Demographics & population — Ethiopia
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Ethiopia: 108,113,150
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Population overview
- Population
108,113,150
- Population - note
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
- Population Growth Rate
2.9%
- Urban Population
- Population in Major Urban Areas
ADDIS ABABA (capital) 2.979 million
Age & family
- Age Structure
- Median Age
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
38
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
8.87
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
5.31
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
28.6%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
28.6%
- Mean Age for Mother's First Birth (age 25-49)
19.6
- Mother's mean age at first birth
19.6
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
-0.23
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
- Language Note
Amharic, a Semitic language related to Hebrew and Arabic is the official national language and is used in commerce and administration. Tigrinya is the most widely spoken daily language and Orominga is also used. The liturgical language (Geéz) of the Ethiopian Orthodox church has produced a large and vibrant literature of considerable importance. English is taught in most schools, making it the most widely understood foreign language. The Amharic alphabet has thirty-three(33) root letters or constants with seven(7) phonetics (vowels) or 231 symbols or letters. Additionally there are 40 characters that are use as combinations or shortenings of the 231 characters.
- Nationality Noun
Ethiopian(s)
Education
- Literacy - total population
42.7%
- Literacy - male
50.3%
- Literacy - female
35.1%
- Literacy Definition
Age 15 and over can read and write
- Education Expenditures - percent of GDP
4.7%
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- Infant Mortality Rate
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
350
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
.03
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
6.3
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
4.7%
- Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk
Very high
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
1.1%
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
29.2%
