Egyptians (Masri or Mesir) are a nation and a North African ethnic group native to Egypt. Egyptian identity is rooted in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivatable land stretching from the First Cataract to the Mediterranean Sea and enclosed by vast deserts. This unique geography has been the basis of the development of Egyptian society in antiquity.Egyptian people have spoken only languages from the northern branch of the Afro-Asiatic family throughout their history, from Old Egyptian to today's vernacular Egyptian Arabic. Their religion is predominantly Sunni Islam with a Shia minority and a significant proportion who follow native Sufi orders. A large minority of Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose liturgical language, Coptic, is the last stage of the indigenous Egyptian language.
Close to a half of the Egyptian people today are urban, and most of the rest are fellahin living in rural towns and villages. A large influx of fellahin into urban cities, and rapid urbanization of many rural areas since the turn of the last century, have shifted the balance between the number of urban and rural citizens. Egyptians also form smaller minorities in neighboring countries, North America, Europe and Australia. It is also a matter of dispute whether the Egyptian population of the Balkan states are ethnic Egyptians.
The Egyptians are an autochthonous people deeply attached to their land. Historically, it was rare for Egyptians to leave their country permanently or for an extended period of time, it was not until the 1970s that Egyptians began to emigrate in large numbers. Until only recently, a study on the pattern of Egyptian emigration was quoted as saying "Egyptians have a reputation of preferring their own soil. Few leave except to study or travel; and they always return... Egyptians do not emigrate."Egyptians also tend to be provincial, meaning their attachment extends not only to Egypt but to the specific provinces, towns and villages from which they hail. Therefore, return migrants, such as temporary workers abroad, come back to their region of origin in Egypt.