Languages spoken in Ethiopia
Africa · Capital: Addis Ababa · Population 118.5 million
The official language of Ethiopia is Amharic. English is the most widely spoken language, with an estimated 43% of the population speaking it as a first or additional language, or roughly 51 million people. English itself holds no official status in Ethiopia, despite being the most widely spoken. After English, the most widely spoken are Amharic at 33% and Oromo at 32%. English belongs to the Indo-European language family. English is also spoken in four of its six neighbours: Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan. In total, eight languages are recorded in Ethiopia, and their shares add up to 126.7% of the population, which implies the average resident speaks about 1.3 of them.
What languages are spoken in Ethiopia?
| Language | Share of population | Status | Estimated speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| EnglishIndo-European | 43% | Spoken | 51 million |
| AmharicAfro-Asiatic | 33% | Official | 39.1 million |
| OromoAfro-Asiatic | 32% | Spoken | 37.9 million |
| SomaliAfro-Asiatic | 6% | Spoken | 7.1 million |
| TigrinyaAfro-Asiatic | 6% | Spoken | 7.1 million |
| Sidamo | 3.5% | Spoken | 4.1 million |
| Wolaytta | 1.8% | Spoken | 2.1 million |
| Afar | 1.4% | Spoken | 1.7 million |
Percentages are the share of the population that speaks each language, including as a second language, so they add up to well over 100% in multilingual countries. Speaker counts are estimates derived from the percentage and the country's population, not counted figures.
What is the official language of Ethiopia?
The official language of Ethiopia is Amharic. Amharic is spoken by an estimated 33% of the population, or roughly 39.1 million people, counting both first-language and additional speakers. That is not the most widely spoken language in the country: English is, at 43%.
Official status comes from Unicode CLDR. It distinguishes languages that are official nationwide, those used as de facto official without being named in law, and those official only in particular regions or territories.
How many people speak English in Ethiopia?
An estimated 43% of Ethiopia's 118.5 million people speak English, which works out at roughly 51 million speakers. That figure is derived from the population and the reported share, and it counts second-language speakers, so it is an estimate rather than a census count.
Key facts about Ethiopia
- Capital
- Addis Ababa
- Population
- 118.5 million
- Continent
- Africa
- Area
- 1,104,300 km²
- Currency
- ETB
- Languages recorded
- 8
- Land borders
- 6
- ISO codes
- ET / ETH / 231
Which countries border Ethiopia?
Ethiopia shares a land border with six countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, and South Sudan. English, the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, is also spoken in Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan.
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Language shares, population, and official status: Unicode CLDR. Capital, area, borders, and currency: mledoze/countries (ODbL 1.0). Flag image: flagcdn.com. Speaker counts are estimates derived from population and reported share.