Over Half of Egyptian Households Live in Rural Areas

As of January 1st, 2025, Egypt counted 26.5 million households, according to new data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). Of these, 55.6%—roughly 14.7 million households—are based in rural areas, while 44.4% (11.8 million) are located in urban centres. The figures were released to coincide with the International Day of Families, celebrated this year under the theme ‘Family-Oriented Policies for Sustainable Development’.

The report also offers a demographic snapshot of Egypt’s population, revealing that 34.3% are under the age of 15, 26.8% fall within the youth bracket (15–29), 35% are working-age adults (30–64), and 3.9% are aged 65 or above. CAPMAS referenced United Nations projections that place the global population at 8.9 billion by 2035 and 9.7 billion by 2050, noting that this growth reinforces the need for sustainable family-focused policies.

On the education front, CAPMAS reports that 25.66 million students are currently enrolled in pre-university education across all levels, from pre-primary to secondary, including general, technical, and specialised programmes. Higher education institutions are home to 3.76 million students, with nearly equal gender distribution—49.6% female and 50.4% male.