, 300,000 in Kuwait and 160,000 in UAE;{{citation|url=http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/IOM_ICMPD_Inventory_EN.pdf|publisher=International Organization for Migration|title=MTM: A Dialogue in Action. Linking Emigrant Communities for More Development|year=2010|access-date=2015-02-18|archive-date=2015-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219005200/http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/IOM_ICMPD_Inventory_EN.pdf|url-status=dead}} also Qatar lists 180,000 Egyptian residents.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131222095738/http://www.bqdoha.com/2013/12/population-qatar Qatar's population by nationality]}} - bq magazine. 2014. The remaining 30% are living mostly in Europe and North America (635,000 - 1,000,000) in the United States, and (141,000 - 400,000) 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 120,000 in Australia.
Generally, those who emigrate to the United States and western European countries tend to do so permanently, while Egyptians migrating to Arab countries go there with the intention of returning to Egypt and have been categorized at least partially as "temporary workers".{{Cite journal|last=Tsourapas|first=Gerasimos|date=2015-11-10|title=Why Do States Develop Multi-tier Emigrant Policies? Evidence from Egypt|journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies|volume=41|issue=13|pages=2192–2214|doi=10.1080/1369183X.2015.1049940|s2cid=73675854|issn=1369-183X|url=http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/20161/1/CJMS_A_1049940.pdf}} The number of "temporary workers" was given in the 2001 census as 332,000 in Libya, 226,000 in Jordan, 190,000 in Kuwait, 95,000 in UAE and smaller numbers in other Arab countries {{citation|url=http://www.migrationdrc.org/publications/research_reports/AymanReport.pdf|publisher=Ayman Zohry, Forced Migration & Refugee Studies Program American University in Cairo|title=Interrelationships between Internal and International Migration in Egypt: A Pilot Study|year=2005|access-date=2015-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210448/http://www.migrationdrc.org/publications/research_reports/AymanReport.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}}
Prior to the 1970s, few Egyptians left the country in search for employment and most doing so were highly skilled professionals working in the Arab world.{{Cite journal|last=Tsourapas|first=Gerasimos|date=2016-07-02|title=Nasser's Educators and Agitators across al-Watan al-'Arabi: Tracing the Foreign Policy Importance of Egyptian Regional Migration, 1952-1967|journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies|volume=43|issue=3|pages=324–341|doi=10.1080/13530194.2015.1102708|s2cid=159943632|issn=1353-0194|url=http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21822/1/s1-ln210934022089525479-1939656818Hwf-2143436348IdV150395290621093402PDF_HI0001.pdf}} After a law in 1971 authorized emigration and settlement abroad, and until the 1980s, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and Libya saw an important immigration of low-skilled Egyptian workers. From the end of the 1980s until today, emigration to Arab countries decreased, although an important Egyptian population kept living there, and new emigrants started to choose Europe as a destination, often travelling by irregular means.
Challenges
Egyptians in neighbouring countries face additional challenges. Over the years, abuse, exploitation and/or ill-treatment of Egyptian workers and professionals in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Libya{{cite web|last1=Tsourapas|first1=Gerasimos|title=The Politics of Egyptian Migration to Libya|url=http://www.merip.org/mero/mero031715|website=Middle East Research and Information Project|date=17 March 2015|access-date=4 December 2016}} have been reported by the Egyptian Human Rights OrganizationEHRO. [http://www.eohr.org/report/2003/5-1103.htm Migrant workers in SAUDI ARABIA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616085024/http://www.eohr.org/report/2003/5-1103.htm |date=2006-06-16 }}. March 2003. and different media outlets.IRIN. [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52063&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=EGYPT EGYPT: Migrant workers face abuse]. March 7, 2006.Evans, Brian. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010419164410/http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/3251/spring99/saudi.html Plight of Foreign Workers in Saudi Arabia]}} Arab nationals have in the past expressed fear over an "'Egyptianization' of the local dialects and culture that were believed to have resulted from the predominance of Egyptians in the field of education" (see also Egyptian Arabic - Geographics).
A study by the International Organization for Migration on Egyptian diaspora in the United States, the United Kingdom and Kuwait found that 69% of Egyptians abroad interviewed visit Egypt at least once a year; more than 80% of them are informed about the current affairs in Egypt and approximately a quarter participate in some sort of Egyptian, Arabic, Islamic or Coptic organizations. The same study found that the major concerns of the Egyptian diaspora involved access to consular services for 51% of respondents, assimilation of second generation into the host country's culture (46%), need for more cultural cooperation with Egypt (24%), inability to vote abroad (20%) and military service obligations (6%).
The Egyptians for their part object to what they call the "Saudization" of their culture due to Saudi Arabian petrodollar-flush investment in the Egyptian entertainment industry.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/139434|title=The Last Egyptian Belly Dancer|access-date=2008-06-02|publisher=Newsweek|year=2008|author=Rod Nordland}} Twice Libya was on the brink of war with Egypt due to mistreatment of Egyptian workers and after the signing of the peace treaty with Israel.AfricaNet. [http://www.africanet.com/africanet/country/libya/home.htm Libya]. When the Gulf War ended, Egyptian workers in Iraq were subjected to harsh measures and expulsion by the Iraqi government and to violent attacks by Iraqis returning from the war to fill the workforce.{{cite book|author=Panayiotis J. Vatikiotis|title=The History of Modern Egypt: From Muhammad Ali to Mubarak|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00vati|url-access=registration|edition=4th|year=1991|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-4214-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00vati/page/432 432]}}
In 2025, the Egyptian Government called for more support from European nations in tackling migration issues. The call followed a loss of funding from USAID under the Trump administration.{{Cite web |last=AfricaNews |date=2025-04-10 |title=Egypt says it has made "strenuous efforts" in tackling illegal migration, calls for European support |url=https://www.africanews.com/2025/04/10/egypt-says-it-has-made-strenuous-efforts-in-tackling-illegal-migration-calls-for-european-// |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Africanews |language=en}}