Ethiopia: People & Society#

Population102,374,044
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 2016 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian
Ethnic groupsOromo 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.)
LanguagesOromo (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.)
ReligionsEthiopian Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.5%, traditional 2.7%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.6% (2007 est.)
Demographic profileEthiopia 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 structure0-14 years: 43.71% (male 22,430,798/female 22,316,910)
15-24 years: 20.04% (male 10,182,973/female 10,332,626)
25-54 years: 29.45% (male 14,970,645/female 15,178,999)
55-64 years: 3.89% (male 1,939,635/female 2,047,041)
65 years and over: 2.91% (male 1,338,985/female 1,635,432) (2016 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 81.6%
youth dependency ratio: 75.2%
elderly dependency ratio: 6.3%
potential support ratio: 15.8% (2015 est.)
Median agetotal: 17.8 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 18 years (2016 est.)
Population growth rate2.88% (2016 est.)
Birth rate36.9 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Death rate7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Net migration rate-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Urbanizationurban population: 19.5% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major urban areas - populationADDIS ABABA (capital) 3.238 million (2015)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.03 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 (2016 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth19.6
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2011 est.)
Maternal mortality rate353 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 51.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 43.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 62.2 years
male: 59.8 years
female: 64.7 years (2016 est.)
Total fertility rate5.07 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate28.6% (2010/11)
Health expenditures4.9% of GDP (2014)
Physicians density0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
Hospital bed density6.3 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Drinking water sourceimproved:
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 accessimproved:
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 rate1.15% (2014 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS730,300 (2014 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths23,400 (2014 est.)
Major infectious diseasesdegree 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 rate3.3% (2014)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight25.2% (2014)
Education expenditures4.5% of GDP (2013)
Literacydefinition: 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)
Child labor - children ages 5-14total number: 10,693,164
percentage: 53% (2005 est.)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24total: 7.3%
male: 5%
female: 9.6% (2013 est.)