Atlas Final Web Version 6_14

Where do people live?
Population Density
Rural population density is related to the use people make of the land for primary
production. The great majority of the country’s rural population inhabits the
highlands and middle-highlands, which comprise less than one-third of the
inhabited surface area. At the extreme, in some parts of SNNPR densities rise well
Population Density
Number of people
per square kilometer
< 50
51 - 100
101 - 150
151 - 200
> 200
No data
Geography & Livelihoods
above 300 people per square km. The lowest density areas, down to under 10
people per square km, are mainly those with pastoralist economies. The limiting
factor here is the carrying capacity of the rangelands for livestock – and in turn how
many people can live off that livestock. There is also very low population density
in the remaining areas of original rain forest in north-west SNNPR and western
Oromia, where the indigenous population practices
shifting cultivation and also depends heavily on
honey production and gathering forest products.
Then there are the extensive lowlands of north-west
Agro-pastoral &
pastoral areas
Population density
determines the degree to
which available resources
must be shared. This is
reflected in the relative
wealth of an area.
Cropping areas
Amhara and west Tigray, relatively recently exploited
by settled cultivators and still with a relatively low
population density, but hosting the country’s major
sesame growing industry. Taking all these lower-lying
areas together, some 66% of Ethiopia’s inhabited land
area holds just 17% of the country’s rural population.
Source of data: National Population Census 2007
6 The Livelihoods Atlas for Ethiopia The Livelihoods Integration Unit