Demographics of Ethiopia

Ethiopia's population is highly diverse, containing over 80 different ethnic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromo, Amhara, Somali and Tigrayans. According to the Ethiopian national census of 2007, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, at 34.4% of the nation's population. The Amhara represent 27.0% of the country's inhabitants, while Somalis and Tigrayans represent 6.2% and 6.1% of the population respectively. Other prominent ethnic groups are as follows: Sidama 4.0%, Gurage 2.5%, Welayta 2.3%, Afar 1.7%, Hadiya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5% and Others 12.6%.^[3]

Afroasiatic-speaking communities make up the majority of the population. Among these, Semitic speakers often collectively refer to themselves as the Habesha people. The Arabic form of this term (al-Ḥabasha) is the etymological basis of "Abyssinia", the former name of Ethiopia in English and other European languages.^[4] Additionally, Nilo-Saharan-speaking ethnic minorities inhabit the southern regions of the country, particularly in areas of the Gambela Region which borders South Sudan. The largest ethnic groups among these include the Nuer and Anuak.^[5] The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, being an amalgam of the main homelands of numerous ethnicities, contains over 56 indigenous ethnic groups.^[6]

According to the bibliographic database Glottolog, there are 109 languages spoken in Ethiopia; meanwhile, Ethnologue lists 90 individual languages spoken in the country.^[7][8] Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, including the Oromo language, Somali, Amharic, and Tigrinya. Together, these four groups make up about three-quarters of Ethiopia's population. Other Afroasiatic languages with a significant number of speakers include the Cushitic Sidamo, Afar, Hadiyya and Agaw languages, as well as the Semitic Gurage languages, Harari, Silt'e, and Argobba languages. Arabic, which also belongs to the Afroasiatic family, is likewise spoken in some areas.^[9]

The principal Semitic language of the north-west and centre of the country is Amharic, which is the language of the Amhara Region. Moreover, Amharic is also one of the official working languages of Ethiopia.^[10][11][12]

Oromo serves as one of the official working languages of Ethiopia^[10][11][12] and is also the working language of several of the states within the Ethiopian federal system including Oromia,^[13] Harar and Dire Dawa regional states and of the Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region.

Various religions are adhered to in Ethiopia. Most Christians live in the highlands, whereas Muslims mainly inhabit the lowlands. Adherents of traditional faiths are primarily concentrated in the southern regions.

According to the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (2007 census), the national religious composition is Ethiopian Orthodox 43.5%, Protestantism 18.6%, Roman Catholicism 0.7%, Islam 33.9%, traditional 2.6%, and others 0.6%.^[15]

Source: Central Statistical Agency (CSA)^[16]

Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.^[17] Its total population has grown from 38.1 million in 1983 to 109.5 million in 2018.^[18] The population was only about nine million in the 19th century.^[19] The 2007 Population and Housing Census results show that the population of Ethiopia grew at an average annual rate of 2.6% between 1994 and 2007, down from 2.8% during the period 1983–1994. As of 2015, the population growth rate is among the top ten countries in the world.^[20] According to UN estimations, life expectancy in Ethiopia had improved over time, with male life expectancy reported to be 56 years and for women 60 years.^[21]

UN estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[1][2], the total population was 120,283,026 in 2021, compared to 18,434,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 41.5%, 55.8% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.3% was 65 years or older. The average age was 25.1.^[22]

UN projections

Below are the UN's medium variant projections:^[25][22]

Registration of vital events in Ethiopia is incomplete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates:^[25]

CBR = crude birth rate (per 1,000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1,000); NC = natural change (per 1,000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1,000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1,000 births

Source: UN World Population Prospects

As per 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia^[26]

Fertility and Births (Demographic and Health Surveys)

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[27]

Fertility data as of 2011 (DHS Program):^[28]

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.^[29]

• One birth every 9 seconds
• One death every 43 seconds
• One net migrant every 144 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 11 seconds

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.^[30]

Population

116,462,712 (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 12th

120,283,026 (estimate for 2021)^[1][2]

Ethnic groups

Oromo 35.8%, Amhara 24.1%, Somali 7.2%, Tigray 5.7%, Sidama 4.1%, Guragie 2.6%, Welaita 2.3%, Afar 2.2%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, other 13.5% (2022 est.)

Religions

Ethiopian Orthodox 43.8%, Muslim 31.3%, Protestant 22.8%, Catholic 0.7%, traditional 0.6%, other 0.8% (2016 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 38.91% (male 22,821,026/female 22,498,331)

15-64 years: 57.55% (male 33,345,764/female 33,672,933)

65 years and over: 3.54% (male 1,887,831/female 2,236,827) (2023 est.)

0–14 years: 39.81% (male 21,657,152/female 21,381,628)

15–24 years: 19.47% (male 10,506,144/female 10,542,128)

25–54 years: 32.92% (male 17,720,540/female 17,867,298)

55–64 years: 4.42% (male 2,350,606/female 2,433,319)

65 years and over: 3.38% (male 1,676,478/female 1,977,857) (2020 est.)

0–14 years: 43.21% (male 23,494,593 /female 23,336,508)

15–24 years: 20.18% (male 10,857,968 /female 11,011,100)

25–54 years: 29.73% (male 15,978,384 /female 16,247,086)

55–64 years: 3.92% (male 2,059,129 /female 2,185,814)

65 years and over: 2.97% (male 1,445,547 /female 1,770,262) (2018 est.)

0–14 years: 43.94% (male 21,900,571/female 21,809,643)

15–24 years: 19.98% (male 9,865,976/female 10,009,596)

25–54 years: 29.31% (male 14,487,280/female 14,667,179)

55–64 years: 3.88% (male 1,882,315/female 1,981,762)

65 years and over: 2.88% (male 1,289,336/female 1,572,161) (2015 est.)

Population growth rate

2.42% (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 25th

2.46% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 25th

2.83% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 11th

2.89% (2015 est.)

Birth rate

29.97 births/1,000 population (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 29th

30.49 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 29th

36 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 17th

37.27 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Death rate

5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 176rd

5.7 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 173rd

7.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 110th

8.19 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.92 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 27th

3.99 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 28th

4.91 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 15th

5.15 children born/woman (2015 est.)

Median age

total: 19.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 197th

male: 19.6 years

female: 20.1 years (2020 est.)

total: 18 years. Country comparison to the world: 213rd

male: 17.8 years

female: 18.2 years (2018 est.)

total: 17.7 years

male: 17.5 years

female: 17.8 years (2015 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 109th

-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 107th

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.3 years (2019 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 20–49

20 years (2016 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25–29

Contraceptive prevalence rate

37.7% (2020)

36.5% (2017)

Urbanization

urban population: 23.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 4.4% annual rate of change (2020–25 est.)

urban population: 20.8% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 4.63% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)

urban population: 19.5% of total population (2015)

rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2010–15 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 75.7 (2021 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 70.2 (2021 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 5.5 (2021 est.)

potential support ratio: 18.1 (2021 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 68.59 years. Country comparison to the world: 183rd

male: 66.43 years

female: 70.81 years (2023 est.)

total population: 63 years

male: 60.5 years

female: 65.5 years (2018 est.)

total population: 61.48 years

male: 59.11 years

female: 63.93 years (2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS

adult prevalence rate: 1.15%

people living with HIV/AIDS: 730,300

deaths: 23,400 (2014 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 51.8%

male: 57.2%

female: 44.4% (2017)

total population: 49.1%

male: 57.2%

female: 41.1% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 8 years (2012)

male: 9 years (2012)

female: 8 years (2012)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Ethiopia is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

total: 5,7 % (2021 est.)

male: 4.4 % (2021 est.)

female: 7.2 % (2021 est.)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of Ethiopia.

• Habesha peoples
• Urbanization in Ethiopia

Attribution

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)