Dynamics of growth, spatial distribution and migration of
the Egyptian population
The size of Egypt’s population has changed considerably over time, reflect-
ing the frequently changing political and economic conditions in the country.
It is estimated that it reached an early maximum in 1300 , two centuries
before the end of the Pharaonic era, with about 9 million inhabitants living
in circa 20,000 settlements (Schamp 1977: 409), a figure matched for the first
time again 3,200 years later in 1900 under British colonial rule. By 450 ,
during the time of the Persian colonization, the population had dropped to
about 3.5 million, while in Ptolemaic times it rose again, so that it reached
7.5 million at the beginning of Roman rule. However, towards its end in
 600, it was only 6 million.