Ethiopia: People & Society#
| Population | 102,374,044 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.) |
|---|---|
| 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: 43.71% (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 ratios | total dependency ratio: 81.6% youth dependency ratio: 75.2% elderly dependency ratio: 6.3% potential support ratio: 15.8% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 17.8 years male: 17.6 years female: 18 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.88% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 36.9 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 19.5% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | ADDIS ABABA (capital) 3.238 million (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at 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 birth | 19.6 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2011 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 353 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 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 birth | total population: 62.2 years male: 59.8 years female: 64.7 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 5.07 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 28.6% (2010/11) |
| Health expenditures | 4.9% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2009) |
| Hospital bed density | 6.3 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| 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 | 1.15% (2014 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 730,300 (2014 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 23,400 (2014 est.) |
| 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 | 3.3% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 25.2% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 4.5% of GDP (2013) |
| 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) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 10,693,164 percentage: 53% (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 7.3% male: 5% female: 9.6% (2013 est.) |