Harari Region - Demographics

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Harari has a total population of 183,415, of whom 92,316 were men and 91,099 women. This region is the only one in Ethiopia where the majority of its population lives in urban area: 99,368 or 54.18% of the population are urban inhabitants. With an estimated area of 311.25 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 589.05 people per square kilometer. For the entire region 46,169 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 3.9 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 3.4 and rural households 4.6 people. Ethnic groups in the region include the Oromo (56.41%), Amhara (22.77%), Harari (8.65%), Gurage (4.34%), Somali (3.87%), Tigray (1.53%), and Argobba (1.26%). Languages spoke include Oromiffa (56.84%), Amharic (27.53%), Harari (7.33%), Somali (3.70%), and Gurage (2.91%). The religion with the most believers in the region is Muslim with 68.99%, 27.1% are Ethiopian Orthodox, 3.4% Protestant, 0.3% Catholic, and 0.2% followers of other religions.

In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the Region's population was reported to be 131,139, of whom 65,550 were men and 65,589 women. At the time of that census, 76,378 or 58.24% of the population lived in urban areas. Ethnic groups in the region recorded in the earlier census included the Oromo (52.3%), Amhara (32.6%), Harari (7.1%), Gurage (3.2%), Tigray (1.71%), and Somali (1.68%). Languages recorded included Oromiffa (49.79%), Amharic (36.97%), Harari (7.61%), Gurage (1.13%) and Tigrinya (1.13%) The religious composition of the population of the region indicated that 60.28% were Muslim, 38.09% Ethiopian Orthodox, 0.94% Protestant, and 0.46% Catholic.

According to the CSA, as of 2004, 73.28% of the total population had access to safe drinking water, of whom 39.83% were rural inhabitants and 95.28% were urban. Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living for the Afar Region as of 2005 include the following: 5.7% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 78.4% and for women 54.9%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 66 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is less than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.