^ Official population counts put the number of Copts at around 6-10% of the population, while some Coptic voices claim figures as high as 15 to 20%. While some scholars defend the soundness of the official population census (cf. E.J.Chitham, The Coptic Community in Egypt. Spatial and Social Change, Durham 1986), most scholars and international observers assume that the Christian share of Egypt's population is higher than stated by the Egyptian government. Most independent estimates fall within range between 9% and 20%, for example the CIA World Factbook [2], or the Washington Institute [3]. For a projected 83,000,000+ Egyptians in 2009, this assumption yields the above figures. In 2008, Pope Shenouda III and Bishop Morkos, bishop of Shubra, declared that the number of Copts in Egypt is more than 12 million. In the same year, father Morkos Aziz the prominent priest in Cairo declared that the number of Copts (inside Egypt) exceeds 16 million. [4] and [5]. Furthermore, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy [6] estimates the percentage of Copts in Egypt to be up to 20% of the Egyptian population
^According to published accounts and several Coptic/US sources (including the US-Coptic Association), the Coptic Orthodox Church has between 700,000 and one million members in the United States (c. 2005-2007). ^^"Why CCU?". Coptic Credit Union. Accessed June 21, 2009. ((cite web)): Check date values in: |date= (help)