Natural population growth in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Natural population growth was 2.59 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
2.59
Change on year
down 1.4%
World rank
20th
of 236 countries
All-time high
3.23
in 1993
All-time low
1.55
in 1957
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Natural population growth in Ethiopia, 1950–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, natural population growth in Ethiopia stood at 2.59.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, natural population growth in Ethiopia peaked at 3.23 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 1.55, in 1957.
That places Ethiopia 20th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Natural population growth in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.71 | — |
| 1951 | 1.81 | +6.0% |
| 1952 | 1.89 | +4.2% |
| 1953 | 1.95 | +3.6% |
| 1954 | 2.01 | +3.1% |
| 1955 | 2.06 | +2.3% |
| 1956 | 2.11 | +2.6% |
| 1957 | 1.55 | -26.5% |
| 1958 | 1.66 | +6.4% |
| 1959 | 2.34 | +41.6% |
| 1960 | 2.39 | +2.1% |
| 1961 | 2.46 | +2.7% |
| 1962 | 2.51 | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 2.56 | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 2.61 | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 2.64 | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 2.47 | -6.5% |
| 1967 | 2.71 | +9.9% |
| 1968 | 2.72 | +0.1% |
| 1969 | 2.72 | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 2.73 | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 2.75 | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 2.65 | -3.5% |
| 1973 | 2.68 | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 2.51 | -6.2% |
| 1975 | 2.53 | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 2.77 | +9.4% |
| 1977 | 2.8 | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 2.8 | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 2.88 | +3.1% |
| 1980 | 2.93 | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 2.89 | -1.4% |
| 1982 | 2.94 | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 2.29 | -22.3% |
| 1984 | 2.38 | +3.9% |
| 1985 | 2.5 | +5.3% |
| 1986 | 2.56 | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 3.2 | +24.9% |
| 1988 | 3.16 | -1.2% |
| 1989 | 3.14 | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 3.11 | -1.1% |
| 1991 | 3.18 | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 3.23 | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 3.23 | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 3.22 | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 3.18 | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 3.19 | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 3.17 | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 3.13 | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 3.08 | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 3.09 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 3.08 | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 3.06 | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 3.02 | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 3.02 | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 3 | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 2.97 | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 2.93 | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 2.88 | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 2.8 | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 2.76 | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 2.71 | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 2.64 | -2.6% |
| 2013 | 2.59 | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 2.59 | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 2.61 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 2.63 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 2.64 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.68 | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 2.71 | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 2.69 | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 2.62 | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 2.63 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 2.59 | -1.4% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 2.59 is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.6, 100% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 2.59 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.39, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Natural population growth in Ethiopia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | +41.6% | 1.66 | 2.34 |
| 1957 | -26.5% | 2.11 | 1.55 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.91 | 1.55 | 2.34 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.58 | 2.39 | 2.72 | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.71 | 2.51 | 2.88 | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.8 | 2.29 | 3.2 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.17 | 3.08 | 3.23 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.99 | 2.8 | 3.09 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.66 | 2.59 | 2.76 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.64 | 2.59 | 2.69 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More population data for Ethiopia
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.4782 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 1.28 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.4782 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.2918 % change on previous year (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.229 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate 0.484 (2100)
- Population density 325.45 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 23.22 million (2100)
- Population growth rate by level of development 0.484 (2100)
- Urbanization vs gdp, annual growth rate 2.06 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is natural population growth in Ethiopia?
- Natural population growth in Ethiopia was 2.59 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest natural population growth recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.23 in 1993.
- What is the lowest natural population growth recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.55 in 1957.
- How does Ethiopia rank for natural population growth?
- Ethiopia ranks 20th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is natural population growth rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Natural population growth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).