The population density in Ethiopia increased by 2.9 inhabitants per square kilometer (+2.68 percent) in 2022 in comparison to the previous year. With 111.1 inhabitants per square kilometer, the population density thereby reached its highest value in the observed period. Notably, the population density continuously increased over the last years.Population density refers to the number of people living in a certain country or area, given as an average per square kilometer. It is calculated by dividing the total midyear population by the total land area.Find more key insights for the population density in countries like Madagascar and Somalia.

Historical chart and dataset showing Ethiopia population density by year from 1961 to 2022.

Ethiopia population density for 2021 was 106.58, a 2.64% increase from 2020.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Ethiopia population density for 2020 was <strong>103.84</strong>, a <strong>2.69% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Ethiopia population density for 2019 was <strong>101.12</strong>, a <strong>2.69% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>Ethiopia population density for 2018 was <strong>98.47</strong>, a <strong>2.71% increase</strong> from 2017.</li>
</ul>Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.

Population density (people per sq. km of land area) in Ethiopia was reported at 111 sq. Km in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Ethiopia - Population density (people per sq. km) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

From the AfriPop website..."High resolution, contemporary data on human population distributions are a prerequisite for the accurate measurement of the impacts of population growth, for monitoring changes and for planning interventions. The AfriPop project was initiated in July 2009 with an aim of producing detailed and freely-available population distribution maps for the whole of Africa. Based on the approaches outlined in detail here and here, and summarized on the methods page, fine resolution satellite imagery-derived settlement maps are combined with land cover maps to reallocate contemporary census-based spatial population count data. Assessments have shown that the resultant maps are more accurate than existing population map products, as well as the simple gridding of census data. Moreover, the 100m spatial resolution represents a finer mapping detail than has ever before been produced at national extents. The approaches used in AfriPop dataset production are designed with operational application in mind, using simple and semi-automated methods to produce easily updatable maps. Given the speed with which population growth and urbanisation are occurring across much of Africa, and the impacts these are having on the economies, environments and health of nations, such features are a necessity for both research and operational applications."Data Source: AfriPop.org

Ethiopia: Population density, people per square km: The latest value from 2021 is 107 people per square km, an increase from 104 people per square km in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 456 people per square km, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Ethiopia from 1961 to 2021 is 53 people per square km. The minimum value, 20 people per square km, was reached in 1961 while the maximum of 107 people per square km was recorded in 2021.

The world's most accurate population datasets. Seven maps/datasets for the distribution of various populations in Ethiopia: (1) Overall population density (2) Women (3) Men (4) Children (ages 0-5) (5) Youth (ages 15-24) (6) Elderly (ages 60+) (7) Women of reproductive age (ages 15-49). Methodology These high-resolution maps are created using machine learning techniques to identify buildings from commercially available satellite images. This is then overlayed with general population estimates based on publicly available census data and other population statistics at Columbia University. The resulting maps are the most detailed and actionable tools available for aid and research organizations. For more information about the methodology used to create our high resolution population density maps and the demographic distributions, click here. For information about how to use HDX to access these datasets, please visit: https://dataforgood.fb.com/docs/high-resolution-population-density-maps-demographic-estimates-documentation/ Adjustments to match the census population with the UN estimates are applied at the national level. The UN estimate for a given country (or state/territory) is divided by the total census estimate of population for the given country. The resulting adjustment factor is multiplied by each administrative unit census value for the target year. This preserves the relative population totals across administrative units while matching the UN total. More information can be found here

Ethiopia ET: Population Density: People per Square Km data was reported at 104.957 Person/sq km in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 102.403 Person/sq km for 2016. Ethiopia ET: Population Density: People per Square Km data is updated yearly, averaging 42.197 Person/sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2017, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 104.957 Person/sq km in 2017 and a record low of 20.591 Person/sq km in 1961. Ethiopia ET: Population Density: People per Square Km data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ethiopia – Table ET.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.; ; Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank population estimates.; Weighted average;

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key geographic term. (Wikipedia)

Population density per pixel at 100 metre resolution. WorldPop provides estimates of numbers of people residing in each 100x100m grid cell for every low and middle income country. Through ingegrating cencus, survey, satellite and GIS datasets in a flexible machine-learning framework, high resolution maps of population counts and densities for 2000-2020 are produced, along with accompanying metadata.

DATASET: Alpha version 2010 and 2015 estimates of numbers of people per grid square, with national totals adjusted to match UN population division estimates (http://esa.un.org/wpp/) and remaining unadjusted.

REGION: Africa

SPATIAL RESOLUTION: 0.000833333 decimal degrees (approx 100m at the equator)

PROJECTION: Geographic, WGS84

UNITS: Estimated persons per grid square

MAPPING APPROACH: Land cover based, as described in: Linard, C., Gilbert, M., Snow, R.W., Noor, A.M. and Tatem, A.J., 2012, Population distribution, settlement patterns and accessibility across Africa in 2010, PLoS ONE, 7(2): e31743.

FORMAT: Geotiff (zipped using 7-zip (open access tool): www.7-zip.org)

FILENAMES: Example - AGO10adjv4.tif = Angola (AGO) population count map for 2010 (10) adjusted to match UN national estimates (adj), version 4 (v4). Population maps are updated to new versions when improved census or other input data become available.

Ethiopia data available from WorldPop here.

VERSION 1.5. The world's most accurate population datasets. Seven maps/datasets for the distribution of various populations in Nigeria: (1) Overall population density (2) Women (3) Men (4) Children (ages 0-5) (5) Youth (ages 15-24) (6) Elderly (ages 60+) (7) Women of reproductive age (ages 15-49).

Methodology

These high-resolution maps are created using machine learning techniques to identify buildings from commercially available satellite images. This is then overlayed with general population estimates based on publicly available census data and other population statistics at Columbia University. The resulting maps are the most detailed and actionable tools available for aid and research organizations. For more information about the methodology used to create our high resolution population density maps and the demographic distributions, click [here](https://dataforgood.fb.com/docs/methodology-high-resolution-population-density-maps-demographic-estimates/

For information about how to use HDX to access these datasets, please visit: https://dataforgood.fb.com/docs/high-resolution-population-density-maps-demographic-estimates-documentation/

Adjustments to match the census population with the UN estimates are applied at the national level. The UN estimate for a given country (or state/territory) is divided by the total census estimate of population for the given country. The resulting adjustment factor is multiplied by each administrative unit census value for the target year. This preserves the relative population totals across administrative units while matching the UN total. More information can be found here

This dataset provides population data for Ethiopia, disaggregated by regional states. The data is available in vector format, allowing for spatial visualization. Cross-border settlements are represented separately in a standalone file titled "Crosses Boundary." The dataset includes total population figures and population density, adjusted to match the corresponding official United Nations population estimates that have been prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat (2019 Revision of World Population Prospects).

EN.POP.DNST. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes. The World Bank’s ESG Data Draft dataset provides information on 17 key sustainability themes spanning environmental, social, and governance categories.

This statistic shows the total population of Ethiopia from 2013 to 2023 by gender. In 2023, Ethiopia's female population amounted to approximately 64.21 million, while the male population amounted to approximately 64.49 million inhabitants.

These 28 tiff files represent 2015 population estimates. However, please note that many of the country-level files include 2020 population estimates including: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia are intentionally omitted from this dataset. However, a country-level dataset for Ethiopia can be found at https://data.humdata.org/dataset/ethiopia-high-resolution-population-density-maps-demographic-estimates.

This interactive map of Ethiopia identifies the woredas (districts) where the AGP is active. GAFSP contributes about 23% of the total AGP financing, which is also supported by other development partners, including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). GAFSP funds are being channeled into a pooled AGP fund to increase donor coordination and to decrease project administrative costs. The map is broken down into 11 regions, 81 zones, and 550 woredas (districts). The 83 AGP project areas (at the woreda level) are spread across the four regions of Amhara, Oromiya, Tigray, and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). AGP activities are primarily in the highlands temperate mixed zones, where the climatic conditions are relatively temperate and that, with AGP support, have considerable potential for agricultural growth. In these areas, small-scale farmers crop an average area of less than 1 hectare (ranging between 0.25 and 2.3 hectares). The interactive map shows sub-national poverty and population density data, as well as information on the predominant farming systems in the various regions. Data Sources: AGP Project LocationsSource: Project Appraisal Document (PAD). Africa Juice Project LocationSource: IFC - GAFSP Documents. Poverty (Proportion of population below the poverty line) (2005): Proportion of the population living on less than US$1.25 a day, measured at 2005 international prices, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP).Source: Harvest Choice / Multiple national household surveys; PovcalNet; The World Bank; and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). 2011. Sub-national poverty headcount ratios derived from 23 nationally representative household surveys and population census information conducted in various years. Rates are for the $1.25/day (extreme poverty) expressed in 2005 international equivalent purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars. Rates are in percentages of total population. (Aggregation type: WGHTD). Poverty (Proportion of population below the poverty line) (2011): Proportion of the population living on less than 3,781 Birr per adult per year.Source: Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. “Ethiopia’s Progress Towards Eradicating Poverty: An Interim Report on Poverty Analysis Study (2010/11).” Malnutrition (Proportion of underweight children under 5 years) (2011): Prevalence of severely underweight children is the percentage of children aged 0-59 months whose weight-for-age is less than minus 3 standard deviations below the median weight for age of the international reference population.Source: “Demographic and Health Survey 2011.” Measure DHS.MEASURE DHS (Demographic and Health Surveys) Project is responsible for collecting and disseminating accurate, nationally representative data on health and population in developing countries. The project is implemented by Macro International, Inc. and is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with contributions from other donors such as UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, UNAIDS. Malnutrition (Proportion of underweight children under 5 years) (2016): Prevalence of severely underweight children is the percentage of children aged 0-59 months whose weight for age is less than minus 3 standard deviations below the median weight for age of the international reference population.Source: Central Statistical Agency CAS. “Demographic and Health Survey 2016.” Measure DHS. Population Density (Persons per 1 square kilometer) (2007): Population divided by land area in square kilometers.Total population (2015): Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship, except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.Source: Central Statistical Agency CAS. Projections based on the results of the May 2007 National Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia. Population Density (2015): Population divided by land area in square kilometers.Source: Central Statistical Agency CAS. Projections based on the results of the May 2007 National Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia. Market Centers: Key market centers for retail, assembly and/ or wholesale of agricultural products. FEWS NET reference markets.Source: FEWS Net. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is a USAID-funded activity that collaborates with international, regional and national partners to provide timely and rigorous early warning and vulnerability information on emerging and evolving food security issues. Farming Systems (2001): Farming systems according to FAO methodology: Agro-pastoral land, millet-sorghum, highland perennial, maize mixed, irrigated land, pastoral land and sparse arid Land.Source: Harvest Choice / Dixon, J. and A. Gulliver with David Gibbon, Principal Editor: Malcolm Hall. Improving Farmers' Livelihoods in a Changing World. FAO/World Bank. 2001. (Aggregation type: NONE) Land cover (2009): Land cover defined as the physical material at the surface or earth, vegetation planted or man-made constructions (water, ice, bare rock, sand, grass, asphalt, trees, etc.). Land cover can be determined by analyzing satellite and aerial imagery.Source: 3R Initiative (RAIN, Acacia Water, MetaMeta, Aqua for all, BGR and IGRAC). “Global Land Cover.” www.hoefsloot.com/horn/ Sorghum Area (2015-16): Area in hectares of agriculture land used for sorghum.Source: Central Statistical Agency CAS. “Agricultural Sample Survey (AgSS) 2015/2016 (2008 E.C.) Report on Area and Production of Major Crops.” Sorghum Production (2015-16): Sorghum harvested expressed in tons.Source: Central Statistical Agency CAS. “Agricultural Sample Survey (AgSS) 2015/2016 (2008 E.C.). Report on Area and Production of Major Crops.” Maize Area (2015-16): Area in hectares of agriculture land used for Maize.Source: Central Statistical Agency CAS. “Agricultural Sample Survey (AgSS) 2015/2016 (2008 E.C.). Report on Area and Production of Major Crops.” Maize Production (2015-16): Maize harvested expressed in tons.

Source: Central Statistical Agency CAS. “Agricultural Sample Survey (AgSS) 2015/2016 (2008 E.C.). Report on Area and Production of Major Crops.”The maps displayed on this website are for reference only. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on these maps do not imply, on the part of GAFSP (and the World Bank Group), any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. As of 2025, the country counted over 237.5 million individuals, whereas Ethiopia, which ranked second, has around 135.5 million inhabitants. Egypt registered the largest population in North Africa, reaching nearly 118.4 million people. In terms of inhabitants per square kilometer, Nigeria only ranked seventh, while Mauritius had the highest population density on the whole African continent in 2023. The fastest-growing world region Africa is the second most populous continent in the world, after Asia. Nevertheless, Africa records the highest growth rate worldwide, with figures rising by over two percent every year. In some countries, such as Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad, the population increase peaks at over three percent. With so many births, Africa is also the youngest continent in the world. However, this coincides with a low life expectancy. African cities on the rise The last decades have seen high urbanization rates in Asia, mainly in China and India. However, African cities are currently growing at larger rates. Indeed, most of the fastest-growing cities in the world are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Gwagwalada, in Nigeria, and Kabinda, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ranked first worldwide. By 2035, instead, Africa's fastest-growing cities are forecast to be Bujumbura, in Burundi, and Zinder, Nigeria.

DATASET: Alpha version 2010 estimates of numbers of people per grid square, with national totals adjusted to match UN population division estimates (http://esa.un.org/wpp/). REGION: Africa SPATIAL RESOLUTION: 0.000833333 decimal degrees (approx 100m at the equator) PROJECTION: Geographic, WGS84 UNITS: Estimated persons per grid square MAPPING APPROACH: Land cover based, as described in: Linard, C., Gilbert, M., Snow, R.W., Noor, A.M. and Tatem, A.J., 2012, Population distribution, settlement patterns and accessibility across Africa in 2010, PLoS ONE, 7(2): e31743. FORMAT: Geotiff (zipped using 7-zip (open access tool): www.7-zip.org) FILENAMES: Example - AGO10adjv4.tif = Angola (AGO) population count map for 2010 (10) adjusted to match UN national estimates (adj), version 4 (v4). Population maps are updated to new versions when improved census or other input data become available. DATE OF PRODUCTION: January 2013

In 2022, the population density in Uganda increased by seven inhabitants per square kilometer (+3.06 percent) compared to 2021. While the growth is slowing down, with 235.95 inhabitants per square kilometer, the population density is at its peak in the observed period. Notably, the population density continuously increased over the last years.Population density is calculated by dividing the total population by the total land area, to show the average number of people living there per square kilometer of land.Find more key insights for the population density in countries like Ethiopia and Rwanda.

This statistic shows the age structure in Ethiopia from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, about 39.37 percent of Ethiopia's total population were aged 0 to 14 years.