Demographics of Ethiopia

Source: Central Statistical Agency (CSA)^[3]

Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.^[4] Its total population has grown from 38.1 million in 1983 to 109.5 million in 2018.^[5] The population was only about nine million in the 19th century.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9]

More information Total population, Population aged 0–14 (%) ...

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	18 434 000	44.1	52.9	3
1955	20 298 000	43.9	53.3	2.8
1960	22 553 000	43.5	53.8	2.6
1965	25 480 000	43.5	53.9	2.6
1970	28 959 000	44.1	53.3	2.7
1975	32 959 000	44.5	52.7	2.8
1980	35 426 000	44.5	52.6	2.9
1985	41 078 000	44.6	52.6	2.9
1990	48 333 000	45.4	52.1	2.9
1995	57 042 000	45.9	51.2	2.9
2000	65 578 000	45.9	51.1	3.0
2005	74 264 000	44.5	52.4	3.1
2010	82 950 000	41.5	55.2	3.3

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More information Age Group, Male ...

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	37 217 130	36 533 802	73 750 932	100
0–4	5 482 792	5 314 230	10 797 022	14.64
5–9	6 106 788	5 874 976	11 981 764	16.25
10–14	5 412 324	4 999 913	10 412 237	14.12
15–19	4 454 710	4 293 338	8 748 048	11.86
20–24	3 098 338	3 303 747	6 402 085	8.68
25–29	2 622 759	3 039 429	5 662 188	7.68
30–34	2 088 208	2 131 858	4 220 066	5.72
35–39	1 827 296	1 949 346	3 776 642	5.12
40–44	1 464 529	1 408 451	2 872 980	3.90
45–49	1 150 017	1 097 287	2 247 304	3.05
50–54	928 294	962 472	1 890 766	2.56
55–59	634 053	536 967	1 171 020	1.59
60–64	646 359	588 641	1 235 000	1.67
65–69	446 242	359 019	805 261	1.09
70–74	359 897	316 663	676 560	0.92
75–79	203 843	146 333	350 176	0.47
80–84	159 786	127 691	287 477	0.39
85–89	62 001	38 195	100 196	0.14
90–94	38 185	26 357	64 542	0.09
95+	30 709	18 889	49 598	0.07
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	17 001 904	16 189 119	33 191 023	45.00
15–64	18 914 563	19 311 536	38 226 099	51.83
65+	1 300 663	1 033 147	2 333 810	3.16

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Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 29.V.2007): ^[10]

More information Age Group, Male ...

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	50 501 054	50 195 689	100 696 744	100
0–4	6 928 657	6 696 036	13 624 693	13.53
5–9	6 556 462	6 386 585	12 943 045	12.85
10–14	5 953 639	5 819 250	11 772 889	11.69
15–19	5 590 667	5 450 660	11 041 324	10.96
20–24	5 047 253	4 902 329	9 949 582	9.88
25–29	4 406 798	4 348 582	8 755 379	8.69
30–34	3 687 268	3 768 246	7 455 512	7.40
35–39	2 990 405	3 135 347	6 125 754	6.08
40–44	2 394 320	2 528 749	4 923 071	4.89
45–49	1 843 822	1 962 667	3 806 489	3.78
50–54	1 472 263	1 548 292	3 020 553	3.00
55–59	1 156 765	1 177 778	2 334 541	2.32
60–64	883 392	899 303	1 782 694	1.77
65–69	639 745	643 776	1 283 523	1.27
70–74	444 339	441 554	885 894	0.88
75–79	276 955	273 976	550 928	0.55
80+	228 308	212 565	440 871	0.44
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	19 438 758	18 901 871	38 340 629	38.08
15–64	29 472 949	29 721 947	59 194 896	58.79
65+	1 589 347	1 571 871	3 161 218	3.14

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Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Estimates considering also the results of the 2007 Population Census.):^[11]

Registration of vital events in Ethiopia is incomplete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates: ^[12]

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

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Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

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%.^[16]

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.^[17] 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.^[18] The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, being an amalgam of the main homelands of numerous ethnicities, contains over 56 indigenous ethnic groups.^[19]

According to the bibliographic database Glottolog, there are 109 languages spoken in Ethiopia; meanwhile, Ethnologue lists 90 individual languages spoken in the country.^[20][21] 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.^[22]

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.^[23][24]

Oromo serves as one of the official working languages of Ethiopia^[23][24] and is also the working language of several of the states within the Ethiopian federal system including Oromia,^[25] 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%.^[27]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of Ethiopia.

• Habesha peoples
• Urbanization in Ethiopia