Demographics of Ethiopia Information & Demographics of Ethiopia Links at HealthHaven.com

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Ethiopia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigrayans make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members. In general, most of the Christians live in the highlands, the Muslims inhabit the lowlands, and adherents of animist religions populate the southernmost regions. English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools. Amharic was the language of primary school instruction but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa and Tigrinya.

[edit] Latest demographic statistics

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

[edit] Population

CSA census (2007): 73,918,505^[1]
CIA est. (2008): 82,544,840 ^[2]

[edit] Age structure

0-14 years: 44.98% (male 17,031,890; female 16,216,131)
15-64 years: 50.46% (male 17,935,798; female 19,363,385)
65 years and over: 4.55% (male 2,328,969; female 1,032,539)^[1]

[edit] Population growth rate

3.21% (2008 est.)

[edit] Birth rate

38.12 births population (2006 est.)

[edit] Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan 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.)

[edit] 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.)

[edit] Infant mortality rate

77 deaths/1,000 live births^[3]

[edit] Life expectancy at birth

total population: 49.03 years
male: 47.86 years
female: 50.24 years (2006 est.)

[edit] Total fertility rate

9 children born/woman^[3]

[edit] Nationality

noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian

[edit] Ethnic groups

Oromo 34.49%, Amhara 26.89%, Somali 6.2%, Tigray 6.07%, Sidama 4.01%, Gurage 2.53%, Wolayta 2.31%, Hadiya 1.74%, Afar 1.73%, Gamo 1.5%. (smaller groups are listed at Category:Ethnic groups in Ethiopia)^[1]

[edit] Religions

Main article: Religion in Ethiopia

Ethiopian Orthodox 43.5%, Protestant 18.6% (which include Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus), Muslim 33.9%, traditional (2.6%) Catholic 0.7%, all others 0.6%.^[1] Small Ethiopian Jewish community, although most have migrated to Israel.

But the U.S. Department of States has contradictory figures, putting Islam as being about equal or a slight majority, so a need for review of the figures will be required (Islam 45%-50%, Orthodoxy 40%, Protestant 5% and the remaining is traditional).^[4]^[5]

[edit] Languages

Main article: Languages of Ethiopia

Amharic 32.7% (as a first language), Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrinya 6.1%, Somali 6.0%, Guragigna 3.5%, Sidamo 3.5%, other local languages; Arabic, English (major foreign language taught in schools),^[6] Italian (only spoken by Italian minority).

[edit] Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7%
male: 50.3%
female: 35.1% (2003 est.)

[edit] Genetic studies

Most Y-chromosome haplogroups in Ethiopia are of the E1b1b (formerly E3b) clade. It is extant in its highest level among the Oromo, where it represents 79.5% of lineages. It is also found at a frequency of 45.8% among the Amhara. The haplogroup is thought to have originated either in the Horn of Africa^[7] or the Near East^[8]. E1b1b is mostly characterized by its E1b1b1a (M78) sub-clade (formerly known as E3b1a). The haplogroup J, which is believed to have arisen 31,700 years ago (plus or minus 12,800 years) in the Near East, is also found in high numbers in the Amhara and Tigray people. It is found at levels of about 35% among the Amhara, of which about 33% is J1-M267 associated with the Semitic speaking population and 2% J2-M172.^[7]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 2007 Ethiopian census, first draft, Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (accessed 6 May 2009)
^ The World Factbook. "Ethiopia." 2006.
^ ^a ^b Macro International Inc. 2008. "Ethiopia Atlas of Key Demographic and Health Indicators, 2005." Calverton, Maryland, USA: Macro International Inc. (accessed 6 May 2009)
^ Bureau of African Affairs - Background Note: Ethiopia
^ International Religious Freedom Report 2007 - Ethiopia
^ The World Factbook, "Ethiopia." 2006. (The preliminary draft of the 2007 national census does not provide figures on language speakers.)
^ ^a ^b Semino et al. (2004), Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area, American Journal of Human Genetics, 74: 1023–1034.
^ ISOGG: Y-DNA Haplogroup E and its Subclades - 2008

This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2006 edition".

[edit] See also

[Census-2007-0] 2007 Ethiopian census, first draft, Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (accessed 6 May 2009)

[1] The World Factbook. "Ethiopia." 2006.

[Macro-2] Macro International Inc. 2008. "Ethiopia Atlas of Key Demographic and Health Indicators, 2005." Calverton, Maryland, USA: Macro International Inc. (accessed 6 May 2009)

[3] Bureau of African Affairs - Background Note: Ethiopia

[4] International Religious Freedom Report 2007 - Ethiopia

[5] The World Factbook, "Ethiopia." 2006. (The preliminary draft of the 2007 national census does not provide figures on language speakers.)

[Semino-6] Semino et al. (2004), Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area, American Journal of Human Genetics, 74: 1023–1034.

[7] ISOGG: Y-DNA Haplogroup E and its Subclades - 2008

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