Largest cities in Ethiopia, 1975 to 2050

Addis Ababa leads Ethiopia with 6.71 million people in 2025, ahead of Adama at 0.58 million in the UN city ranking.

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What the data shows

In 2025, Addis Ababa ranks #1 with 6.71M, ahead of Adama (0.58M) and Bahir Dar (0.50M).
By 2050, on the UN's projections, Addis Ababa is projected to rank #1 with 10.78M, ahead of Irgalem (1.01M) and Bishoftu (0.97M).
Addis Ababa holds #1 for the whole period, 1975 to 2025.
Biggest climber: Bishoftu, from #15 in 1980 to #3 in 2050.
Addis Ababa grew 7.7× between 1975 and 2025.
Bishoftu wasn't on the board in 1975 but is in the top 5 by 2050.

About this chart

Addis Ababa stands well above the other cities in Ethiopia: its 6.71 million people in 2025 are about 11.57 times the 0.58 million in second-place Adama. Addis Ababa also led the 1975 ranking, when the UN series put it at 0.87 million. Bahir Dar occupies third place in 2025 at 0.50 million. These are populations of urban areas defined consistently by the UN, rather than administrative city limits.

The UN projects Addis Ababa to lead in 2050 at 10.78 million people. The figures after 2025 are projections. The Degree of Urbanization identifies contiguous dense settlements, so these totals can differ from municipal and metropolitan statistics. The historical ranking is useful for comparing positions; changing settlement boundaries mean it should not be treated as a measure of growth within fixed city limits.

The data

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 5, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. Blank cells indicate that the source supplies no city value for that year, not zero population.

Largest cities in Ethiopia, Population in millions, 1975–2050; projected after 2025, 1975–2050
Date	🇪🇹 Addis Ababa	🇪🇹 Bahir Dar	🇪🇹 Dire Dawa	🇪🇹 Kombolcha	🇪🇹 Jijiga	🇪🇹 Mota	🇪🇹 Gonder	🇪🇹 Dessie	🇪🇹 Irgalem	🇪🇹 Leku	🇪🇹 Hawassa	🇪🇹 Adama	🇪🇹 Shashamane	🇪🇹 Bishoftu	🇪🇹 Jimma	🇪🇹 Dilla	🇪🇹 Gogi	🇪🇹 Aleta Wendo
1975	0.87M	0.20M	0.14M	0.12M	0.11M	0.11M	0.10M	0.10M	0.09M	0.09M	0.09M	0.07M				0.05M		0.08M
1976	0.92M	0.20M	0.14M	0.12M	0.12M	0.11M	0.11M	0.10M	0.09M	0.09M	0.09M	0.07M				0.05M		0.08M
1977	0.98M	0.20M	0.14M	0.12M	0.12M	0.10M	0.12M	0.11M	0.10M	0.09M	0.10M	0.08M				0.05M		0.07M
1978	1.03M	0.21M	0.15M	0.12M	0.12M	0.09M	0.13M	0.11M	0.10M	0.08M	0.10M	0.09M				0.05M		0.07M
1979	1.09M	0.21M	0.15M	0.12M	0.12M	0.09M	0.14M	0.11M	0.10M	0.08M	0.10M	0.09M				0.05M		0.07M
1980	1.14M	0.21M	0.16M	0.12M	0.12M	0.08M	0.14M	0.11M	0.10M	0.08M	0.11M	0.10M	0.09M	0.06M		0.05M		0.07M
1981	1.23M	0.22M	0.16M	0.12M	0.13M	0.08M	0.15M	0.12M	0.10M	0.08M	0.11M	0.11M	0.10M	0.06M		0.05M		0.07M
1982	1.31M	0.22M	0.17M	0.12M	0.13M	0.08M	0.15M	0.12M	0.10M	0.08M	0.12M	0.12M	0.11M	0.06M		0.06M		0.07M
1983	1.40M	0.22M	0.17M	0.13M	0.13M	0.08M	0.16M	0.12M	0.10M	0.08M	0.12M	0.12M	0.12M	0.07M		0.06M		0.07M
1984	1.48M	0.23M	0.18M	0.13M	0.14M	0.08M	0.16M	0.13M	0.10M	0.08M	0.13M	0.13M	0.13M	0.07M		0.06M		0.07M
1985	1.57M	0.23M	0.18M	0.13M	0.14M	0.08M	0.16M	0.13M	0.10M	0.08M	0.13M	0.14M	0.14M	0.07M	0.07M	0.06M		0.07M
1986	1.65M	0.24M	0.19M	0.13M	0.15M	0.08M	0.17M	0.14M	0.11M	0.08M	0.14M	0.15M	0.15M	0.07M	0.08M	0.06M		0.08M
1987	1.72M	0.24M	0.19M	0.14M	0.15M	0.08M	0.17M	0.14M	0.11M	0.08M	0.14M	0.16M	0.16M	0.08M	0.08M	0.07M		0.08M
1988	1.80M	0.25M	0.20M	0.14M	0.16M	0.09M	0.17M	0.15M	0.11M	0.08M	0.15M	0.17M	0.16M	0.08M	0.08M	0.07M		0.08M
1989	1.88M	0.26M	0.21M	0.14M	0.16M	0.09M	0.18M	0.15M	0.11M	0.08M	0.16M	0.18M	0.17M	0.08M	0.08M	0.08M		0.08M
1990	1.96M	0.26M	0.22M	0.15M	0.17M	0.09M	0.18M	0.15M	0.11M	0.08M	0.17M	0.19M	0.18M	0.08M	0.09M	0.08M		0.08M
1991	2.05M	0.27M	0.22M	0.15M	0.18M	0.09M	0.19M	0.16M	0.12M	0.09M	0.17M	0.20M	0.18M	0.09M	0.09M	0.08M		0.08M
1992	2.15M	0.28M	0.23M	0.16M	0.18M	0.09M	0.20M	0.16M	0.12M	0.09M	0.18M	0.21M	0.19M	0.09M	0.10M	0.09M		0.09M
1993	2.25M	0.29M	0.24M	0.16M	0.19M	0.09M	0.21M	0.17M	0.12M	0.09M	0.19M	0.22M	0.20M	0.10M	0.10M	0.09M		0.09M
1994	2.34M	0.30M	0.25M	0.17M	0.19M	0.09M	0.22M	0.17M	0.12M	0.09M	0.20M	0.23M	0.21M	0.10M	0.11M	0.10M		0.09M
1995	2.44M	0.30M	0.25M	0.17M	0.20M	0.10M	0.23M	0.18M	0.13M	0.09M	0.20M	0.24M	0.21M	0.10M	0.11M	0.10M		0.09M
1996	2.51M	0.31M	0.26M	0.18M	0.21M	0.10M	0.24M	0.19M	0.13M	0.09M	0.21M	0.25M	0.22M	0.11M	0.12M	0.10M		0.10M
1997	2.58M	0.32M	0.27M	0.18M	0.21M	0.10M	0.25M	0.19M	0.14M	0.10M	0.22M	0.26M	0.23M	0.11M	0.12M	0.11M		0.10M
1998	2.65M	0.33M	0.28M	0.19M	0.22M	0.10M	0.26M	0.20M	0.14M	0.10M	0.23M	0.27M	0.24M	0.12M	0.13M	0.11M		0.10M
1999	2.72M	0.33M	0.29M	0.19M	0.23M	0.10M	0.26M	0.20M	0.15M	0.10M	0.24M	0.28M	0.25M	0.12M	0.13M	0.11M		0.10M
2000	2.79M	0.34M	0.29M	0.19M	0.24M	0.10M	0.27M	0.21M	0.15M	0.10M	0.24M	0.29M	0.25M	0.13M	0.14M	0.12M		0.11M
2001	2.85M	0.34M	0.30M	0.20M	0.24M	0.10M	0.27M	0.21M	0.15M	0.10M	0.25M	0.30M	0.26M	0.13M	0.14M	0.12M		0.10M
2002	2.90M	0.34M	0.30M	0.20M	0.25M	0.10M	0.27M	0.21M	0.15M	0.10M	0.25M	0.30M	0.26M	0.14M	0.15M	0.12M		0.10M
2003	2.96M	0.34M	0.31M	0.20M	0.25M	0.10M	0.28M	0.21M	0.15M	0.10M	0.25M	0.31M	0.27M	0.14M	0.15M	0.11M		0.10M
2004	3.01M	0.34M	0.31M	0.20M	0.26M	0.10M	0.28M	0.21M	0.15M	0.10M	0.26M	0.31M	0.27M	0.15M	0.15M	0.11M		0.10M
2005	3.07M	0.34M	0.31M	0.20M	0.26M	0.10M	0.28M	0.21M	0.15M	0.09M	0.26M	0.32M	0.27M	0.15M	0.16M	0.11M		0.10M
2006	3.19M	0.35M	0.32M	0.20M	0.27M	0.10M	0.28M	0.22M	0.15M	0.10M	0.27M	0.33M	0.28M	0.17M	0.16M	0.13M		0.10M
2007	3.32M	0.35M	0.33M	0.21M	0.28M	0.10M	0.29M	0.22M	0.15M	0.10M	0.28M	0.34M	0.29M	0.18M	0.17M	0.14M		0.11M
2008	3.44M	0.36M	0.34M	0.21M	0.28M	0.10M	0.30M	0.22M	0.16M	0.10M	0.29M	0.35M	0.30M	0.20M	0.18M	0.16M		0.11M
2009	3.57M	0.37M	0.35M	0.21M	0.29M	0.11M	0.30M	0.23M	0.16M	0.10M	0.29M	0.36M	0.31M	0.22M	0.18M	0.17M		0.11M
2010	3.69M	0.38M	0.36M	0.22M	0.30M	0.11M	0.31M	0.23M	0.17M	0.11M	0.30M	0.38M	0.31M	0.23M	0.19M	0.19M		0.11M
2011	3.87M	0.38M	0.37M	0.22M	0.31M	0.11M	0.31M	0.24M	0.17M	0.11M	0.31M	0.39M	0.32M	0.24M	0.20M	0.20M		0.12M
2012	4.05M	0.39M	0.37M	0.23M	0.32M	0.11M	0.31M	0.25M	0.18M	0.11M	0.32M	0.40M	0.33M	0.25M	0.21M	0.20M		0.12M
2013	4.22M	0.40M	0.38M	0.23M	0.33M	0.11M	0.32M	0.25M	0.18M	0.11M	0.33M	0.41M	0.34M	0.26M	0.21M	0.21M		0.12M
2014	4.40M	0.41M	0.39M	0.24M	0.33M	0.12M	0.32M	0.26M	0.19M	0.11M	0.34M	0.43M	0.35M	0.27M	0.22M	0.21M		0.13M
2015	4.58M	0.41M	0.40M	0.24M	0.34M	0.12M	0.33M	0.26M	0.19M	0.12M	0.35M	0.44M	0.36M	0.28M	0.23M	0.22M		0.13M
2016	4.84M	0.42M	0.41M	0.25M	0.35M	0.12M	0.33M	0.27M	0.20M	0.12M	0.36M	0.46M	0.37M	0.30M	0.24M	0.23M		0.13M
2017	5.11M	0.43M	0.42M	0.25M	0.36M	0.12M	0.34M	0.27M	0.20M	0.12M	0.37M	0.48M	0.38M	0.31M	0.26M	0.23M		0.14M
2018	5.38M	0.44M	0.43M	0.26M	0.37M	0.13M	0.35M	0.28M	0.20M	0.12M	0.38M	0.50M	0.39M	0.32M	0.27M	0.24M		0.14M
2019	5.64M	0.45M	0.44M	0.26M	0.38M	0.13M	0.36M	0.28M	0.21M	0.13M	0.39M	0.52M	0.40M	0.34M	0.28M	0.25M		0.14M
2020	5.91M	0.46M	0.45M	0.27M	0.39M	0.13M	0.36M	0.29M	0.21M	0.13M	0.40M	0.53M	0.41M	0.35M	0.30M	0.25M		0.15M
2021	6.07M	0.47M	0.46M	0.27M	0.40M	0.13M	0.37M	0.29M	0.22M	0.13M	0.41M	0.54M	0.42M	0.37M	0.30M	0.27M		0.15M
2022	6.23M	0.48M	0.46M	0.28M	0.40M	0.14M	0.37M	0.30M	0.23M	0.13M	0.42M	0.55M	0.43M	0.39M	0.31M	0.30M		0.16M
2023	6.39M	0.48M	0.47M	0.28M	0.41M	0.14M	0.38M	0.30M	0.23M	0.14M	0.43M	0.56M	0.44M	0.41M	0.32M	0.32M		0.16M
2024	6.55M	0.49M	0.48M	0.28M	0.42M	0.14M	0.39M	0.30M	0.24M	0.14M	0.44M	0.57M	0.44M	0.42M	0.33M	0.34M		0.16M
2025	6.71M	0.50M	0.48M	0.29M	0.42M	0.14M	0.39M	0.31M	0.25M	0.14M	0.44M	0.58M	0.45M	0.44M	0.34M	0.36M	0.10M	0.17M
2026	6.89M	0.51M	0.49M	0.29M	0.43M	0.15M	0.40M	0.32M	0.27M	0.16M	0.45M	0.60M	0.46M	0.46M	0.34M	0.37M	0.15M	0.18M
2027	7.07M	0.52M	0.50M	0.30M	0.44M	0.15M	0.41M	0.33M	0.29M	0.17M	0.46M	0.61M	0.47M	0.48M	0.35M	0.39M	0.20M	0.19M
2028	7.25M	0.52M	0.50M	0.31M	0.45M	0.15M	0.41M	0.34M	0.31M	0.18M	0.47M	0.63M	0.48M	0.49M	0.36M	0.40M	0.25M	0.20M
2029	7.44M	0.53M	0.51M	0.31M	0.45M	0.16M	0.42M	0.35M	0.34M	0.20M	0.48M	0.64M	0.49M	0.51M	0.36M	0.41M	0.31M	0.21M
2030	7.62M	0.54M	0.52M	0.32M	0.46M	0.16M	0.43M	0.36M	0.36M	0.21M	0.49M	0.65M	0.49M	0.53M	0.37M	0.42M	0.36M	0.22M
2031	7.79M	0.55M	0.52M	0.33M	0.47M	0.16M	0.43M	0.37M	0.40M	0.23M	0.50M	0.66M	0.50M	0.54M	0.38M	0.45M	0.39M	0.23M
2032	7.97M	0.56M	0.53M	0.33M	0.48M	0.16M	0.44M	0.37M	0.43M	0.25M	0.51M	0.67M	0.51M	0.56M	0.38M	0.48M	0.43M	0.24M
2033	8.14M	0.57M	0.54M	0.34M	0.48M	0.16M	0.45M	0.38M	0.47M	0.27M	0.52M	0.68M	0.52M	0.58M	0.39M	0.51M	0.46M	0.25M
2034	8.31M	0.58M	0.54M	0.35M	0.49M	0.17M	0.46M	0.38M	0.51M	0.29M	0.53M	0.69M	0.53M	0.60M	0.40M	0.53M	0.49M	0.26M
2035	8.49M	0.59M	0.55M	0.35M	0.50M	0.17M	0.46M	0.38M	0.54M	0.31M	0.54M	0.70M	0.54M	0.62M	0.41M	0.56M	0.53M	0.27M
2036	8.65M	0.60M	0.57M	0.36M	0.50M	0.17M	0.47M	0.39M	0.59M	0.33M	0.54M	0.71M	0.55M	0.65M	0.41M	0.59M	0.55M	0.32M
2037	8.81M	0.60M	0.58M	0.37M	0.51M	0.18M	0.48M	0.39M	0.64M	0.34M	0.55M	0.72M	0.56M	0.68M	0.42M	0.63M	0.57M	0.37M
2038	8.97M	0.61M	0.60M	0.37M	0.52M	0.18M	0.48M	0.40M	0.68M	0.35M	0.56M	0.73M	0.56M	0.70M	0.43M	0.66M	0.58M	0.41M
2039	9.14M	0.62M	0.61M	0.38M	0.52M	0.18M	0.49M	0.40M	0.73M	0.36M	0.57M	0.74M	0.57M	0.73M	0.44M	0.69M	0.60M	0.46M
2040	9.30M	0.63M	0.63M	0.38M	0.53M	0.18M	0.50M	0.40M	0.78M	0.37M	0.58M	0.75M	0.58M	0.76M	0.44M	0.72M	0.62M	0.51M
2041	9.45M	0.63M	0.64M	0.39M	0.54M	0.19M	0.50M	0.41M	0.80M	0.38M	0.58M	0.76M	0.60M	0.78M	0.45M	0.74M	0.64M	0.54M
2042	9.60M	0.64M	0.65M	0.39M	0.54M	0.19M	0.51M	0.41M	0.83M	0.39M	0.59M	0.77M	0.62M	0.80M	0.46M	0.76M	0.66M	0.57M
2043	9.75M	0.65M	0.65M	0.40M	0.55M	0.19M	0.51M	0.42M	0.85M	0.40M	0.60M	0.78M	0.64M	0.82M	0.46M	0.79M	0.68M	0.60M
2044	9.90M	0.65M	0.66M	0.40M	0.56M	0.19M	0.52M	0.42M	0.88M	0.41M	0.60M	0.79M	0.66M	0.84M	0.47M	0.81M	0.69M	0.63M
2045	10.05M	0.66M	0.67M	0.41M	0.56M	0.19M	0.52M	0.42M	0.91M	0.42M	0.61M	0.79M	0.69M	0.86M	0.48M	0.83M	0.71M	0.67M
2046	10.19M	0.67M	0.68M	0.41M	0.57M	0.20M	0.53M	0.43M	0.93M	0.42M	0.62M	0.82M	0.70M	0.88M	0.48M	0.86M	0.73M	0.68M
2047	10.34M	0.67M	0.68M	0.42M	0.58M	0.20M	0.54M	0.44M	0.95M	0.43M	0.63M	0.84M	0.71M	0.91M	0.49M	0.88M	0.75M	0.70M
2048	10.49M	0.68M	0.69M	0.42M	0.58M	0.20M	0.54M	0.44M	0.97M	0.44M	0.64M	0.86M	0.72M	0.93M	0.50M	0.91M	0.77M	0.71M
2049	10.64M	0.69M	0.70M	0.43M	0.59M	0.20M	0.55M	0.45M	0.99M	0.45M	0.65M	0.88M	0.73M	0.95M	0.51M	0.94M	0.79M	0.73M
2050	10.78M	0.69M	0.71M	0.43M	0.59M	0.21M	0.55M	0.45M	1.01M	0.46M	0.65M	0.90M	0.74M	0.97M	0.52M	0.96M	0.81M	0.75M

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Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Ethiopia?

Addis Ababa is the largest city in Ethiopia in the UN 2025 series, with about 6.71 million people. Adama follows at 0.58 million. These figures use the UN Degree of Urbanization definition, not municipal boundaries.

Which city is projected to be largest in Ethiopia in 2050?

The UN projects Addis Ababa to rank first in 2050, with about 10.78 million people. This is a projection, not an observed population count.

Was Addis Ababa also the largest city in 1975?

The 1975 ranking was led by Addis Ababa, with 0.87 million people. The table preserves every city that reached the top ten in any year shown, including cities outside the top ten today.

Where does this data come from?

UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 5, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. Blank cells indicate that the source supplies no city value for that year, not zero population. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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WorldReal data

Ethiopia: life expectancy

Ethiopia: 67.6 years in 2024. Life expectancy peaked at 67.6 years in 2024 in this 1990–2024 series.