Population:
105,350,020
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 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
Nationality:
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian
Ethnic groups:
Oromo 34.4%, Amhara (Amara) 27%, Somali (Somalie) 6.2%, Tigray (Tigrinya) 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Afar (Affar) 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, other 8.8% (2007 est.)
Languages:
Oromo (official working language in the State of Oromiya) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official working language of the State of Sumale) 6.2%, Tigrigna (Tigrinya) (official working language of the State of Tigray) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Gurage 2%, Afar (official working language of the State of Afar) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Opuuo 1.2%, Kafa 1.1%, other 8.1%, English (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (2007 est.)
Religions:
Ethiopian Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.5%, traditional 2.7%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.6% (2007 est.)
Demographic profile:
Ethiopia is a predominantly agricultural country – more than 80% of the population lives in rural areas – that is in the early stages of demographic transition. Infant, child, and maternal mortality have fallen sharply over the past decade, but the total fertility rate has declined more slowly and the population continues to grow. The rising age of marriage and the increasing proportion of women remaining single have contributed to fertility reduction. While the use of modern contraceptive methods among married women has increased significantly from 6 percent in 2000 to 27 percent in 2012, the overall rate is still quite low.
Ethiopia’s rapid population growth is putting increasing pressure on land resources, expanding environmental degradation, and raising vulnerability to food shortages. With more than 40 percent of the population below the age of 15 and a fertility rate of over 5 children per woman (and even higher in rural areas), Ethiopia will have to make further progress in meeting its family planning needs if it is to achieve the age structure necessary for reaping a demographic dividend in the coming decades.
Poverty, drought, political repression, and forced government resettlement have driven Ethiopia’s internal and external migration since the 1960s. Before the 1974 revolution, only small numbers of the Ethiopian elite went abroad to study and then returned home, but under the brutal Derg regime thousands fled the country, primarily as refugees. Between 1982 and 1991 there was a new wave of migration to the West for family reunification. Since the defeat of the Derg in 1991, Ethiopians have migrated to escape violence among some of the country’s myriad ethnic groups or to pursue economic opportunities. Internal and international trafficking of women and children for domestic work and prostitution is a growing problem.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.47% (male 22,963,502/female 22,826,957)
15-24 years: 20.11% (male 10,516,591/female 10,669,695)
25-54 years: 29.58% (male 15,464,171/female 15,702,104)
55-64 years: 3.91% (male 1,998,711/female 2,115,210)
65 years and over: 2.94% (male 1,391,339/female 1,701,740) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::ETHIOPIA
Population Pyramid
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 82.1
youth dependency ratio: 75.8
elderly dependency ratio: 6.3
potential support ratio: 15.8 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 17.9 years
male: 17.7 years
female: 18.1 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 215
Population growth rate:
2.85% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
Birth rate:
36.5 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
Death rate:
7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
Net migration rate:
-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
Population distribution:
highest density is found in the highlands of the north and middle areas of the country, particularly around the centrally located capital city of Addis Ababa; the far east and southeast are sparsely populated
Urbanization:
urban population: 20.4% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 4.64% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
ADDIS ABABA (capital) 3.238 million (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
20 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2016 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
353 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
Infant mortality rate:
total: 49.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 42.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.6 years
male: 60.1 years
female: 65.1 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 196
Total fertility rate:
4.99 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
39.2% (2016)
Health expenditures:
4.9% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 145
Physicians density:
0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
Hospital bed density:
0.3 beds/1,000 population (2015)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 93.1% of population
rural: 48.6% of population
total: 57.3% of population
unimproved:
urban: 6.9% of population
rural: 51.4% of population
total: 42.7% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 27.2% of population
rural: 28.2% of population
total: 28% of population
unimproved:
urban: 72.8% of population
rural: 71.8% of population
total: 72% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.1% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
710,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
20,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
4.5% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 185
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
23.6% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 15
Education expenditures:
4.5% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 85
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 49.1%
male: 57.2%
female: 41.1% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 8 years
male: 9 years
female: 8 years (2012)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 26.7%
male: 22%
female: 30.4% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43