Christianity is the second largest religion in Egypt. Verifiable data available from Egyptian censuses, and other large-scale nationwide surveys indicate that Christians presently constitute around 5% of the Egyptian population. Nevertheless, some media and other agencies, estimate the Christian population of Egypt to be between 10-15%. The higher estimates are sometimes based on figures provided by the churches themselves. While a minority within Egypt, Egypt's Christian population is the largest in absolute numbers in the Middle East and North Africa. The history of Egyptian Christianity dates to the Roman era as Alexandria was an early center of Christianity.