Population and Demographics

Ethiopia's population is highly diverse; the Oromo, Amhara and Tigray make up more than three-quarters of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members.

According to the Ethiopian national census of 1994, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia at 32.1%. The Amhara represent 30.2%, while the Tigray people are 6.2% of the population. Other ethnic groups are as follows:

• Somali 6.0%
• Gurage 4.3%
• Sidama 3.4%
• Wolayta 2%
• Afar 2%
• Hadiya 2%
• Gamo 1%

Ethiopians and Eritreans, especially Semitic-speaking ones, collectively refer to themselves as Habesha or Abesha, though others reject these names on the basis that they refer only to certain ethnicities. The Arabic form of this term (Al-Habesh) is the etymological basis of 'Abyssinia,' the former name of Ethiopia in English and other European languages.