To understand Ethiopian life and the needs of Ethiopian people, analyzing some demographic information about Ethiopian people is necessary. In the next few paragraphs, we will explore this demographic information and provide a comparison of that information to the demographic information of the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa and the world, so that we can understand the needs of Ethiopian people.Population Size: Now and the Future
Today, Ethiopia’s population is about 85 million, putting it at the 2nd most populous country in Africa, and the 14th most populous country in the world (CIA). In 1950 Ethiopia’s population was 18 million (PRB). This means that Ethiopia's population has more than tripled in the past 60 years. By 2015, it is estimated to have 96 million people. Ethiopia’s future population is seen expected to more than double by 2050 (to 174 million), which will move their rank from 14th most populous nation in the world to the 9th most populous (PRB). Ethiopia's rank within Africa is not expected to change, however. Nigeria will remain Africa's most populous country (PRB).
Not only is Ethiopia's population exploding in terms of raw numbers, but factors like percentage of the population under the age of 15 and over the age of 65, total fertility rates, birth and death rates, and the rate of natural increase all reflect this prediction that Ethiopia's total population size will double by 2050. For example, the birth rate in Ethiopia is astronomical. There are 39 births per 1,000 people in Ethiopia every year. This doesn't seem alarming when compared to the birth rate for Africa as whole, which is 37, but is almost double the global birth rate (20), and quadruple the rate for more developed countries (11).
This astronomical birth rate makes sense considering the huge amount of children the average Ethiopian woman has in her lifetime. The average Ethiopian woman will give birth to 5.4 children. Again, Ethiopia's demographic information seems unexceptional when compared to Africa as a whole, which has a total fertility rate of 4.7, but the total fertility rate is high compared to the rest of the world (2.5), and especially compared to more developed countries (1.7). Ethiopians are having a lot of babies compared to the rest of the world, and it seems that this pattern is likely to continue, especially when we examine the percentage of the population under age 15.
44 percent of Ethiopians are under the age of 15. That means that almost every other person living in Ethiopia is very young, and probably haven't hit childbearing ages yet. This group of Ethiopians will hit childbearing ages in the next 15 or 20 years though, and when they do, the population will continue to explode, because young people have more babies than old people. To compare to its region, again, Ethiopia is unexceptional: 41 percent of the total African population is under the age of 15. Globally, however, only 27 percent of the population is under the age of 15, and Ethiopia's percentage of people under the age of 15 doubles that of more developed countries. This means a much greater percentage of Ethiopians will be having babies sooner compared to the rest of the world, and Ethiopia will continue to be a young population compared to the rest of the world.
Finally, Ethiopia's rate of natural increase indicates that the nation's population is in the process of exploding. The rate of natural increase is simply the birth rate minus the death rate. Even though death rates in Ethiopia are high, as we will explain in our next post, the rate of natural increase reflects a nation that is exploding in population compared to the rest of the world. While the rate of natural increase is 1.2 percent globally and only .2 percent for more developed countries, Ethiopia is increasing by 2.7 percent (compared with 2.4 percent for the entirety of Africa).
To conclude this post, we can determine from this demographic information that Ethiopia is a nation that seems to reflect its continent in terms of the rate it is growing and the percentage of youths in its population. Compared to the rest of the world and more developed countries, Ethiopia is a very young, rapidly expanding population, which is cause for concern as we will explain.
Not only is Ethiopia's population exploding in terms of raw numbers, but factors like percentage of the population under the age of 15 and over the age of 65, total fertility rates, birth and death rates, and the rate of natural increase all reflect this prediction that Ethiopia's total population size will double by 2050. For example, the birth rate in Ethiopia is astronomical. There are 39 births per 1,000 people in Ethiopia every year. This doesn't seem alarming when compared to the birth rate for Africa as whole, which is 37, but is almost double the global birth rate (20), and quadruple the rate for more developed countries (11).
This astronomical birth rate makes sense considering the huge amount of children the average Ethiopian woman has in her lifetime. The average Ethiopian woman will give birth to 5.4 children. Again, Ethiopia's demographic information seems unexceptional when compared to Africa as a whole, which has a total fertility rate of 4.7, but the total fertility rate is high compared to the rest of the world (2.5), and especially compared to more developed countries (1.7). Ethiopians are having a lot of babies compared to the rest of the world, and it seems that this pattern is likely to continue, especially when we examine the percentage of the population under age 15.
44 percent of Ethiopians are under the age of 15. That means that almost every other person living in Ethiopia is very young, and probably haven't hit childbearing ages yet. This group of Ethiopians will hit childbearing ages in the next 15 or 20 years though, and when they do, the population will continue to explode, because young people have more babies than old people. To compare to its region, again, Ethiopia is unexceptional: 41 percent of the total African population is under the age of 15. Globally, however, only 27 percent of the population is under the age of 15, and Ethiopia's percentage of people under the age of 15 doubles that of more developed countries. This means a much greater percentage of Ethiopians will be having babies sooner compared to the rest of the world, and Ethiopia will continue to be a young population compared to the rest of the world.
Finally, Ethiopia's rate of natural increase indicates that the nation's population is in the process of exploding. The rate of natural increase is simply the birth rate minus the death rate. Even though death rates in Ethiopia are high, as we will explain in our next post, the rate of natural increase reflects a nation that is exploding in population compared to the rest of the world. While the rate of natural increase is 1.2 percent globally and only .2 percent for more developed countries, Ethiopia is increasing by 2.7 percent (compared with 2.4 percent for the entirety of Africa).
To conclude this post, we can determine from this demographic information that Ethiopia is a nation that seems to reflect its continent in terms of the rate it is growing and the percentage of youths in its population. Compared to the rest of the world and more developed countries, Ethiopia is a very young, rapidly expanding population, which is cause for concern as we will explain.
Sources: "Ethiopia." Population Reference Bureau. PRB, n.d. Web. 13 Nov 2010, and CIA World Factbook.
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