This article is about the demographic

Demographics

Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...

 features of the population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, including population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

, ethnicity

Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The country's population is highly diverse, containing over 80 different ethnic groups. Most people in Ethiopia speak Afro-Asiatic languages

Afro-Asiatic languages

The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...

, mainly of the Semitic

Semitic languages

The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...

 or Cushitic

Cushitic languages

The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt. They are named after the Biblical character Cush, who was identified as an ancestor of the speakers of these specific languages as early as AD 947...

 branches. The latter include the Oromo

Oromo people

The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...

, Amhara

Amhara people

Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...

, Tigray

Tigray-Tigrinya people

Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...

 and Somali

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

, who together make up three-quarters of the population.

Nilo-Saharan

Nilo-Saharan languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet...

-speaking Nilotic

Nilotic

Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...

 ethnic minorities also inhabit the southern regions of the country, particularly in areas bordering South Sudan

South Sudan

South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...

. Among these are the Mursi and Anuak.

Ethiopia is also a multi-religious country. Most of the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s live in the highlands

Ethiopian Highlands

The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa...

, while the Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s mainly inhabit the lowland

Lowland

In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or...

s. Adherents of traditional faiths

African Traditional Religion

The traditional religions indigenous to Africa have, for most of their existence, been orally rather than scripturally transmitted. They are generally associated with animism. Most have ethno-based creations stories...

 are mainly concentrated in the southern regions.

Amharic is the official national language. It was also the language of primary school instruction, but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa and Tigrinya. English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools.

Latest demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 (CSA) census (2007): 73,918,505

CIA

The World Factbook

The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official paper copy version is available from the National Technical Information Service and the Government Printing Office...

 est. (July 2011): 90,873,739

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2010 est.)

Age structure

Age range	Male	Female	Total
0–14 years	20,990,369	21,067,961	42,058,330 (46.28%)
15–64 years	22,707,235	23,682,385	46,389,620 (51.04%)
65 years and over	1,037,488	1,388,301	2,425,789 (2.67%)
Total	44,735,092	46,138,647	90,873,739

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
-0.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

note:
repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 for refuge from war and famine in earlier years is expected to continue for several years; small numbers of Sudanese and Somali refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 17% of total population (2010)

rate of urbanization: 3.8% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female

15–64 years:
1 male(s)/female

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

total population:
1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1 male(s)/female

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

65 years and over:
0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate

77 deaths/1,000 live births

total: 77.12 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 88.03 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 65.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
56.19 years

male:
53.64 years

female:
58.81 years (2011 est.)

Ethnic groups

Within the borders of Ethiopia lie the homelands of upwards of 80 ethnic groups, some of which number less than 1,000 reported members. No definitive list of these peoples exist, and authorities not only disagree over which are properly considered subgroups or which are artificial combinations of smaller groups, many smaller ethnic groups are omitted from every list. Despite this, an idea of this ethnic diversity can be obtained from the following list taken from the 2007 Ethiopian National Census. (Population size and percentage of Ethiopia's total population follows each entry.)

Afar Afar people The Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...  1,276,374 1.73% Agaw-Awi Awi people The Awi people are an ethnic group in Ethiopia, and are grouped as one of the Agaw people. The Awis live in Agew Awi Zone in Central Gojjam, and have a few communities in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.- Population :...  631,565 0.85% Agaw-Hamyra 267,851 0.36% Alaba 233,299 0.32% Amhara Amhara people Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...  19,870,651 26.89% Anuak 85,909 0.12% Argobba Argobba people The Argobba are a Muslim people group that is spread out through isolated village networks and towns in the northeast and east of Ethiopia. The Argobba have typically been astute traders and merchants, and have adjusted to the economic trends in their area...  140,134 0.19% Aari 290,453 0.29% Arbore Arbore people The Arbore are an ethnic group living southern Ethiopia, near Lake Chew Bahir.The Arbore speak a Cushitic languages....  6,840 0.01% Bacha 2,632 < 0.01% Basketo Basketo people The Basketo people are an Omotic-speaking ethnic group whose homeland lies in the southern part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region . The Basketo special woreda is named after this ethnic group...  78,284 0.11% Bench 353,526 0.48% Berta Berta people The Berta or Bertha are an ethnic group living along the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language that is not related to those of their Nilo-Saharan neighbors . Their total Ethiopian population is about 183,000 people....  183,259 0.25% Bodi 6,994 0.01% Brayle 5,002 0.01% Burji 71,871 0.10% Bena 27,022 0.04% Chara 13,210 0.02% Daasanach 48,067 0.07% Dawro Dawro The Dawro are a people of southern Ethiopia, also known as the Omete or the Kullo. They speak a dialect of the Gamo-Gofa-Dawro language.During the nineteenth century, the Dawro lived in an independent state known as the Kingdom of Dawro. It was annexed by Ethiopia in 1891...  543,148 0.74% Debase/ Gawwada 68,600 0.09% Dirashe 30,081 0.04% Dime 891 < 0.01% Dizi Dizi people Dizi is the name of an ethnic group living in southern Ethiopia. They share a number of somatic similarities with certain culturally related peoples of south-western Ethiopia, which include the Sheko and Nao, the Gimira , the Tsara, the Dime, the Aari and certain sub-groups of the Basketo people....  36,380 0.05% Donga Donga -Places in Africa:*Donga River, Nigeria and Cameroon*Donga Department, in Benin*Donga, Angola, a town*Donga, Nigeria, a town and Local Government Area in Taraba State-Persons:, Ernesto dos Santos, the first recorder of Brazilian samba...  35,166 0.05% Fedashe 3,448 < 0.01% Gamo Gamo people Gamo is the name of the Ethiopian ethnic group who speak the Gamo language. The name "Gamo" means a lion, which refers to their legacy; along with the Goffa, they gave their names to the former Gamo-Gofa province of Ethiopia. The 2007 Ethiopian national census reported that 1,107,163 people ...  1,107,163 1.50% Gebato 1,502 < 0.01%

Gedeo Gedeo people The Gedeo are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. The Gedeo Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region is named for this people...  986,977 1.34% Gedicho 5,483 0.01% Gidole Gidole Gidole is a town in southern Ethiopia, and is the administrative center of the Dirashe special woreda. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation ranging from 2045 to 2650 meters above sea level...  41,100 0.06% Goffa 363,009 0.49% Gumuz 159,418 0.22% Gurage Gurage Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 1,867,377 people , of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 7.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region...  1,867,377 2.53% Hadiya Hadiya The Hadiya Kingdom was an ancient kingdom in located in southwestern Ethiopia, south of the Abbay River and west of Shewa. It was ruled by the Hadiya people, who spoke the Cushitic Hadiyya language. The historical Hadiya area was situated between Kembata, Gamo, and Waj, southwest of Shewa...  1,284,373 1.74% Harari Harari people The Harari people, also called geyusu , are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group originating from the Harari Region located in the eastern Ethiopia.- Harari Language :...  31,869 0.04% Hamer 46,532 0.06% Irob Irob people The Irob people are an ethnic group who occupy a predominantly highland, mountainous area by the same name in northeastern Tigray Region, Ethiopia. They speak the Saho language, are Christians , and mainly agriculturalists...  33,372 0.05% Kafficho 870,213 1.18% Kambaata 630,236 0.85% Konta 83,607 0.11% Komo Kwama people The Kwama , are a Nilo-Saharan-speaking community living in the Sudanese-Ethiopian borderland, mainly in the Mao-Komo special woreda of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region in, Ethiopia. They belong, culturally and linguistically, to the Koman groups, which include neighboring communities such as the Uduk,...  7,795 0.01% Konso Konso people The Konso or Konzo people are an ethnic group in south-central Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, they numbered 250,430 of whom 10,470 or 4.18% are urban dwellers. Over 87% live in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region....  250,430 0.34% Koore Koore people The Koore are an ethnic group whose homeland lies in southern Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, there are 156,983 members in this group, of whom 8.3% are urban inhabitants.-Overview:...  156,983 0.21% Koyego 1,974 < 0.01% Kunama 4,860 0.01% Karo 1,464 < 0.01% Kusumie 7,470 0.01% Kwegu Kwegu people The Kwegu people are a Surmic ethnic group inhabiting the shores of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia.-Overview:The Kwegu speak the Kwegu language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Nilo-Saharan language family....  4,407 0.01% Male 98,114 0.13% Mao 43,535 0.06% Mareqo 64,381 0.09% Mashola 10,458 0.01% Mere Mere Mere may refer to:* Mere , a lake that is broad in relation to its depth* Mere , a Māori war club* Mere by Norwegian rock band deLillos* Ain-Ervin Mere , Estonian war criminal-Places:* Mere, Cheshire, England...  14,298 0.02% Me'en Surma people Surma is a panethnicity residing in South Sudan and southwestern Ethiopia. It includes the Nilo-Saharan-speaking Suri, Mursi and Me'en.-Overview:...  151,489 0.20% Messengo 10,964 0.01% Majangir 21,959 0.03%

Mossiye 19,698 0.03% Murle 1,469 < 0.01% Mursi 7,500 0.01% Nao 9,829 0.01% Nuer 147,672 0.20% Nyangatom Nyangatom The Nyangatom are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan...  25,252 0.03% Oromo Oromo people The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...  25,489,024 34.49% Oyda 45,149 0.06% Qebena 52,712 0.07% Qechem 2,585 < 0.01% Qewama 298 < 0.01% Shekecho 77,678 0.11% Sheko 37,573 0.05% Shinasha 52,637 0.07% Sidama 2,966,474 4.01% Silt'e Silt'e people The Silt'e people are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. They inhabit today's Silt'e Zone which is part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. A considerable number of Silt'e live in Addis Ababa, Adama and other cities and smaller urban centres of southern Ethiopia where...  940,766 1.27% Somali Somali people Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...  4,581,794 6.20% Surma Surma people Surma is a panethnicity residing in South Sudan and southwestern Ethiopia. It includes the Nilo-Saharan-speaking Suri, Mursi and Me'en.-Overview:...  27,886 0.04% She She people The She people are a Chinese ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China....  320 < 0.01% Shita/Upo 1,602 < 0.01% Tigray Tigray-Tigrinya people Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...  4,483,892 6.07% Tembaro 98,621 0.13% Tsamai Tsamai people The Tsamai people are an ethnic group of southwestern Ethiopia. They speak an East Cushitic language called Tsamai, which is one of the Dullay languages, and thus related to the Bussa and Gawwada languages.According to the 1998 Ethiopian census, the Tsamai number 9,702...  20,046 0.03% Welayta Welayta people Wolayta is the name of an ethnic group and its former kingdom, located in southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent census , they number 1.7 million people or 2.31 percent of the country's population, of whom 289,707 are urban inhabitants...  1,707,079 2.31% Werji Werji people Werji is an ethnic group living in Ethiopia numbering 20,480 according to the 1994 Ethiopian census . They are located primarily in Southwestern Ethiopia and may have originally spoken an East Gurage language, but today primarily speak Oromo...  13,232 0.02% Yem Yem people The Yem are an ethnic group living in south-western Ethiopia. They are also called by their neighbors as the Janjero, but the Yem consider this exonym derogatory, since it sounds similar to the Amharic word "zinjero" which means "monkey". Their native language is Yemsa, one of the Omotic languages,...  160,447 0.22% Zeyese 17,884 0.02% Zelmam 2,704 < 0.01%

Religions

Ethiopian Orthodox 63.5%, Protestant

P'ent'ay

P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...

 18.6% (which include Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church

Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church

According to its followers, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church stands to preserve the country's orthodox traditions while believing in the full Gospel of the scripture. Most of its members reside in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, however it has several members globally...

 and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus

Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus is a Christian denomination in Ethiopia. It was created in 1959 with the merger of Lutheran and other congregations established by missionary work in that country, taking its name from the first congregation in Addis Ababa, Mekane Yesus...

), Muslim

Islam in Ethiopia

According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...

 33.9%, traditional (2.6%) Catholic

Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia

The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...

 0.7%, all others 0.6%. Small Ethiopian Jewish community, although most have migrated to Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

Languages

Amharic

Amharic language

Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...

 32.7% (as a first language), Oromigna

Oromo language

Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...

 31.6%, Tigrinya

Tigrinya language

Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...

 6.1%, Somali

Somali language

The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....

 6.0%, Guragigna 3.5%, Sidamo

Sidamo language

Sidamo is an Afro-Asiatic language, belonging to the Cushitic branch, part of the Highland East Cushitic group. It is spoken in parts of southern Ethiopia....

 3.5%, other local languages; Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 (major foreign language taught in schools), Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 (only spoken by Italian minority).

Literacy

definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
42.7%

male:
50.3%

female:
35.1% (2003 est.)

See also

• Languages of Ethiopia
  Languages of Ethiopia
  There are 90 individual languages of Ethiopia according to Ethnologue . Most belong to the Afro-Asiatic language family , with Nilo-Saharan languages also spoken by the nation's Nilotic ethnic minorities.Charles A...
  
  
• Habesha
• Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church
  Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church
  According to its followers, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church stands to preserve the country's orthodox traditions while believing in the full Gospel of the scripture. Most of its members reside in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, however it has several members globally...
  
  
• Islam in Ethiopia
  Islam in Ethiopia
  According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
  
  
• P'ent'ay
  P'ent'ay
  P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
  
  
• Christianity in Ethiopia
  Christianity in Ethiopia
  Christianity in Ethiopia dates to the first century AD, and this long tradition makes Ethiopia unique amongst sub-Saharan African countries. Christianity in this country is divided into several groups...