The country's population stands at 67.9 million (February 2002) as stated by Egypt's Central Agency of Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
An average of one baby is being born every 23 seconds, and thus with a population growth rate of 2.4 percent, CAMPAS expects the population to reach 123 million by 2029.

The government tries to bring down the population growth rate but efforts are hampered by people who think birth control is against religious teachings.

The population itself is not so high if people were scattered all over the country, but actually more than half the population is roughly concentrated in only five percent of the land. In addition, nearly a quarter of the population lives in Cairo only, making it the most crowded metropolitan city in the world.
Almost half the Egyptians are illiterate causing another dilemma for the government, which is currently engaged in national literacy campaigns aimed at spreading education. Even many those educated don't receive proper education because of the congested classrooms. Sometimes a classroom holds 100 students which makes it difficult to deal with.

The fellaheen, or the Egyptian peasants

And as result it is easy to presume that many Egyptians are poor, something that is very much linked to the uneducated classes of the people. These classes mostly comprise the Egyptian fellaheen (peasants), who form the majority of population.

The few educated classes -however- form the country's power in politics and in social life, and they greatly affect life of other classes.

Generally, English and French are widely understood by those people and also those who interact or deal with foreigners, particularly tourists.
It's not also surprising to find Western-influenced youths, as Americanism once swept the country. In this regard, it's easy to listen and obtain up-to-date Western hits, from Michael Jackson to local country music bands.

Normal Egyptians

Despite the difficult economic situation, Egyptians are so friendly than one can imagine. They can help you whenever you go. However this over-friendliness might sometimes mean interference in someone's affairs. In such a case, never utter a phrase like "it's none of your business" and instead use a gesture phrase accompanied with a smile followed by "I think I can handle it" phrase.