Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Genesis of the survey and its objectives: Ethiopia conducted its third population census in
2007 after a gap of 13 years since the second census of 1994. It filled a long felt need for data on
various population characteristics. The results indicated that the population growth rate varied
considerably across the regions and was much lower than anticipated in case of Amhara region. A
committee consisting of academicians, demographers, etc., conducted a detailed scrutiny of the
procedures and instructions for the 2007 census. Though the committee felt that part of the decline in
growth rate could be attributed to faster decline in fertility coupled with slower decline in mortality, no
explanations could be found for the remaining difference. The absence data on inter-regional migration
made it difficult to draw definite conclusions. The Census Commission considered the issues and the
report of the committee and recommended that a detailed population survey be conducted to assess
situation. The Government accepted this recommendations and decided to conduct an intercensal
survey to assess the population of Amhara region and Addis Ababa and the Inter-Censal Population
Survey (ICPS) 2012 is the result of this decision.

After the third Population and Housing Census which was conducted in 2007, under the Plan for
Accelerated And Sustainable Development to End Poverty(PASDEP), several socio- economic
development programmes have been implemented in the country. These development programs have
resulted in significant changes in the sectors of Education, Health, Agriculture, Industry, etc.. Such
social and economic developments have significant impact on the population of the country. Thus, by
2012, some of the information collected in the 2007 Population and Housing Census would have
become somewhat out of date for the purpose of planning. It was felt that the opportunity to conduct a
survey should be utilized to collect some important information that would be useful for measuring the
changes since 2007 and those useful for development planning in the country at least at regional level.
Thus, the objectives of the survey were:

a) To estimate population size for Amhara and Addis Ababa at sub-regional level

b) Collect information that helps to estimate levels and trends in fertility, mortality and
migration that could serve as inputs to revise population projections for the country and the
regions

c) To collect up-to-date information that could help to know, evaluate and update changes
since the 2007 Population and Housing Census in some of the key population
characteristics such as age,sex, marital status, education, economic activity, etc.,

d) To collect information about the current living conditions of the aged population that is
increasing due to longevity and as a result of the population growth in the past. This can
form a benchmark to measure changes on account of policies and programs in this sector in
future.

1.2 Topics included in the survey: The precision of the estimates in any survey would be
dependent largely on the sample size. It was necessary to have a large sample size in Amhara and
Addis Ababa to estimate the population size with a reasonable precision. Such high sampling
1
proportion in other regions would be impractical. It is well understood that the higher sample size in
some regions would result in unequal precision across the regions for the estimates of various
parameters. Nevertheless, useful data could be collected in the survey on several variables at regional
level with small samples. It is not easy to decide on the items on which data are to be collected as
there are always competing demands from several quarters and requests for inclusion of several items.
The decision on the items to be included was made after careful consideration of the data availability
and immediate requirements. Apart from the usual questions at individual level on age, sex, marital
status, religion, ethnicity, educational level and school attendance, information on several items were
also collected. Table 1.1 provides a summary of the data items on which information was collected
along with some of the important uses of the information envisaged.

Table 1.1: Items on which information were collected and the purpose

Data items Purpose

1. Place of birth (Region/zone) These information would help
2. Duration of residence at place of enumeration analysing migration patterns and
estimating migration rates and impact
3. For those who have lived elsewhere, the region and of migration on urbanization, etc.
zone of previous address and its Rural/urban status
4. Whether biological parents are alive Analysis of orphanhood. It is also
useful in estimation of adult mortality
5. Educational status and current school attendance Apart from analysing the indicators on
6. Economic activity; availability for work; for those these aspects, they also help to analyse
engaged in economic activity in the previous year, fertility/ mortality differentials and
the employment status other information by these parameters

7. Marital status; age at first marriage, duration of These are variables that have direct
marriage for currently married women impact on fertility and indirectly on
child mortality

8. Number of children ever born and children Estimating fertility and child mortality
surviving for woman aged 10 years and above using indirect estimation techniques
9. No of deaths in the family, gender and age of each Estimating mortality rates and
dead person and weather the death is due to causes analysing the possibility of getting
relating to pregnancy and child birth Maternal Mortality rate
10. Information about aged: Source and sufficiency of To analyse the living conditions of the
money/goods; whether needs appliance assist, need aged
help for daily activities like bathing, defecating,
urinating, eating and preparation of food.
11. Birth History for women aged 10-49 years Estimate fertility and child mortality
levels
The concepts and definitions for data items were prepared in such a way that they were in consonance
with those used in the 2007 census to the extent possible. Thus comparability of data with the 2007
census was built into the data collection system that would enable the analysis of trends. In case of
questions relating to 'birth history', the concepts and definitions and the questions were those used in
Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2011.

2
1.3 Coverage of Survey and the reference date: The survey was conducted in a sample of
enumeration areas as described in chapter 2 covering all regions. The various organizational aspects
of the survey are discussed in that chapter. The survey covered the entire country, though with varying
sampling rates. The reference date for the survey in all areas except Somali was 28th may 2012 while
in Somali it was 29th November 2012. This means that the survey was conducted exactly five afters
after the 2007 census, except in Affar where the 2007 census was conducted along with Somali region
and thus the intervening period is only 4.5 years.

1.4 Organization of the report: This report is divided into several chapters. While chapter 2
describes the organizational aspects of the survey in some detail, other chapters are devoted to the
analysis of the results. Chapter 3 discusses the estimates of population. Chapter 4 is focus on the
general characteristics of the population like, gender breakup, age distribution, marital status and age
at marriage, ethnic and religious composition, etc.. Chapter 5 deals with participation in economic
activity and unemployment. While chapter 6 1.4 discusses orphanhood and related aspects chapter 7
deals with the elderly population and their living conditions. Migration, which is an important aspect
of population change is analysed in chapter 8. Analysis of the levels and trends in fertility, mortality
and migration would be included in a report on population projections being brought out separately.
Attempts have been made to make each chapter self contained with a brief description of the questions
asked, the concepts and definitions involved. The statistical tables based on which these analysis have
been made are given in the Appendix. Since this is a sample survey and the estimates of proportions
are more reliable than that of absolute numbers, the tables are presented in the form of per cent
distributions or other indicators, except in chapter 3 that deals with estimates of 1.4 population.

1.5 Data Dissemination: This report and all statistical tables would be available in printed as well
as digital format. In addition, the basic data would be available for further research subject to the
usual conditions for obtaining such data.

3
 Chapter 2

ORGANIZATION OF THE SURVEY

Due to the high sample size in Amhara and Addis Ababa, the survey was had to be well
planned and executed well for its success. The following sections discuss various organizational
aspects of the Inter Censal Population Survey(ICPS) 2012, like sample design and sample size, field
wok, total population covered in the sample, data processing etc..

2.1 Sample Design and sample size: The decisions regarding sample size and sample design are
dictated by the level of precision required for the estimates and also the cost that can be incurred. The
ICPS 2012 had the twin objectives of getting the estimate of the total population with reasonable
precision for the two regions of Amhara and Addis Ababa and the demographic indicators for all
regions. As the population estimates were to be prepared at woreda level for Amhara and sub-city
level for Addis Ababa, the sample size had to be considerably large in these areas. A stratified two
stage sampling procedure was used to select the households to be surveyed.

The list of Enumeration Areas(EA) formed at the time of 2007 census were used as a sampling frame
for cluster(area) sampling in the first stage. These EAs are identifiable in the field as their maps are
available. The number of households and population of these enumeration areas as per the 2007
census are also available and were used for selecting the sample areas by Probability Proportional to
Size (PPS) method. Within each tabulation area, such as woreda in Amhara region, sub-city in Addis
Ababa and the entire region in other regions, samples of enumeration areas were selected with
probability proportional to the number of households in the enumeration area as per 2007 census, after
stratifying the area into urban and rural. In case of Somali region, however, PPS sampling was not
resorted to as the population of this pastoral region is prone to migration and the population
distribution across the EAs would have undergone considerable changes since last census. Table 2.1
provides the number of EAs that were surveyed in each region.

Table 2.1: Number of Enumeration Areas(EAs) Surveyed by Region

Region Number of EAs surveyed No of surveyed

Urban Rural Total Households Population
1. Tigray 17 53 70 2,097 8,884
2. Affar 12 48 60 1,777 8,617
3. Amhara 871 3,421 4,322 122,305 538,844
4. Oromiya 19 101 120 3,586 17,498
5. Somali 35 215 250 7,560 46,680
6. Benishangul-Gumuz 8 42 50 1,487 6,702
7. S.N.N.P 14 106 120 3,599 17,683
8. Gambela 20 40 60 1,781 8,291
9. Harari 23 16 39 1,166 4,734
10. Addis Ababa 2,695 0 2,695 78,682 329,361
11. Dire Dawa 28 12 40 1,186 4,941
Total 3,707 3,839 7,826 225,226 992,235
4
The initial sampling design prepared at CSA and sample size was reviewed before the survey.
Annexure 2 presents extracts from the report of the consultant including the originally proposed
sample size and the size recommended by him. Though a sample size of 1,560 EAs were initially
proposed for Somali Region, this was reviewed further after the survey was completed in other regions
and it was decided to reduce the sample size to 250 EAs taking into account the difficulties in
conducting a survey in that region.

The information from the listing of households that includes the household size can be used to
estimate the population. However, it has been observed that the household size tends to be
understated in such short inquiry as at the time of listing, with respondent missing the unrelated
members, distant relatives and even young children while responding to the question on household
size. In a detailed survey when listing of individual members in the household is taken up, chances of
missing such members is less resulting in a higher household size. Due to this reason, a second stage
for detailed survey was unavoidable. Since collecting detailed information from all households in the
EA would not add significantly to the precision of the estimates, only 30 households were selected in
the second stage after listing all households in the selected EA. If the EA had only less than 30
households, then all households were surveyed. In Amhara and Addis Ababa regions the listing was
done from February 2012 over a period of three months. In other regions, due to logistical
considerations, the listing of households was undertaken just before the actual survey by the same
enumerator. Information pertaining to about one million people were collected from 225,226
households during the survey. As the sample size was high in Amhara and Addis Ababa regions, the
distribution of the sample population is not uniform as can be seen in table 2.2. Of the 225,226
households covered in the survey 200,987 accounting for 89.2 percent are from Amhara and Addis
Ababa.

2.2. Questionnaire Design: The questionnaire design is, to some extent, dependent on the method of
data processing, more specifically, data capture into computer media from the filled in questionnaires.
CSA had procured a number of scanners for the 2007 population census and these were available in
good condition. Hence it was decided to use them for data capture using OMR technology. Thus, it
was necessary to design the questionnaires that are compatible to the scanners and OMR technology.
A pre-test was conducted in 2011 for identifying the issues in data collection and processing of the
questionnaire using OMR technology and based on the results of this survey and other experiences,
the questionnaire was modified. Specimen of the final questionnaire in English is provided at
Annexure 2. The questionnaires were designed and printed by DRS Data Services, UK.

2.3. Field work: The field work of the survey was done in three stages. During February-April 2012,
the households of the sample EAs were listed in Amhara and Addis Ababa regions and sample of
households were selected in these EAS for the purpose of the detailed survey. As there was enough
time available between the listing and the detailed survey, the sampling of households could be
checked in the office. This also ensured that independence of the listing and sample selection from
the main survey. The data from the listing of households were required for multiplier calculation and
hence they were computerized. In all regions other than Somali, training program for the field staff
was organized in May 2012 and the field work was done with the reference date of 28th May 2012. In
Somali Region where the pastoral population is available at the normal residential areas only from late
November, the survey was done with 29th November as the reference date. In both cases the
fieldwork lasted a week from the reference date. Thus, in all regions except Affar, the surveys was
carried out exactly five years after the 2007 census. In Affar, the 2007 census was conducted along
5
with Somali and thus the inter censal survey was 4 years and six months after the census.

The survey was conducted using field staff temporarily recruited for the purpose. Since these people
were new, detailed training for two weeks was organised for them at various locations across the
country. The training included classroom training, field work and feed back session with discussions.

2.4. Data processing: As mentioned earlier the questionnaires were designed with the objective of
scanning them using the scanners available with CSA for capturing the data. This required additional
software for capturing the data from scanned images. The software and related technical support were
obtained from DRS Data Services, UK. Before scanning, the questionnaires were subjected to manual
editing. During this stage, the identification particulars as well as major items of data were checked to
ensure that the entries and the marks for OMR are consistent.

All the activities like editing and corrections in the data and tabulation were in-house activities of
CSA. A detailed set of edit checks, imputation instructions and tabulation plan were prepared for this
purpose. The required computer software for this purpose were also prepared in-house.

Appropriate sampling weights were used to arrive at the final tables as the samples were not
proportional across the regions and urban and rural areas.

6
 Chapter 3

POPULATION ESTIMATES

As mentioned earlier, one of the main objectives of the survey was to get reliable estimates of
population for Amhara and Addis Ababa regions. It is well known that sample surveys can estimate
ratios and averages better than totals which are derived from averages. Estimating the population
involves estimating the average household size and multiplying it with the estimated number of
households. As both these parameters are estimated from the sample, the population estimate would
have a higher sampling error. This fact has to be kept in view while analysing the estimates presented
in this chapter. Estimation of population being the focus of the survey only for Amhara and Addis
Ababa, the sample sizes for other regions have been determined to get reliable estimates of the other
parameters being presented in this report. In view of this, the estimates of population for the regions
other than Amhara and Addis Ababa are not discussed. It is also to be noted that estimates at lower
levels like zone, wereda and sub-city would have higher sampling error compared to estimates at
region level. Though estimates have been worked out in absolute numbers, due to sampling errors
they would not be reliable up to the last digit. Hence in all tables where the population estimates are
presented, they have been rounded off to the nearest thousand.

The total population of the country has been estimated as 82.64 million. Considering that this is based
on a sample, a 95 per cent confidence interval for the population is 79.36 to 85.92 million. The
growth rate of population since 2007 census is estimated to be about 2.4 per cent. This estimate of the
growth rate is reasonably consistent with the estimated birth rate of about 34.5 per 1000 population
(EDHS 2011). This indicates that the estimated population of the country is consistent with that from
2007 census.

3.1. Population and Growth rate for Amhara region: The population of Amhara region has been
estimated as 19.2 million giving an average annual growth rate of 2.3 per cent since 2007 census. This
estimate has a coefficient of variation of about 1% indicating that a 95% confidence interval for the
population of the region would be 18.84-19.58 million. Considering that, the inter censal survey has
been conducted in a completely independent manner five years after the census, it is useful to look
into the growth rate in more detail.

The Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2011(EDHS 2011) estimated the Crude Birth Rate
(CBR) for the country as 34.5 per 1000 population and the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) as 4.8 children
per woman1. EDHS has not provided the CBR at region level. However, it has estimated the TFR for
Amhara as 4.2, lower that that at national level. Though the CBR and TFR are not linearly related as
combinations of age distribution of the underlying population and the age specific fertility rates
(ASFR) may result in different figures of CBR for the same level of TFR, it may not be wrong to
assume that the CBR for Amhara is significantly below that of the country and is nearer to 33 per 1000
population.

Estimates of death rats are not available for the country as a whole or for the regions from any source.
The third component of population growth is migration. Though information on migration was
collected in the ICPS 2012, due to small samples, one can not get reliable estimates of migration from
Amhara to regions other than Addis Ababa. The available data indicate that there has been
outmigration from the region to other regions, especially Addis Ababa. The net migration out of

1 Central Statistical Agency, Ethiopia (2012): Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2011 – page 70.
7
Amhara during the five years prior to the inter censal survey would account for the decline of about
about 0.2 percentage points in the annual growth rate (See Chapter 8).

If we take the average CBR to be about 33 then the difference between birth rate and growth rate is 8
per 1000, which should be closer to the death rate which is not an unreasonable figure. Thus, on the
whole the growth rate seems to indicate that the survey estimate of population for Amhara is
consistent with that from the population census of 2007.

The objective of the survey was to also estimate the population figures at zone and woreda level for
Amhara region. As mentioned earlier, the sampling variability of the estimates would be higher at
smaller geographic levels. As the zones/woredas are not uniform in their size, the precision of the
estimates at zone/woreda level would also not be the same.

Table 3.1 provide the estimated population of Amhara region at zone level. Corresponding data at
woreda level are presented at Annexure 1. Table A3.3 provides the coefficients of variation and a 95
per cent confidence interval at the zone/woreda level for the population estimates.

Table 3.1: Estimated Population 2007-12 at zone level - Amhara

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007
Amhara Region 19,211 17,116
e) North Gondar 3,392 2,908
f) South Gondar 2,274 2,038
g) North Wello 1,662 1,493
h) South Wello 2,728 2,506
i) North Shewa 1,991 1,829
j) East Gojjam 2,360 2,142
k) West Gojjam 2,385 2,093
l) Waghemira 498 425
m) Awi 1,130 977
n) Oromia 508 455
o) Bahir Dar 245 214
p) Argoba Special Wereda 38 35

It is possible that some areas have grown relatively faster than others due to the interplay of several
factors. Hence comparing with the population counted in 2007 census and drawing conclusions about
the growth rates have to be done with caution. It is also difficult to pinpoint the reasons for any
fluctuations in growth rates without having data on birth rate, death rate and migration.

As the population size of the woreda is relatively small, even small changes can contribute
significantly to the increase or decline in population size. In some cases new factories and labour
intensive industries would result in substantial increase in population. Depending on the skill levels
required, people may migrate from other nearby woredas or even other zones and regions. On the
8
other hand, people from a woreda may migrate to a nearby area where employment opportunities are
on the rise. Migration rates are also dependent on several factors including culture, education, etc..
Unless the effects of in and out migrations are known, it is not possible to make conclusions regarding
the population change in a woreda since last census.

3.2. Population and Growth rate for Addis Ababa: The estimated population of Addis Ababa as on
28th May 2012 is 2.99 million. This estimate has a coefficient of variation of 0.5 and a 95%
confidence interval for the estimate is 2.96-3.02 million. This estimate does not include the population
living in collective quarters like hostels, boarding houses, etc.. The average annual growth rate during
2007-12 is estimated as 2.1 per cent. The population of Addis Ababa is significantly affected by
migration as it is the capital city of the country providing employment opportunities and educational
facilities, thus attracting migration from various parts of the country. It may also be noted that the
redevelopments taking place in the city has resulted in uneven growth since last census. This would
have made the number of households as per 2007 census used as the weight parameter for sampling
and estimation somewhat outdated. While many such changes were identified during listing of
households in the selected EAs and necessary steps were taken to adjust the estimates for those
changes, the overall effect of such shifts in population would be to increase the variability of the
estimates.

The EDHS has estimated that the fertility levels are significantly low in the city with the TFR
estimated as 1.5 children per woman. However, the estimated TFR based on the survey with a much
higher sample is about 1.8 which seems more reasonable as it is closer to replacement level of about
2.1 children per woman. The population of Addis Ababa is comparatively younger and has relatively
more females. This would result in a higher birth rate with the same TFR compared to the population
in other areas. The data on children born to woman in the reproductive age group collected in the
survey indicate that the birth rate in Addis Ababa in 2007-12 would have been about 18 per 1000
population. The younger population and lower infant and child mortality would result in a low death
rate in the city. The survey recorded the deaths that occurred in the households during the previous
one year. It is likely that this recording has also been affected by reference period and other errors
associated with the difficulty of collecting mortality information that are sensitive to the respondents.
While the death rate from this data is 5 per 1000, it is estimated that the actual death rate is around 6
per thousand. This would imply an annual growth rate of about 1.3-1.4 percent.

The number of migrants during the last five years into the city, i.e., the number of persons with a
previous residence outside the city, but has been continuously residing in the city for less than 5 years
is estimated as about 9.2 per cent of the current population. Corresponding to this the number of out-
migrants from the city to other parts of the country is estimated as 5.0 per cent resulting in a net
addition of about 4.2 per cent of the current population of the city during 2007-12 due to migration.
This would have resulted in an addition of about 0.8 per cent to the annual natural growth rate of
population. This means that the natural growth rate would be abut 1.3 per cent which is consistent
with the estimate obtained in the previous paragraph.

The population estimates and the corresponding growth rates since 2007 for the sub-cities of Addis
Ababa are presented in table 3.2. It is seen that there is considerable fluctuation in the growth rates
across the sub-cities. During the filed work of the survey it was noticed that due to new
developmental activities several areas have changed significantly from 2007. In some cases there has
been considerable amount of demolitions and with redevelopment is yet to take place the population
has reduced significantly at the EA level. In some other cases, due to new constructions, the
population has significantly increased.

9
The effect of these changes is to make the sampling frame used to select the sample a little outdated,
which is not unexpected in a developing city like Addis Ababa. This would result in higher sampling
error of the estimates to some extent. However, since most of the population who were affected by
re-developments have settled within the city the estimates for the city as a whole would be more
reliable compared to the sub-city level estimates.

Table 3.2: Estimated population 2007-12 by sub cities, Addis Ababa

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007
Addis Ababa 2,992 2,688

3. Akaki Kaliti 207 177

4. Nefas Silk Lafto 354 312
5. Kolfe Keranio 496 423
6. Gulele 285 262
7. Lideta 198 197
8. Kirkos 225 216
9. Arada 209 205
10. Addis Ketema 272 250
11. Yeka 388 341
12. Bole 359 303

10
 Chapter 4

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS

Key findings
• Average household size (4.7) has not changed much since 2007 census
• About a third of the households in urban areas are headed by females while in rural areas only
one out of five households are headed by females
• Ethiopia's population is comparatively young. About 30% of the population is below age 10
• The age group 15-49 years account for about 47% of the female population. This large
proportion would have tremendous impact on the number of children born in the country
• Population aged 0-14 declined from 45.4% 1994 to 45% in 2007 and to44.5% in 2012 over the
years. This could be largely due to fertility decline
• For every 100 persons aged 15-64 years, there are about 90 persons aged either less than 15
years or 65 years and above. The ratio is close to 100 in rural areas
• Literacy rate among those aged 10 years and above had almost reached 50%. About 59% of
the males and about 40 % of the females are literate
• Literacy rate among the regions ranged from 32% for Afar to 88 % for Addis Ababa. Female
literacy rate is still below 50% and is as low as 25 % in Affar
• About 75% of the literates have completed grades below 9 only. About 7% have completed
grades above secondary
• While about a sixth of the literates (17%) in urban areas have completed secondary level, the
corresponding proportion is only about 3% in rural areas
• About 45% of those aged above 10 years are currently married and 47% are never married
• 58% of the females aged 15-49 years are married
• The median age at marriage of those who married during 2011-12 is about 24.1 for males and
18.7 for females.
• Age at marriage has been increasing over the years for both males and females
• Median age at marriage in urban areas is about two years above that of rural areas

This chapter discusses various characteristics of the population of the country as seen from
the data collected in the 2012 Inter-Censal Population Survey. The discussion is focussed on
distribution of population by sex, age, marital status, religion, ethnic group, education, marital status
and age at marriage. As the data used is from the sample survey, the detailed tables present only
percentage distributions.

4.1 Household size and headship rate: Household size is an important indicator of social
structure and cultural values. Some societies have lot more joint family households than other
societies and there is also variation across rural and urban areas. In modern societies it is also affected

11
by family planning, migration and the move towards nuclear families. Table 4.1 presents the average
household size by region and place of residence based on Census 2007 and ICPS 2012.

Table 4.1: Household size by region and residence, Census 2007 and ICPS 2012

Average household size

Census 2007 ICPS 2012

Region Total Urban Rural Total Urban Rural

Country Total 4.7 3.8 4.9 4.7 3.6 5.0

1. Tigray
4.3 3.4 4.6 4.2 3.3 4.5
2. Affar
5.6 3.9 6.0 4.9 3.8 5.1
3. Amhara
4.3 3.3 4.5 4.3 3.2 4.6
4. Oromia
4.8 3.7 5.0 4.9 3.5 5.1
5. Somali
6.5 6.0 6.5 6.3 6.1 6.3
6. Benishangul-Gumuz
4.5 3.6 4.7 4.5 3.6 4.7
7. S.N.N.P
4.8 4.0 4.9 4.9 3.7 5.1
8. Gambella
4.6 3.8 4.9 4.7 4.3 4.9
9. Harari
3.9 3.4 4.6 4.1 3.3 5.1
10. Addis Ababa
4.1 4.1 - 4.1 4.1 -
11. Dire Dawa
4.4 4.2 4.9 4.0 3.6 5.1

The household size has not shown any change compared to 2007 census. It may be seen that in most
of the regions the household size in urban areas are significantly lower than that in the rural areas, in
most cases the difference being more than one person per household. Somali region continues to have
the highest number of persons per household.

The term 'headship rate' denotes the ratio of the number of heads of households in a specific category
to the total number of heads. In the Inter-censal survey, as in the census 2007, a head of a household is
defined as any member of the household who is recognized as the head by the members of the
household. Table 4.2 provides the distribution of heads by sex in rural and urban areas, i.e., the
headship rate by sex.
12
 Table 4.2: Headship Rate by sex, ICPS 2012.

Place of Residence Total Urban Rural

Male Female Male Female Male Female
Country Total 75.8 24.2 65.0 35.0 78.6 21.4
13. Tigray 68.3 31.7 53.9 46.1 72.7 27.3

14. Affar 77.3 22.7 65.6 34.4 80.1 19.9

15. Amhara 75.3 24.7 60.6 39.4 78.6 21.3

16. Oromiya 78.5 21.5 68.3 31.7 80.7 19.3

17. Somali 77.0 23.0 61.8 38.3 78.3 21.7

18. Benishangul-Gumz 80.6 19.4 75.8 24.2 81.9 18.1

19. S.N.N.P 75.5 24.5 68.8 31.2 76.5 23.5

20. Gambela 70.7 29.3 65.3 34.7 74.6 25.4

21. Harari 73.0 27.0 67.3 32.7 80.8 19.2

22. Addis Ababa 65.7 34.3 65.7 34.3 -- --

23. Dire Dawa 73.5 26.5 69.6 30.4 83.6 16.4

The figures in table 4.2 show that the majority of households (76%) are headed by males. The
female headed households form only a fourth of the total. However, one third of the households are
headed by females (35%) in urban areas compared to rural areas (21%). The percentage of female
headed households vary across the regions, with the lowest proportion recorded in Benishangul-
Gumuz(19%) and the highest in Tigray(32%). In urban areas of Tigray as much as 46% of the
households are headed by females.

4.2 Sex Composition and Sex Ratio: Sex is one of the basic characteristics of a population. Sex
composition is very important for any analysis, as classification by sex provides useful information
about gender discrimination. It also provides useful indications for policy and programme
formulation. Table 4.3 provides the sex wise distribution of the population and the sex ratio (defined as
the number of males per 100 females) at regional level.

The male population is slightly higher (50.2%) than female population (49.8%) at the national level.
Sex composition of the population shows regional variations. In Affar, Somali and Gambela regions
the number of males exceeds that of females. In Oromia, Amhara, SNNP and Bensangul-Gumuz,
13
Harari number of males and females are almost same. The other regions, i.e., Tigray, Addis Ababa and
Dire Dawa, have significantly higher proportion of females than males.

Table 4.3: Distribution of population by sex and sex ratio by region, ICPS 2012

Region Distribution of population (%) Sex ratio

Total Males Females

Country Total 100.0 50.2 49.8 100.7

1. Tigray
100.0 48.2 51.8 93.2
2. Affar
100.0 51.8 48.2 107.4
3. Amhara
100.0 50.1 49.9 100.3
4. Oromiya
100.0 50.0 50.0 100.2
5. Somali
100.0 54.9 45.1 121.7
6. Benishangul Gumz
100.0 50.5 49.5 101.8
7. S.N.N.P
100.0 50.2 49.8 100.8
8. Gambela
100.0 51.0 49.0 103.9
9. Harari
100.0 50.1 49.9 100.2
10. Addis Ababa
100.0 46.8 53.2 88.0
11. Dire Dawa
100.0 49.2 50.8 96.7

Though one would expect the number of males and females to be similar giving a sex ratio of nearly
100, this is rarely the case. The variations are caused by gender differentials in mortality and
migration patterns. The estimated sex ratio for the country is 100.7 males per 100 females. Results
from the 1994 and 2007 censuses and the current survey show similar pattern (Figure 4.1).

14
 Figure 4.1 Sex Ratio - Ethiopia 1994-2012

105
101.3 101.9
100.7
100

95

90

85

80
1994 2007 2012

4.3 Age Distribution: Age is one of the basic characteristics of a population useful for demographic
analysis and for various types of socio-economic development planning. The age-sex structure of a
population has many implications for the present and the future. It is usually depicted graphically by a
population pyramid. The current age-sex structure is the collective effect of past fertility, mortality and
migration.

Though age data have many uses, it is usually very difficult to obtain reliable data on age in
developing countries. This is mainly due to low levels of literacy, which limits individuals’ awareness
and capacity to record their children’s and their own age. Moreover, the lack of a complete and sound
vital registration system has a negative impact on the quality of age data. Ethiopia is not an exception
and the difficulty of obtaining reliable age information is a common challenge in surveys and
censuses. To tackle this problem, tools such as lists of historical events were used to assist
respondents and enumerators in estimating a person’s age.

15
 Table 4.4: Distribution of population by age for each sex, ICPS 2012

Age group Total Males Females

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
0-4 14.2 14.3 14.0
5-9 16.3 16.5 16.1
10-14 14.0 14.6 13.3
15 - 19 11.2 11.3 11.1
20 - 24 8.8 8.5 9.1
25 - 29 7.9 7.4 8.5
30 - 34 5.8 5.5 6.0
35 - 39 5.5 5.4 5.5
40 - 44 3.8 4.1 3.6
45 - 49 3.1 3.0 3.2
50 - 54 2.7 2.4 3.0
55 - 59 2.1 2.1 2.0
60 - 64 1.6 1.6 1.6
65 - 69 1.1 1.1 1.1
70 - 74 0.9 0.9 0.8
75 -79 0.5 0.5 0.5
80+ 0.7 0.7 0.6

Table 4.4 provides the distribution of population by age and sex. The population of Ethiopia is
comparatively young, with about 30 per cent of the population being below age 10. This high
proportion has significant implications. When these young people grow up, the demand for education
and employment would grow considerably. The slightly lower proportion of population for the age
group 0-4 years may be mainly due to under-enumeration of children, age distortions due to digit
preferences and declining fertility.

About 47 per cent of the female population is aged 15-49 years, the age group considered to be
reproductive ages. This is a large proportion and has a tremendous impact on the number of children
born in the country. As proportion of children below the reproductive ages is significantly high, the
number of females in the reproductive age group would be increasing for several years into the future.
Thus fertility reduction may not result in reduction in number of births that take place in the country,
unless the fertility falls faster than the increase in the number of women in the reproductive age
group. Figure 4.2 shows the population pyramid. It gives a visual idea of the age sex distribution of
the population.

16
Figure 4.3 shows the percentage of population broad age groups corresponding to young, working
and old ages at 1994 and 2007 censuses and in ICPS 2012. While the distributions are similar, a
gradual change is noticeable. The proportion in the age group 15-64 is slowly increasing, while that in
the ages below 15 years is showing a declining trend. In 2012, population at young ages (<15 years)
made up 44 percent of the total and those at old age group (above 64 years) constituted 3 percent. The
proportion of population aged 15-64 constituted over half (53%) of the total population. The declining

Figure 4.2: Age Pyramid, ICPS 2012

Distribution of one million population

80+
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35 Age
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-10,000 -5,000 0 5,000 10,000
Population

trend at younger ages may be the result of a slow but significant decline in fertility. On the other
hand the decline in the proportion of people at old age is the result of increasing population in the
younger ages rather than any decline in aged population.

Table 4.5 presents the distribution of population by broad age groups and the dependency ratios. All
persons in the working ages do not actually participate in economic activities and all persons outside
these ages are also not dependants. In spite of this, the ratio of persons in

17
 Chart 4.3: Percentage Distribution of Population by Broad Age groups, 2007-2012

60
51.4 51.8 52.4
50 45.4 45.0 44.5

40
Below 14
15-64
30
65+

20

10
3.2 3.2 3.1
0
1994 2007 2012

the dependent age groups to those of the working age provides a useful approximation to the economic
dependency burden. The figures show an overall dependency ratio of 91 for Ethiopia with a ratio of
85 for the young and 6 for the old. This means for each 100 persons in the productive age groups there
are about 91 young or old dependants to be supported. The young, old and overall dependency ratios
in rural area are significantly higher than in urban area, basically because of larger population in the
working age groups in urban areas as a result of migration. It may be noted that the proportion of
people in the working age group is much higher in urban areas compared to rural areas. On the other
hand, the proportion of younger people is correspondingly less in urban areas. This is due to the
earlier fertility decline in urban areas resulting in fewer numbers of children and also due to migration
of people in the working age group to urban areas to some extent. Though the net result is a lower
dependency ratio in urban areas, but in reality many people in urban areas may be having dependants
in rural areas.

Table 4.5: Population by broad age group and dependency ratios, ICPS 2012

Place of Per cent population by broad age Dependency Ratio

Residence group
0-14 15-64 65+ Young Old Overall
Total 44.5 52.4 3.1 84.8 5.9 90.7
Urban 32.0 64.9 3.1 49.2 4.9 54.1
Rural 46.9 50.0 3.1 93.6 6.2 99.8
From Figure 4.4, depicting the dependency ratios over time, it is seen that there is some decline in the
dependency ratios, both young and old, between 1994-2012. This may have been aided by the growth
of population in the working age group and decline in the

18
proportion of young people noted earlier. Though the dependency burden is on account of the young
people now, as fertility continue to decline and health conditions improve resulting in higher life
expectancy, the young age dependency would come down and old age dependency would go up
significantly.

Figure 4.4: Dependency Ratios- Ethiopia 1994-2012

100
6.2 6.1 5.9
80

60 Old
88.4 86.8 Young
40 84.8

20

0
1994 2007 2012

4.4 Ethnic composition: Ethnicity is one of the important variables on which information was
collected during the ICPS. As cultural practices have significant impact on several socio-
demographic indicators, the ethnicity of a person is an important input for many studies.
Ethnic identity of a person is traced through his/her ethnic origin. To assist the enumerators
in recording these information, a detailed list of ethnic groups with codes was provided in
the enumerator’s manual and they were to select the appropriate code and mark them on
the OMR questionnaire.

Table 4.6 presents the percentage of the population of Ethiopia in each ethnic group which accounted
for more than two percent of the total population at the two census and ICPS 2012. Oromo constituted
35 percent of the population followed by Amhara (26.2 percent) and Tigrawai (6.0 percent),
Sidama(4.3 percent), Gurage (2.7 percent) and Welaita (2.3 percent). All other ethnic groups
constituted less than 2 percent each. Both in rural and urban areas the same groups hold the top
positions.

Table 4.6: Ethnic groups accounting for more than two percent of
the total population, 1994-2012

Ethnic group 1994 2007 2012

Oromo 32.1 34.4 35.3
Amhara 30.1 27.0 26.2
Somali 5.9 6.2 6.0
Tigrawai 6.2 6.1 5.9
Sidama 3.5 4.0 4.3
Gurage 4.3 2.5 2.7
Welayta 2.4 2.3 2.3

19
4.5 Religion: Information regarding religious affiliation of every member of the household was asked
in the ICPS. Like ethnicity, religion is also an important socio-cultural characteristic of the population
having significant impact on demographic and social behaviour patterns. It is an affiliation with a
group having a specific religious or spiritual tenet. In the survey, every member of the household was
asked about his/her religious affiliation and classified as one of the following: Orthodox Christian
(including the Kibat and Tsega); Protestant Christian (including seven day Adventist, Pentecost,
Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, Presbyterian, Meserete Kirstos, Mulu Wengel and Kale Hiywot); Catholic
Christian; Muslim and followers of Traditional Religions. Followers of religions other than those
mentioned above were categorized in the group 'others'.

Table 4.7 Distribution of Population by Religion, 1994-2012

Religion 1994 2007 2012 (ICPS)
Total Urban Rural
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1. Orthodox 50.6 43.5
43.1 59.0 40.0
2. Protestant 10.2 18.5
19.4 15.8 20.1
3. Catholic 0.9 0.7
0.9 0.5 1.0
4. Islam 32.8 33.9
34.1 24.4 36.0
5. Traditional 4.6 2.7
1.5 0.2 1.8
6. Others 1.0 0.6
1.0 0.2 1.1
Table 4.7 shows the classification of the population of Ethiopia by religion during 1994-2012. The
distributions in urban and rural areas are also presented for 2012. It is seen that about 43 percent of
residents in Ethiopia are Orthodox Christians, followed by Muslims (34%), Protestants (19%) and
Catholic Christians (1%). Those who follow traditional religions made up 1.5 percent and followers of
other religions constituted only 1.0 percent of the population. Urban areas show higher proportion of
Orthodox Christian population and lower proportion of Protestants and Muslims. It is also be noted
that proportion of those who follow traditional religions show a decreasing trend from the 1994 to
2012 while Protestants show an increasing trend.

4.6 Education: This section discusses the educational characteristics of the population based on the
data collected in the 2012 inter-censal survey. The analysis of the data gives a picture of literacy and
educational attainment of the population. Low levels of literacy and educational levels have significant
direct or indirect effects on various demographic parameters like fertility, child mortality, migration,
acceptance of family planning, etc.. The information collected in the survey refers to formal education
defined as education in which students are enrolled or registered regardless of the mode of teaching
used. This is to mean that it includes both ‘regular school and university education’ and 'adult (out of
school) education'. These two terms are elaborated below.

20
 Figure 4.5: Distribution of population by religion, ICPS 2012

1.0
1.5
Orthodox
Protestant
34.1 Catholic
43.1 Islam
Traditional
Others

0.9
19.4

Regular school and university education (or regular education for short) is used to describe 'the
educational system that provides a ladder by which children and young people may progress from pre-
primary or school through universities, although many may drop out on the way'. Adult education is
used to describe 'out-of-school education, which provides education for people who are not in the
regular school and university system and who are generally fifteen years or older although in some
circumstances, younger students are accommodated with their older colleagues' (UNESCO, 1975:19).
While all of regular school and university education is formal, adult education has both formal and
non-formal components. The non-formal education that are not entertained in this report include
random learning (learning from experience or observation), self directed learning and family and
socially directed learning such as a mother teaching her children at home when she is not employed as
a teacher.

The analysis of the educational characteristics of the population is presented in two sections, viz., a)
Literacy status and b) Educational attainment.

4.6.1 Literacy Status: Table 4.8 provides the literacy rates by sex and region. It reveals that the
literacy rate in the country is about 50 percent with figures of 59 percent for males and 41 percent for
females. Literacy rate among the regions ranged from 32 percent for Affar to 88 percent for Addis
Ababa. Female literacy rate is still below 50 per cent and is as low as 25 per cent in Affar.

21
 Table 4.8 Literacy Rates by Sex and Region, ICPS 2012
Region Total Males Females
Country Total 49.5 58.5 40.4
1. Tigray
55.6 66.5 45.6
2. Affar
31.9 38.8 24.8
3. Amhara
47.6 55.1 40.1
4. Oromia
47.0 57.5 36.5
5. Somali
35.7 40.6 29.7
6. Benishangul-Gumuz
48.3 57.6 38.7
7. S.N.N.P
50.7 61.7 39.7
8. Gambella
64.0 74.5 53.2
9. Harari
62.1 73.0 51.7
10. Addis Ababa
87.5 93.7 82.1
11. Dire Dawa
65.8 76.8 55.1
4.6.2 Educational Attainment: Data on educational attainment provides information on the quality of
human resources of a country. This information is useful for manpower planning as well as for
planning for higher education. Educational attainment is defined as the highest grade completed within
the most advanced level attended in the educational system of the country, where the education was
received. For this purpose, a grade is defined as a stage of instruction usually covered in the course of
the academic year. The survey questionnaire included questions on educational attainment.
Irrespective of the educational status that a respondent may have had, information on the highest grade
completed in the formal education system were collected for every literate person aged 5 years and
above. United Nations recommend use of age of 10 years as the minimum age for compiling and
analysing data on educational attainment. Following this, the data on population classified by sex,
place of living and completed grade are discussed below for those aged 10 years and above. Table 4.9
presents percentage distribution of population 10 years ad above by highest level of education and sex.
There may be some people who have studied up to some grades in the past but have lapsed into
illiteracy by the time of the survey. These people are also included in the table.

It is seen that about 76 per cent of the literates have completed grades below 9 only. Those who
completed grades above secondary is only about 7 per cent. There is not much difference between
males and females in these distributions. However, there are significant differences between urban
and rural areas in the distribution of literates by completed grade. While about a sixth of the literates
(17%) in urban areas have completed secondary level, the corresponding proportion is only about
three percent in rural areas. This is true for both males and females and may partly be the result of
22
uneven distribution of educational facilities. The slightly lower proportion of females at higher
educational levels may be due to higher drop out rates compared to males.

Table 4.9: Distribution of Literate Population 10 years and above by Highest grade completed,
place of residence and Sex, ICPS 2012

Highest Grade Completed

New Old
Place of Secondary Secondary Above Non-
Residence Sex Grade 1-8 (9-10) (9-12) Secondary Regular
Total Total 75.8 4.2 9.7 6.8 3.5
Male 74.2 3.9 9.6 7.2 5.0
Female 78.1 4.5 9.7 6.2 1.5
Urban Total 53.5 7.9 20.5 16.8 1.4
Male 50.2 7.6 21.0 19.3 1.9
Female 57.2 8.1 19.9 13.9 0.9
Rural Total 85.5 2.6 5.5 2.5 4.5
Male 83.1 2.6 5.4 2.7 6.1
Female 89.4 2.6 4.2 2.0 1.8
4.7 Marital Status and age at first marriage: Marital status has been categorized into six main
groups namely; never married, currently married, divorced, separated, widowed and co-habiting. A
person who had never been married is considered as never married. Married persons include couples
who are living together bonded by any kind of marital engagement at the time of the survey
(traditional, religious, or civil marriage). A person who had been married but whose marriage was
dissolved before the survey reference date was categorized as divorced. Persons who live together
without any kind of agreement as explained above were categorized as co-habiting. The question on
marital status was asked to persons aged 10 years and above only. Table 4.10 and the Figure 4.6 show
that 47 percent of the country’s population aged 10 years and over have never married and 45 percent
are currently married. About 53 percent of males and 40 percent of females were never married, the
larger proportion of never married males being the result of higher age at marriage among them.
About 44 percent of the males and 46 percent of the females respectively were currently married.
Figure 4.6 shows a graphical presentation of this data. As there is a significant variation in the marital
status across age, it is of interest to look into the distribution of population by marital status in various
age groups. Table 4.10 provides the distribution of population aged 10 years and above according to
marital status. It may be noted that distribution by marital status vary by gender and age group. Table
A4.2 in the Annexure provides the percentages of 'never married', 'currently married',
'divorced/separated' and 'Widowed' separately among males and females and by age group.

Table 4.10 and the Figure 4.6 show that 47 percent of the country’s population aged 10 years and over
have never married and 45 percent are currently married. About 53 percent of males and 40 percent of
females were never married, the larger proportion of never married males being the result of higher
age at marriage among them. About 44 percent of the males and 46 percent of the females
respectively were currently married. Figure 4.6 shows a graphical presentation of this data. As there
is a significant variation in the marital status across age, it is of interest to look into the distribution of
population by marital status in various age groups.
23
Table 4.10: Distribution of Population Aged 10 years and above by Marital Status and Sex, ICPS
2012
Marital status Per cent population by marital status
Total Male Female
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Never Married 46.7 53.3 40.1
Currently Married 45.0 43.6 46.4
Divorced 2.7 1.3 4.1
Separated 0.9 0.5 1.3
Widow/Widower 4.5 1.0 7.9
Co-habiting 0.2 0.3 0.1
4.7.1: Married females in reproductive age group: Available evidences in the country indicate that
most of the child births occur within marital unions. Hence, the percentage of married females in the
reproductive age group is an important indicator as it has a direct relation to the number of births that
would take place in the country. Table 4.11 provides the region wise percentage of married females in
the reproductive age group (15-49 years). It may be seen that about 59 percent of the females in this
age group in the country are married. The percentage vary from about 34 per cent in Addis Ababa to
66 per cent in Benishangul-Gumuz. As this proportion is dependent on female age at marriage, it
would reduce only when female age at marriage goes up. This also indicates that at any given fertility
level, the birth rate could be much higher in Benishangul-Gumuz compared to Addis Ababa. The
proportions are much higher in rural areas compared to urban areas in all regions, the difference being
more than 20 percent in some regions.

Figure 4.6: Distribution of Population aged 10+ by Marital Status, ICPS 2012

0.2 4.5
0.9 2.7

Never Married
Currently Married
Divorced
Separated
46.7
Widowed
Co-habiting

45.0

24
 Table 4.11: Percentage of currently married females in the reproductive age
group, ICPS 2012
Currently married females aged 15-49
(%)
Region Total Urban Rural
Country Total 59.1 42.2 63.7
12. Tigray
56.7 40.0 61.9
13. Affar
61.6 52.5 63.6
14. Amhara
57.4 40.6 61.1
15. Oromia
63.3 45.4 67.0
16. Somali
58.3 47.4 59.3
17. Benishangul-Gumuz
67.3 55.0 70.6
18. SNNP
60.8 49.0 62.3
19. Gambella
60.1 55.1 63.5
20. Harari
56.2 46.1 70.0
21. Addis Ababa
34.6 34.6 ---
22. Dire Dawa
53.2 47.5 67.5

4.7.2 Age at First Marriage

In Ethiopia marriage is almost universal. As most births occur within marriage, it can be said that
marriage is associated with the initiation of childbearing. Women who marry early have a longer
period of exposure to child bearing than those who marry late, thus having an impact on the fertility
rates. The married persons were also asked about the length of their marital union. In most cases this
is same as the difference between age and age at marriage. The exceptions are when a person
remarries one or more times. This facilitates identification of marriages that have taken place a certain
number of years before the survey.

Table 4.12 provides the distribution of women by age at first marriage. Marriage starts at earlier ages
of 10-11 years. In rural areas of Ethiopia the number of women who marry reaches its peak level at
ages between 16 and 21 and falls afterwards. Most women, marry between ages 14 and 30. But urban
women start marriage few years later than rural women. Number of marriages reaches its peak levels
between ages 15 and 25 and decline afterwards. More than 5% of urban women and about 3% of rural
women marry at ages above 28 years.

25
 Table 4.12: Distribution of women by age at marriage and years since married, ICPS 2012

Years Age at first marriage

since Total 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23 24+
married
Total (Urban+Rural)
Total 100.0 3.5 6.9 21.5 25.5 19.7 11.1 5.2 6.6
<5 100.0 1.7 2.7 12.7 25.1 25.3 13.5 9.1 9.9
5-9 100.0 1.8 5.0 17.1 24.9 24.2 13.3 6.4 7.3
10+ 100.0 4.4 8.6 25.1 25.7 17.0 9.8 3.8 5.5

Urban

Total 100.0 1.9 4.9 16.4 19.7 20.8 14.5 8.6 13.2
5< 100.0 0.4 1.4 6.5 15.8 24.3 17.1 16.1 18.4
5-9 100.0 0.8 2.6 12.4 17.8 25.2 17.4 9.0 14.8
10+ 100.0 3.0 7.5 22.7 22.3 17.5 12.1 4.9 10.0

Rural

Total 100.0 3.8 7.3 22.4 26.5 19.5 10.5 4.6 5.5
5< 100.0 2.0 3.1 14.5 27.8 25.6 12.4 7.1 7.4
5-9 100.0 2.0 5.5 18.0 26.3 23.9 12.5 5.9 5.8
10+ 100.0 4.6 8.7 25.4 26.2 17.0 9.5 3.7 4.9
While a third of the urban women who married more than 10 years ago had age at marriage below16
years, this proportion has come down to less than 9% for those who married in the last 5 years. In
rural areas the corresponding reduction is from about 40 to 20 per cent. On the other hand the
proportion of women who married after the age of 22 has increased from about 15% to 35% in urban
areas and from about 9% to 15% in rural areas. Even though significant improvements have taken
place, there are still a large number of marriages taking place at younger ages. About 24% of the
marriages in urban areas and 47% of the marriages in rural areas involved women aged below 18
years.

The table 4.13 provides the median age at marriage for those marriages that have taken place 'less than
one year', '1-4 years', '5-9 years' and '10+ years' before the survey at national and regional level.
'Median age at marriage' is the age by which half of the marriages take place and is an indicator of the
level of age at marriage. The table gives an indication about the trends in age at marriage. It is seen
that the median age at marriage for recent marriages is higher than that of marriages that took place
more than 10 years earlier. This trend is seen for both males and females. It may be seen that the
increasing trend is present in almost all regions and for both males and females. The fluctuations seen
in some regions may be because of small sample size and stagnating levels of age at marriage. The
table also shows that men marry on average 4.5-6.5 years later than females.

26
 Table 4.13: Median age at marriage by years since married and sex, ICPS 2012

Region Males Females

Years since married Years since married
<1 1-4 5-9 10+ <1 1-4 5-9 10+
COUNTRY TOTAL 24.1 23.6 23.1 22.7 18.7 18.4 18.0 16.9
Urban 26.0 26.1 25.2 24.2 20.3 20.1 19.3 17.5
Rural 23.6 23.0 22.7 22.6 18.4 18.0 17.8 16.8
1. Tigray
25.0 23.8 23.8 23.2 18.5 17.8 17.3 15.9
2. Affar
24.3 23.9 23.3 24.2 18.4 18.3 17.4 17.2
3. Amhara
22.8 22.9 21.8 21.4 18.2 17.5 16.3 15.1
4. Oromia
23.8 23.9 22.8 23.0 19.0 18.5 18.5 17.1
5. Somali
23.9 23.1 24.2 24.5 18.5 18.5 19.4 18.8
6. Benishangul-
Gumuz
23.0 22.8 22.3 21.2 19.0 18.4 17.1 16.1
7. SNNP
24.6 23.5 23.2 23.2 19.3 18.8 18.3 17.6
8. Gambella
25.9 24.0 22.9 23.2 19.2 18.6 17.4 17.5
9. Harari
24.1 23.4 23.4 23.0 19.9 18.7 18.0 17.6
10. Addis Ababa
29.6 28.7 28.1 26.1 24.7 23.5 21.6 19.1
11. Dire Dawa
25.1 25.5 24.6 24.2 20.1 19.7 19.5 17.8

27
 Figure: 4.7: Median Age at Marriage by Years Since Marriage, ICPS 2012

25 24.1 23.6 23.1 22.7

20 18.7 18.4 18.0

16.9

15 Males
Females
10

0
<1 year 1-4 years 5-9 years 10+ years

28
 Chapter 5

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Key Findings

• About 62 per cent of the population aged 10 years and above are economically active.
The proportion is higher for males (69%) than females(55%)

• Among both males and females, the proportion of economically active is about 5%
higher in rural areas compared to urban areas

• Participation in economic activities start at early ages, especially in rural areas where a
third of the population aged 10-14 years are economically active

• The age groups 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 have the most economically active population,
with 94-96 per cent of the males and 69-74 per cent of the females being economically
active.

• Being a student/under training (49%) is the main reason for not being economically
active, followed by home makers(28%)

• About 96% of the economically active population are employed, the rate being lower in
urban areas (83%) compared to rural areas(99%)

• The unemployment rate is about 4 per cent of the economically active population. There
is significant urban-rural and sex differentials in unemployment rates.

• As much as 24% of the females and 11% of the male labour force in urban areas are
unemployed. In rural areas the unemployment rate is as low as 1 per cent among both
males and females

• Most of the employed are either self employed(51%) or unpaid family workers (36%).
This is true in rural areas also. In urban areas, self employment (44%) has the highest
proportion followed by Government and Private employment (16-17% each).

• During the last few years, unemployment rates seems to have remained at the same level
of 3.8% of the economically active population

Data on the economic activity status of a population is important for planning and policy
decisions and to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of policies, strategies and
programmes related to the labour force. Data on employment and unemployment enables to designing
of short, medium and long term development programmes to improve the life of the working age
population and control unemployment.
In the survey, information on economic activity were collected from the population aged ten years and
above on the following topics:

29
 12. Whether s/he was engaged in economic/productive activities during the seven days prior to the
survey reference date
13. Persons not engaged in economic/productive activities were further asked whether the s/he will
be available for work in the coming one month or if not reason for not being available
14. Whether persons were engaged in economic/productive activities during most of the last
twelve months and reason for not being engaged and
15. Employment status in the main activity
This chapter provides a brief analysis of the data collected through these questions. The analysis
focusses on participation in economic activity, employment and unemployment and trends in
unemployment.

5.1 Economically Active and Inactive Population: The survey defines “economically active
population” as all those persons of age ten years and above who were engaged or available to be
engaged (employed or unemployed) in the production of goods and services during the seven days
before the reference date of the survey. Those persons who were neither engaged nor available to be
engaged in the production of goods and services form the “economically inactive” population.
The percentages of the economically active and inactive population at country level are shown in table
5.1. About 62 percent of the country's population are economically active, whereas 38 percent are
inactive. The size of the economically active population is significantly higher in rural areas compared
to urban areas. Hence, the economically inactive population is very high in urban areas than rural
areas of the country. Females are more economically inactive than men in all the instances. This is
mainly due the result of the measurement of the method, which does not consider domestic work as
economic activity.

Table 5.1: Percentage of Economically Active and Inactive among Population aged 10 years and
above, ICPS 2012

Place of residence Economically Active Economically Inactive

Total Males Females Total Males Females
Total 62.2 69.3 55.2 37.8 30.7 44.8
Urban 57.9 65.0 51.6 42.1 35.0 48.4
Rural 63.2 70.2 56.1 36.8 29.8 43.9
The age specific participation rates (table 5.2 and figure 5.1) show that, in Ethiopia, participation in
economic activity starts at earlier ages, where most of the population becomes active in their teens.
This condition is more prominent in rural than urban areas. Compared to rural areas, the proportion
starts declining at earlier ages in urban areas indicating that more urban people leave economic
activities at relatively earlier ages. The age groups 30-34,35-39 and 40-44 have the most economically
active population, with about 95 per cent of the males and 69-74 per cent of the females being
economically active. The urban-rural differentials in participation are also lowest in these age groups.
As age increases the rates decline. It is also noticed that the decline is faster in case of females. More
males continue to work at higher ages. As a whole the data indicates that Ethiopians work in most of
the periods of their life.

30
Table 5.2: Age specific proportions of economically active population by place of residence and sex,
ICPS 2012

Age Total Urban Rural

group Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females
Age 10+ 62.2 69.3 55.2 57.9 65.0 51.6 63.2 70.2 56.1
10 - 14 30.9 32.9 28.6 13.1 14.3 12.0 33.5 35.3 31.4
15 - 19 46.6 49.3 43.7 32.4 31.1 33.4 50.2 53.1 46.9
20 - 24 67.8 71.8 63.9 62.7 64.0 61.6 69.4 74.2 64.7
25 - 29 80.7 90.0 72.5 81.2 88.3 74.4 80.6 90.5 72.0
30 - 34 83.8 94.5 74.0 86.2 94.2 78.4 83.3 94.6 73.0
35 - 39 84.9 96.8 73.2 86.4 95.9 75.8 84.6 97.0 72.6
40 - 44 85.4 96.0 73.2 87.1 96.2 75.6 85.1 96.0 72.8
45 - 49 83.4 96.2 71.3 85.4 94.5 76.3 83.1 96.5 70.4
50 - 54 78.3 94.8 64.8 74.5 93.2 60.0 79.0 95.1 65.8
55 - 59 76.0 93.8 57.6 67.2 89.2 48.3 77.6 94.5 59.5
60 - 64 65.5 83.7 47.1 53.8 76.2 37.9 68.0 85.0 49.5
65 - 69 58.0 78.2 37.6 47.3 61.5 34.6 60.0 81.1 38.2
70 - 74 43.1 64.6 19.5 34.0 59.3 14.9 45.0 65.5 20.8
75+ 27.6 39.1 14.4 14.5 24.1 6.6 30.1 41.5 16.2

The respondents were asked the reasons for not being engaged in economic activities in the reference
period. Table 5.3 presents the distribution of those not economically active by reasons. It is seen that
students constitute the highest proportions accounting about 49 percent of the economically inactive,
followed by home makers (28 percent) at the national level. The proportions who are pensioners/old
age and those living with remittances are significant especially in urban areas of Addis Ababa, Harari
and Dire Dawa. The proportions of the economically inactive population who gave reasons as 'being
student/in training' is the higher in urban areas of the country. Lower proportion attending educational
institutions there and also higher drop out rates may have contributed to lower proportion of students
among economically inactive population in rural areas.
Table 5.3 Percentage distribution of the Economically Inactive Population by Reason for inactivity,
ICPS 2012

Old Age/
Place of Student/ Home Illness/ Too Pensioner/ Other
residence Total Training Maker Disabled Injury Young Remittance Reasons
Total 100.0 48.6 27.6 0.8 3.2 5.6 7.5 6.8
Urban 100.0 63.7 15.9 0.5 3.4 1.9 8.4 6.2
Rural 100.0 44.7 30.6 0.9 3.1 6.5 7.2 6.9

31
5.2 Employed and Unemployed Population

Employed population consists of those persons of age ten years and above who were engaged in

Figure 5.1 Age Specific proportion of economically active population, ICPS 2012
100

80

60

40

20

0
10¯ 14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

70-74
Males Females
production activities for at least four hours during the seven days prior to the survey. Persons
temporarily absent from their job, but had a formal attachment to their work were also included as
employed. On the other hand the unemployed are those persons aged ten years and above who did not
work at least four hours in the last seven days before the survey and most of the time in the last twelve
months before the survey and did not have a job to return, but available to work if job is found in the
coming one month after the interview.The employment rate is an indicator of the employment
situation in a country. It is calculated by expressing the number of the employed persons as a
percentage of the economically active population.
Table 5.4 shows the proportion of the employed persons in the economically active population and
unemployment rates by sex. About 96 percent of the country’s labour force is employed, the
employment rate being, 97 per cent for males and 95 per cent for females. The proportion of
employed in urban areas is lower than that in rural areas. In urban areas about 83 percent of the
economically active population is employed while in rural areas the proportion is almost 99 per cent.
In urban areas, the share of employed among the male population(90%) is higher compared to the
females(76%). Among the rural population, employment is almost universal and no difference is
observed between the male and female population. This may partly be due to the participation of most
members of the family in the agricultural operations.

32
 Table 5.4: Proportion of the Employed Population and Unemployment Rates, ICPS 2012

Place of Percentage of employed Unemployment Rate

residence Total Males Females Total Males Females
Country Total 96.2 97.3 94.7 3.8 2.7 5.3
Urban 83.3 89.5 76.4 16.7 10.5 23.6
Rural 98.8 98.9 98.7 1.2 1.1 1.3
1. Tigray 95.3 96.9 93.2 4.7 3.1 6.8
2. Affar 97.7 98.7 96.1 2.3 1.3 3.9
3. Amhara 96.3 97.1 95.2 3.7 2.9 4.8
4. Oromiya 97.3 98.5 95.8 2.7 1.5 4.2
5. Somali 93.4 93.5 93.2 6.6 6.5 6.8
6. Benishangul-
Gumuz 97.8 98.5 96.9 2.2 1.5 3.1
7. SNNP 98.2 98.5 97.9 1.8 1.5 2.1
8. Gambella 97.7 98.1 97.1 2.3 1.9 2.9
9. Harari 92.7 95.4 89.8 7.3 4.6 10.2
10. Addis Ababa 80.3 87.4 72.5 19.7 12.6 27.5
11. Dire Dawa 85.8 91.3 79.4 14.2 8.7 20.6

The regions have similar patterns where the size of the employed population is higher in all the rural
areas compared to the urban areas. Somali is the only region where a lower proportion of employed
among the economically active is observed. Whether this has anything to do with the different
reference date and the corresponding change due to seasonal variation in economic activities in this
region needs further investigation.

The extent of unemployment is measured using the unemployment rate which is computed as the
percentage of the unemployed population in the economically active population. The total
unemployment rate in the country is about 4 percent (See Table 5.4). Female unemployment rate(5%)
is relatively higher than that of males(3%). Unemployment rate is significantly higher in urban
areas(17%) than rural areas(only about one percent). Addis Ababa (20%), Dire Dawa (14%) and
Harari (7%) have the highest unemployment rates.
Figures 5.2 and 5.3 show the age specific unemployment rates for urban and rural Ethiopia. The
disparity between women and men in unemployment is higher in urban areas than rural areas and in all
age groups. Similarly figure 5.4 shows the high variations in the age specific unemployment rates
between rural and urban areas in the all age categories. The disparities are significantly noticeable in
the lower age categories of 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24 and the highest age categories of 65 and above.

33
 In urban areas, the age groups 15-19, 20-24 and 25-29 have high unemployment rates. After the age
Percent Percent Percent

10
15
20
25
30
35
10

15

20

25

30

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0
Figure 5.4: Age Spe cific Une mployme nt Rate s - Urban and Rural, ICPS 2012

0
5
0

5
9 1.5 10 - 14 10.0

Figure 5.2: Age Spe cific Une mployment Rate s - Urban, ICPS 2012
10 - 14 10 - 14

Figure 5.3: Age Spe cific Une mployme nt Rate s - Rural, ICPS 2012
1.4 1.2 8.0
15 - 19 23.2 1.9 15 - 19 16.7
2.2 15 - 19 2.6 27.9

20 - 24 24.2 2.1 20 - 24 15.6

2.0 20 - 24 1.8 31.8

25 - 29 16.3 1.6 25 - 29 9.6

1.5 25 - 29 1.3 23.8
13.9 0.8 30 - 34 8.6
30 - 34 0.9 30 - 34 20.0
1.1
13.4 0.6 35 - 39 8.9
35 - 39 0.7 35 - 39 19.8
0.9
10.7 0.5 40 - 44 5.0
40 - 44 0.6 40 - 44 0.8 19.7
10.7 0.4 45 - 49 5.8
45 - 49 0.4 45 - 49 0.4 16.7
15.8 0.7 50 - 54 9.2
50 - 54 0.5 50 - 54 0.3 23.7
15.8 0.2 55 - 59 10.5
55 - 59 0.6 55 - 59 1.3 24.2
11.4 0.4 60 - 64 10.9
60 - 64 0.6 60 - 64 1.1 12.2
13.8 0.1 65 - 69 12.5
65 - 69 0.1 65 - 69 0.1 15.8
24.1 0.1 70 - 74 22.8
70 - 74 0.2 70 - 74 0.3 28.0
12.2 0.5 75+ 12.4
75+ 0.4
75+ 0.2 11.6

Females
Males
Females
Males
Rural
Urban
34
of 50 years, the age groups 50-54, 55-59 and 70-74 have high unemployment rates. The reasons for
the high rates at these age groups require further investigation.

The survey also collected information on the status of their employment, by specified categories, in
the main activities of employed persons. The results are shown in Table 5.5. About half of the
employed population are self employed. Their proportion is slightly lower in urban areas. The
contribution of government and private sectors in providing employment is insignificant in rural
areas. These sectors employed about 16-17 percent of the employed population each in urban areas.
Their combined contribution is about a third of the total employment in urban areas whereas in rural
areas they account for less than 3 per cent of the employment. The most important sector in rural areas
is unpaid family work accounting for more than 40 percent.

Table 5.5: Percentage Distribution of the Employed Population by Employment

Status, ICPS 2012

Employment status Total Urban Rural

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

1. Government 4.0 17.2 1.7

2. Government Parastatal 0.5 1.8 0.3

3. Private 3.5 16.4 1.2
4. NGO/INTL Employees 0.4 1.4 0.2

5. Domestic Workers 2.1 7.1 1.2

6. Other Employees 0.5 1.5 0.3
7. Self Employed 51.4 43.6 52.8

8. Unpaid Family Worker 36.4 8.1 41.6

9. Apprentices 0.1 0.1 0.1
10. Cooperative Members 0.2 0.8 0.1
11. Employer 0.2 0.2 0.2
12. Others 0.8 1.8 0.6

5.3 Trends in Unemployment Rates

The trends in unemployment rates are shown in figure 5.5. Between 1994 and 2012 two censuses
(1994 and 2007) and three national sample surveys (1999, 2005 and 2012) were conducted wherein
information on unemployment were collected. Two of the surveys done in 1999 and 2005 were
exclusively national labour force surveys. As the figure indicates, unemployment rate is significantly
high in urban areas of the country at all the survey dates. Unemployment is a rare phenomenon in rural
areas of the country since people in one way or other do activities related to farming or animal
husbandry.

35
Unemployment rate was on the rise between 1994 and 1999 both in urban and rural areas, but started
declining afterwards. The decline was sharper during between 1999-2005 compared to the rest of the
periods. The level of unemployment seems to have stabilized between 2007 and 2012.

In urban areas the level of unemployment of about 17 percent seems to be too high and can lead to
various issues like low wages due to larger supply of manpower, underemployment and poverty.

Figure 5.5: Trends in Unemployment Rates, 1994-2012

30
26.4
25
22.0
20.6
20 17.6 16.7 Total
Urban
Percent

15
Rural

10 8.0
5.1 5.0
5 3.8 3.8
2.9 2.6
0.7 1.4 1.2
0
1994 1999 2006 2007 2012

36
 Chapter 6

ORPHANHOOD

Key Findings

• Among those aged 0-17 years, about 9% have lost either one or both parents. The
proportion of those with father not alive is higher than those who lost their mother

• Gambella(15%), Addis Ababa(14%), Afar (12%) and Somalia (11%) have slightly higher
proportion of orphans while Oromia (7%) has the lowest proportion

• Death of both parents appear to affect the education. Literacy rate(63%) is lower among
such children compared to those with both parents alive(66%)

• Higher proportion (40%) of orphans with both parents dead economically active compared
to those with both parents alive (35%)

• Among urban females, orphans with father only alive(26%) is more economically active
than those with mother alone alive(15%) while among urban males the opposite is true

• Unemployment is the highest among urban female children with only mother alive, with
about a third of them being reported as unemployed

Orphanhood is one of the areas of concern for the government, non-government organizations
and the public at large. In developing countries, because of lower life expectancy, the chances of a
child becoming an orphan is higher. Orphanhood can cause psychological issues for the individual
and social issues for the society. Complete, reliable and up to date information on orphanhood status
of the population residing in any country is essential in order to identify the challenges and the extent
of their problems. Therefore, the Intercensal Population Survey included questions to determine the
orphanhood status. The questions seek to get answer on whether the individuals’ biological
father/mother is alive. The information based on these questions as well as their cross classification
with other questions would give valuable insights into the various issues relating to orphans. For the
purpose of the analysis, orphanhood is defined as the condition of being a child without living
biological parents or a child deprived of one or both of his/her biological parents by death. There are
some cases where the respondents are not able to say whether one or both of the parents is/are alive as
they do not have knowledge of the correct status. In the foregoing analysis such cases have been
shown as 'not stated'. This chapter provides a brief analysis of the data relating to orphanhood from
ICPS.

6.1.Orphanhood by age: Table 6.1 provides the proportion of people by type of orphanhood
by age groups of children. About nine per cent of the children have one or both of the
parents dead. The proportion of children with both the parents dead is less than 1 per cent.
Proportion of children who have lost their father is more than those who lost their mother
in all age groups. The distribution is similar for males and females. More of the older
children are orphaned than the younger ones as can be expected.
37
 Table 6.1: Distribution of children by orphanhood status, age and sex, ICPS 2012

Both Only Only Both

Age Parents mother Father Parents Not
Sex group Total alive alive alive Dead Stated

Total 0-17 100.0 89.9 5.7 2.0 0.8 1.7

0-4 100.0 94.9 2.0 0.6 0.2 2.3
5-9 100.0 91.8 4.5 1.6 0.5 1.5
10-14 100.0 86.7 8.0 2.7 1.1 1.4
15-17 100.0 81.1 11.4 4.1 2.1 1.2

Male 0-17 100.0 90.0 5.5 2.0 0.8 1.7

0-4 100.0 94.9 1.9 0.6 0.2 2.3
5-9 100.0 92.2 4.4 1.4 0.5 1.5
10-14 100.0 87.1 7.5 2.8 1.0 1.6
15-17 100.0 81.1 11.2 4.4 2.0 1.3

Female 0-17 100.0 89.7 5.9 1.9 0.8 1.6

0-4 100.0 94.9 2.0 0.6 0.2 2.3
5-9 100.0 91.6 4.6 1.7 0.6 1.5
10-14 100.0 86.4 8.6 2.6 1.1 1.3
15-17 100.0 81.2 11.7 3.9 2.1 1.1

6.2. Orphanhood by region: The proportions of orphaned children in various regions of the country
are presented in table 6.2. Gambella(15%), Addis Ababa(14%), Affar (12%) and Somali (11%) have
slightly higher proportion of orphans while Oromia (7%) and Tigray (8%) have lower proportions.
More than two thirds of the orphans in Gambella have lost their father. While higher proportions of
orphan have reported that only their mother is alive, the difference between the proportion with mother
alone is alive and corresponding figures for father alone alive is more than 5 percentage points for
Affar, Somali, Gambella and Addis Ababa. The proportion of children with both parents dead is
highest in Addis Ababa(about 3%).

38
 Table 6.2: Percentage of orphans by region, ICPS 2012

Only Only Both

Total mother father parents Not
Region orphans* alive alive dead Stated
Country Total 8.4 5.7 2.0 0.8 1.7
1. Tigray 7.9 5.5 1.7 0.7 0.8
2. Affar 11.5 8.0 2.4 1.1 0.7
3. Amhara 8.8 5.5 2.2 1.0 1.8
4. Oromia 7.2 4.9 1.8 0.5 0.7
5. Somalia 11.3 7.8 2.1 1.3 8.6
6. Benishangul-
Gumz 8.4 4.6 2.6 1.2 3.2
7. SNNP 8.9 6.3 1.9 0.7 1.2
8. Gambella 14.9 11.8 1.6 1.6 1.5
9. Harari 10.2 5.9 2.9 1.4 1.6
10. Addis Ababa 13.5 8.0 2.8 2.7 2.2
11. Dire Dawa 9.0 5.2 2.7 1.2 0.4

*excluding 'not stated' cases. Totals may not tally due to rounding errors.

6.3. Orphanhood by religion: Table 6.3 provide the distribution of children aged below 18 years and
the proportion of orphaned children (those who have lost one or both of the parents) by religion. It is
seen that the number of children and the number of orphans have similar distributions by religion,
indicating that the rates of orphanhood are also similar.

Table 6.3: Distribution of children below 18 years by religion and proportion of orphans among
them, ICPS 2012
Muslim/
Total Orthodox Protestant Catholic Islam Traditionalist Others
Total
Children(%) 100.0 40.1 20.5 1.0 35.8 1.6 1.1
Orphans 100.0 41.6 19.4 1.3 35.6 1.7 0.4

6.4. School attendance : It is likely that death of parents impact on the school attendance of children.
Table 6.4 provides the proportion of those currently attending and those who attended in the past but
are not currently attending school among orphans and non orphans. It is seen that percentage of
children who attended school in the past and are not attending now is higher among orphans. This
may, probably, be indicating that the loss of parent(s) has impacted on their school attendance.

39
 Table 6.4: Proportion of those currently attending and those who attended in
the past but are not currently attending by orphanhood status,
ICPS 2012

Non Orphans Orphans

Sex Currently Attended in Currently Attended in the
Attending the Past Attending Past
Total 47.9 7.0 50.3 12.4

Male 47.7 7.2 50.3 13.6

Female 48.2 6.7 50.2 11.2

6.5. Literacy among orphaned children: The table 6.5 presents the literacy rates among the orphaned
children. It is noticed that when both parents are dead the literacy rates are slightly lower. This is
more pronounced in the rural areas and the difference is higher for females. This may be because of
female children being retained for household work in such situations. In case of female children with
only the father alive, literacy rates are lower, probably because such children are retained for
household work.

Table 6.5: Literacy rates among children aged 10-17 by orphanhood status, sex and place of
residence, ICPS 2012
Orphanhood status Total Urban Rural
Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females
Children Under 0-17
Years 65.5 65.5 65.5 91.8 93.8 90.1 61.0 61.3 60.6
Non orphans 65.5 65.4 65.6 91.5 93.6 89.8 61.4 61.7 61.2
All Orphaned
Children 65.5 65.8 65.1 92.9 94.8 91.2 58.2 59.0 57.3
Mother only Alive 66.5 66.9 66.0 95.4 96.8 94.2 59.8 60.6 59.0
Father Only Alive 63.5 64.2 62.7 88.2 90.7 86.0 56.5 58.1 54.5
Both Parents Dead 63.4 62.8 64.0 90.6 93.5 88.3 49.3 49.5 49.0
Not Stated 61.3 62.4 59.8 90.0 91.2 88.5 56.9 58.1 55.2
6.6. Participation in Economic activity: Orphanhood can have significant impact on participation in
economic activities. The children may be required to fill in the gap left by the dead parent(s) and
contribute to family income or engage in household work. Table 6.6 provides proportion of
economically active population by orphanhood.

40
 Table 6.6: Proportion of economically active by type of orphanhood and sex, ICPS 2012

Orphanhood status Total Urban Rural

Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female
Both Parents Alive 34.5 36.6 32.1 18.5 18.5 18.5 37.0 39.1 34.6
Total Orphan 39.0 41.7 36.2 20.5 20.6 20.3 43.9 46.7 40.9
Mother only Alive 38.9 42.0 35.8 17.4 20.3 14.9 43.8 46.6 41.0
Father Only Alive 38.8 41.0 36.1 21.0 14.3 26.7 43.8 47.3 39.4
Both Parents Dead 40.3 41.7 38.9 30.6 31.3 30.1 45.3 46.2 44.3
Not Stated 22.9 24.1 21.3 16.6 12.5 21.8 23.9 25.8 21.3
Loss of both the parents results in higher participation in economic activities among the
children. It is obvious that in such a case many children have to find a living for themselves. In urban
areas, the female children with only father alive (27%) seems to have to participate in economic
activities more than those who have their mother alone alive (15%). On the other hand among male
children, those with mother only alive (20%) are more economically active than those with father only
alive(14%). Among children in urban areas, those with both parents dead have higher participation
rates. In rural areas these differentials are not as pronounced. This may be partly because of the
family support systems are stronger in rural areas.

6.7. Unemployment among Orphans: If they are not looked after by others, then unemployment
would have a significant impact on well being of orphans. Table 6.7 presents the unemployment rates
among orphans.

Table 6.7: Unemployment rates among orphans by orphanhood status and sex, ICPS 2012

Orphanhood status Total Urban Rural

Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female

Both parents Alive 2.6 2.2 3.2 16.2 12.7 19.2 1.6 1.5 1.7
Total orphans 3.4 2.3 4.8 19.8 13.9 24.9 1.4 1.1 1.7
Mother only
Alive 3.1 2.3 4.1 23.0 16.2 31.1 1.3 1.0 1.6

Father Only Alive 3.3 1.9 5.1 14.4 10.6 16.1 1.8 1.3 2.5
Both Parents
Dead 5.7 3.2 8.3 18.9 10.7 25.7 1.1 1.0 1.1

Not Stated 13.2 15.9 9.0 24.5 39.4 13.9 12.0 14.2 8.3
It is seen that unemployment rates vary by sex, urban-rural status of residence and the type of
orphanhood. Female children in urban areas with only mother alive has the highest unemployment
rate with about a third of them being reported as unemployed. Among urban males also the
unemployment appears higher when mother only is alive. In rural areas the corresponding rates are
significantly lower at about two per cent only. Unemployment rates among male orphans are less than
that of female orphans in every type of orphans.

41
 Chapter 7

ELDERLY POPULATION
DISABILITY AND LIVING CONDITIONS

Key Findings
• The elderly population accounts for about 5% of the total population and a majority
(nearly 6 out of 10) of them are in their sixties.
• The proportion of elderly among men and women are very close
• The most important sources of income for the elderly are children or son/daughter in
law(44%) and work/business (40%)
• Dependence on children or son/daughter in law is much higher among females(52%) than
males(28%)
• Retirement income is an important source only in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Harari
regions
• About 44% of the elderly require assistance of some appliance in their daily life. Tigray
region (62%) has the highest proportion of elderly that require appliance assist followed
by Oromiya (52%)
• About a quarter of the elderly require a walking aid whereas about 15 per cent require eye
glasses
• Preparation of food ranks highest among the daily activities in which the elderly require
help. While about 47% require help for preparation food, bathing comes second with 19%
requiring help
Being in the early stages of demographic transition, the elderly population in Ethiopia, is not on
the scale of advanced countries in the world but more in tune with other countries in the Sub-Saharan
Africa where fertility is still high. The share of the older population in the total population is
expected to grow further in the coming years with the accelerated decline in fertility and mortality.
According to the United Nations Medium Variant Projections, the percentage of the overall population
aged 60 and above will more than double by middle of this century. Thus, ageing is emerging as a
major issue and the country needs to start addressing it now in order to take perspective measures to
cope with it before it becomes a crisis. In such a scenario, analysis of the present status of living
conditions of the aged and disability among them is of importance.

7.1 Data on aged population: The ICPS collected information on the source of livelihood and its
sufficiency, whether the person needs appliances like eye glasses, hearing or walking aid, whether
those who require are using, if not the reasons for not using and whether the person needs help in daily
activities such as dressing, bathing, eating/drinking, defecating, urinating and preparing food. These
would give a glimpse of the living conditions and physical conditions of the aged to some extent.

42
7.2 Distribution of the Elderly Population by Age, Sex and Place of Residence: Table 7.1 presents
the age and sex distribution of the population aged 60 years and over for the country as a whole and
rural/urban residence. The older population accounts for slightly less than 5 percent of the total
population and a majority (nearly 6 out of 10) of them are in their sixties. About 4 out of 10 are aged
70 and over. This pattern holds for both men and women. The extent of ageing varies, albeit modestly,
by gender and rural-urban residence.

Table 7.1: Age Distribution of Older Population By Sex and Place of Residence, ICPS 2012

Age Group Sex Place of Residence

Total Male Female Urban Rural
Population aged 60 and over as
percentage of total population 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.7
60-69 56.6 55.3 58.0 56.9 56.5
70-79 29.2 30.1 28.2 28.9 29.2
80+ 14.2 14.6 13.8 14.2 13.2
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

The proportion of elderly is slightly higher among males compared to females indicating
excess female mortality at higher ages. The proportion of older persons among men (4.8 percent) and
women (4.6 percent) as well as the proportions in rural and urban areas are almost the same. Even the
age distribution of the elderly by sex or rural-urban classification does not indicate any variation.

The distribution of the elderly at region level is provided in the Table A7.1 in the annexure.
The percentage of older population ranges from about 1 percent in Somali to about 6 percent each in
in Addis Ababa, Amhara and Tigray. Affar and Gambella (2% each), Benishangul-Gumz (3%) also
have the low proportion of the elderly. In most regions, the proportion of older persons among men is
slightly higher than that among women. The proportion of older persons among women is slightly
higher than that of males only in Dire Dawa, Harari and Gambela Regions.

7.3 Main Source of Earning: Many of elderly people have economic problems. Information on the
source of their income for daily needs and whether the income is sufficient were collected during the
survey. If a person reported more than one main source when asked about the main source of their
income in the last six months before the survey, all reported sources were recorded. Table 7.2 provides
the proportion of elderly population reporting various sources of income. It may be noted that, as
some of the persons have reported more than one source of income, the figures in the table only
indicate the proportion of people who indicated a particular source. In view of this, the totals do not
add up to 100.

Children or son/daughter -in-law are the most important sources of income in urban areas, with about
44 per cent of the elderly indicating it as a main source followed by Business/ work (40%). In the
rural areas, however, the proportion of elderly depending on children, son/daughter-in-law is lower
than urban areas at (38%) and about half of the elderly (50%) seem to be depending on work/business.
Income from retirement (30%) and rent(23%) are more prominent in urban areas. It is possible that
persons who were working in organizations providing retirement benefits are more in urban areas.
43
Table 7.2 Percentage of Older Population reporting various sources of earning in money or goods
by Sex and Place of residence, ICPS 2012

Main Source Of Earning In Urban Rural

Money Or Goods Total Male Female Total Men Women

Work/Business 39.8 52.3 30.0 49.8 59.9 38.5

Retired money 29.5 33.9 26.0 11.1 7.8 14.8
Interest/Deposit 10.9 8.2 12.9 9.2 6.1 12.6
Association/Share 10.9 8.6 12.7 9.0 6.0 12.4
Spouse 13.6 10.8 15.8 12.6 9.2 16.4
Children/Son or daughter-in-
law 43.9 29.5 55.2 38.4 27.8 50.4
Friends/Other Family 13.3 10.1 15.9 11.4 7.4 15.9
From rents 23.0 21.7 24.1 14.6 9.7 20.0
Others 20.8 16.0 24.6 27.1 25.9 28.5
Note: Totals of the columns do not add up to 100 as many persons have reported more than one source of income.

The dependence on work/business is more among males than females both in urban and rural
areas. For other sources of income, the proportion of female reporting the source is higher than that of
males. Children/son or daughter-in-law, as main source of income, have been indicated by more than
half of the females in both urban(55%) and rural(50%) areas. Males depending on children,
son/daughter-in-law as a main source of income is much lower 30 per cent in urban and 28 per cent in
rural areas compared to females (55% in urban and 50% in rural areas).

Table A7.2 in the Annexure provides the percentage of older population by source of money
at national and regional level. It is seen that 'retired money' is an important source only in Addis
Ababa, Somali, Dire Dawa and Harari regions. More than 40 per cent of the aged depend on
work/business except in the urbanized region of Addis Ababa where the proportion is lower.
Dependence on Children/Son or Daughter-in-law is low in Tigray, Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz,
where it is in the range of 33-37 per cent while it is as high as 59 percent in Somali. Age wise data
indicate that the proportion who draws income from work/business declines by age whereas
proportion of those getting income from other sources increases by age.

The elderly population were also asked whether their earnings are sufficient for their daily
needs. Table 7.3 provides the percentage of people who answered that the earnings are not sufficient.
Harari reported the lowest proportion (45%) per cent of the elderly population not having sufficient
income with Affar and Amhara with 48-49% close behind. Gambella (83%) reported the highest
percentage. In urban areas Tigray(47%), Somali(54%), and Harari (54%) have comparatively low
proportions who said that the income is insufficient. The other regions report significantly higher
proportion of elderly not having sufficient income - Oromia(79%), Gambella(76%) and SNNP(74%).
In Rural Harari less than a third of the elderly only have reported that the earnings are insufficient.

44
Rural areas of Dire Dawa(36%) also reported a similar proportion whereas, Gambella(85%) reported
the highest proportion in rural areas.

Table 7.3 : Percentage of aged for whom the earnings were not sufficient
for their daily needs, ICPS 2012

Region Total Urban Rural

Country Total 63.7 66.5 63.1
1. Tigray
64.5 47.0 67.7
2. Affar
47.9 56.4 46.3
3. Amhara
49.1 58.6 47.9
4. Oromia
71.7 78.5 70.6
5. Somali
68.5 53.6 70.4
6. Benishangul-Gumz
69.1 60.0 69.7
7. SNNP
73.2 74.0 73.1
8. Gambella
82.6 76.1 85.3
9. Harari
44.8 54.1 31.0
10. Addis Ababa
64.0 64.0 -
11. Dire Dawa
58.0 67.4 36.1

7.4 Need and use of appliance assist(Eye glass, hearing aid, Walking aid): The elderly population
were asked about their need and use of appliance assist like eye glass, hearing aid and walking aid.
This gives an important information about the disabilities faced by the elderly people and whether they
are able to get the required appliances. Table 7.4 provides the proportion of elderly people who
require/use appliance assist by region.

Many of the aged people normally need some appliance assist in their daily activities. At
national level those who need or used appliance assist is about 44 percent of the total elderly persons.
At regional level, Tigray region( 62%) has the highest percent who require appliance assist followed
by Oromiya (52%). Benishangul-Gumuz(22%) region has the lowest proportion of elderly who
needs appliance assist.

45
 Table 7.4 : Percentage of Elderly Population Who need or use
Appliance Assist (Eye Glass/Hearing or Walking Aid) by
Sex, ICPS 2012
Need/used appliance assist
Region Total Male Female
Country Total 43.7 43.1 44.3
1. Tigray
61.9 62.5 61.3
2. Affar
31.3 29.6 33.9
3. Amhara
37.3 35.8 38.9
4. Oromiya
51.9 50.9 52.9
5. Somali
36.3 33.9 40.9
6. Benishangul Gumz
21.6 18.2 26.2
7. S.N.N.P
33.8 35.6 31.9
8. Gambela
36.9 36.8 37.0
9. Harari
39.9 39.9 40.0
10. Addis Ababa
39.6 42.5 37.1
11. Dire Dawa
43.0 47.3 39.9

There are people who may need more than one appliance. Table 7.5 presents the
requirement/usage of one or more appliances. It may be kept in view that hearing aid is a
comparatively costly appliance and would be unaffordable to a substantial proportion of the people
and also may not be available in all parts of the country, especially in rural areas. This may be the
reason that its use is the least. One the other hand walking aids are comparatively cheaper and hence
would be used when necessary. It is seen that at national level about 36 per cent of the elderly people
use one or more of the appliances. Walking aid is the most common appliance, with about 25 per cent
of the people requiring/using them, comprising those who require only walking aid(19%), those who
require eye glass and walking aid(3%), those who require hearing and walking aids(about half a per
cent) and those who require all three(1%). While about 15 per cent of the people require eye glasses,
about about two thirds of them do not require any other appliance. About three percent of the people
require both eye glasses and walking aid while about one percent require all the three.

46
 Table 7.5 Percentage of aged who require one or more appliance assist, ICPS 2012

Region Any Eye Hearing Walking Eye Eye glass Hearing All
one glass aid only aid only glass and and three
only and walking walking
hearing aid aid
aid
Country Total 35.7 9.6 0.8 19.3 0.8 3.4 0.4 1.4
1. Tigray 41.7 6.3 1.6 31.5 - 1.7 0.6 -

2. Affar 63.7 8.4 - 47.5 - 7.8 - -

3. Amhara 39.5 7.8 0.9 22.3 1.4 3.3 0.5 3.3

4. Oromiya 25.9 8.5 0.8 14.6 0.4 1.4 0.2 -

5. Somali 64.1 7.6 0.4 21.5 6.8 7.5 1.7 18.6

6. Benishangu 40.8 7.8 - 27.8 - 5.2 - -

l Gumz

7. S.N.N.P 35.1 6.6 0.4 19.2 0.4 7.2 0.5 0.8

8. Gambela 30.4 8.5 2.4 19.5 - - - -

9. Harari 54.8 28.6 - 18.8 - 7.4 - -

10. Addis 80.4 45.8 0.6 13.4 1.7 15.5 0.6 2.8
Ababa

11. Dire Dawa 53.2 20.7 - 26.2 - 3.9 - 2.4

7.5 Need help in daily activities: Many aged people would require help in their daily activities like
dressing, bathing, eating, etc. Data on this aspect were collected in the survey. Table 7.6 provides the
proportion of the aged requiring help of others in various activities. It is seen that the proportion of the
elderly who require help in preparation of food is the highest (36%) followed by those requiring help
in bathing(15%). Almost similar proportions (8-9 %) require help in other activities. The percentages
are similar in rural and urban areas, but for a slightly higher proportion in rural areas requiring help
for preparing food. Similar pattern is seen also in gender wise figures with more males requiring help
in preparation of food. The proportion of people requiring help show increase by age and the increase
is sharper for those requiring help for preparation of food and eating..

Though there is some variation in the percentages across the regions, preparation of food and bathing
are the most common activities requiring help. Proportion of elderly requiring help for preparing food
is highest in Somali(51%) and lowest in Harari(18%). It is below 40 percent in all other regions. In
47
each of the five activities more elderly people in Somali have reported that they require help
compared to other regions. It is not clear whether this is a fact or due to some misunderstanding of the
instructions.

Table 7.6: Proportion of elderly population requiring help in various activities, ICPS 2012

Percentage of elderly requiring help in

Defecating/ Eating/ Preparing
Region/age group/sex Dressing Urinating Bathing Drinking Food
COUNTRY TOTAL 9.2 8.4 14.7 8.5 36.1
Urban 9.7 8.7 14.8 8.1 32.3
Rural 9.1 8.4 14.7 8.6 36.9
Gender Males 8.4 7.3 12.8 7.1 40.7
Females 10.0 9.6 16.8 9.9 31.2
Age Group 60-69 6.2 4.7 8.5 5.4 27.6
70-79 9.5 8.7 16.0 9.3 41.7
80+ 20.6 22.6 36.7 19.0 58.6
Region
1. Tigray
6.9 7.8 11.5 7.5 30.0
2. Affar
5.1 8.3 10.1 6.5 25.9
3. Amhara
9.3 8.8 16.5 9.0 37.3
4. Oromia
9.4 8.7 14.3 8.7 38.9
5. Somali
24.3 24.2 30.9 23.1 50.7
6. Benishangul-
Gumuz
3.3 2.9 7.1 4.8 26.1
7. S.N.N.P
8.6 6.3 13.1 6.6 31.8
8. Gambella
6.2 5.8 9.4 4.6 27.0
9. Harari
4.4 4.0 7.3 4.1 17.9
10. Addis Ababa
8.9 7.8 14.0 8.1 31.8
11. Dire Dawa
7.3 4.4 10.0 3.5 27.3

48
 Figure 7.1: Percentage of elderly requiring help in daily activities, ICPS 2012

60 58.6

50
41.7
40 36.7

30 27.6
22.6
20.6 19.0
20 16.0
8.5 9.5 8.7 9.3
10 6.2 4.7 5.4

0
60-69 70-79 80+
Dressing Defacating/ Urinating Bathing Eating/ Drinking Prepare food

49
 Chapter 8

MIGRATION

Key Findings
• Abut 15% of the population are migrants, having changed their residence at least once in
their lifetime
• Proportion of migrants is much higher among urban population (49%) compared to rural
population (9%)
• About 37% of the migrants have moved to the current place of residence during the last
five years, whereas 46% have moved more than 10 years back
• Rural to rural migration accounts for about 37% of all migrants while rural to urban
migration formed 33%.
• Among those who migrated during last five years, rural-urban migrants form 39% while
rural-rural migration forms only 27% indicating a shift towards migration to urban areas.
• Addis Ababa(43%) and Dire Dawa(35%) have the highest proportion of in-migrants in the
population. They are followed by Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella and Harari where
migrants form about 20-24 per cent of the population.
• In the period of five years prior to the survey, Dire Dawa had the highest net in-migration
of 10% of the current population, followed by Addis Ababa (4.5%)

• About 40% of all migrants and 60% of the recent migrants are from the age group 15-29
years

Migration has been a part of human life in all times and has been a way of life. African people
have migrated all over the world in response to demographic, economic and socio-political factors, in
addition to environmental changes and conflicts over years2. In Ethiopia, migration has been going on
for centuries and has resulted in distribution of population observed today. Climate change, such as
flooding, drought, and soil erosion have been the major factors to migration within Ethiopia3.

Migration is the third component of population change, the other two being mortality and
fertility. Generally, the overall level of migration is a measure of mobility. Understanding migration
and migration streams among different parts of the country require basic data and it helps in
formulating various policies for balanced national development, labour market, urban development,
education, housing, public hygiene, etc.. The data on migration trends also help for more reliable sub-
national population projections.

2 Bilger.V and Kraler.A (2005) (ed.): African Migrations. Historical Perspectives and contemporary Dynamics.Special Issue
Stichproben. Wiener Zeitschrift fur kritische Afrikastudien/Vienna Journal of African Studies 8/2005

3 Ezra,M. (2001). Ecological Degradation, Rural Poverty, and Migration in Ethiopia: A Contextual Analysis. Policy Research
Division, Population Council WorkingPaper, No. 149.

50
 Being a component or factor of population dynamics, migration plays a fundamental role in
the rapid growth of large cities in developing countries. Influx of migrants to cities increases the
demand for more infrastructure and social services. Hence, there is a need to understand the magnitude
and characteristics of internal migration and look forward to ways to inculcate them in development
plans at large. In the ICPS 2012, data about internal migration were collected in order to determine the
magnitude and characteristics of migrants. This chapter examines these characteristics with respect to
internal migration in the country.

8.1. Definitions and Concepts

2. Migration: - is a form of geographic mobility between one geographical unit and another
generally involving a change of residence from the place of departure to the place of
destination (UN, 1982). Movement of people within the country is termed as internal
migration. Those who have resided in the area of enumeration continuously since birth are
non-migrants. Those who, in the course of their lives, have lived elsewhere other than in the
area of enumeration constitute the migrants. The rules for identifying the migrant used in
ICPS are explained in the next paragraph.
3. Migrant: - In a rural area, a person is a migrant if s/he has lived in a wereda other than the
wereda of enumeration or if s/he has lived in urban areas of the same Wereda or another
Wereda. In urban area of enumeration, a person is a migrant if s/he has lived in another urban
or rural areas located within or outside of the Wereda of enumeration. The survey also
classified return migrants as migrants. Thus movement within the wereda have not been
captured in the survey.
q) Form of Internal Migration:-refers to movement of people from urban to rural, rural to urban,
urban to urban, and rural to rural.
r) In-migration:- to move into or come to live in a region or community. This excludes people
who immigrate from another country.
s) All migrants and Recent migrants :- For the purposes of the analysis, migrants have been
classified as, 'all migrants' referring to all persons who has ever lived out side of his place of
enumeration and ' recent migrants' referring to migrants whose duration of stay, in the place of
enumeration, is less than 5 years.
t) Length of continuous residence: - refers to the number of years a person has lived continuously
until the survey date in the area of enumeration.
u) Area of previous residence: - is the area of usual residence before migrating to the area of
enumeration.
v) Net migration :- As migration adds to or reduces the population n in the given area, net
migration gives the net effect of migration on the population size. It is measured as
in-migrants - out-migrants
w) Gross migration: - It is the sum of in-migrants and out-migrants and gives an idea of the total
number of people who have moved.

8.2 Levels of Internal Migration: Level of migration to an area at a particular point of time can be
measured by the percentage of migrants to the total population residing therein. Table 8.1 presents the
percentage of internal migrants by sex and area of enumeration. According to the survey data, about
15 per cent of population of the country in 2012 are migrants. It is seen that migrants form 13.7

51
percent of the males and 16.2 percent of females, whereas the remaining 86.3 percent of males and
83.8 percent of females were non-migrants. It is also noted that the majority of migrants in the country
are females. However, it may be borne in mind that in societies where migration of females after
marriage to the place of residence of their spouses is a common custom, female migrants can easily
outnumber male migrants.

Table 8.1: Percentage Distribution of the Migration, by Sex and Place of Residence, ICPS 2012

Sex Percentage of migrants in the Recent Migrants among all

population migrants(%)
Total Urban Rural Total Urban Rural
Total
15.0 48.5 8.5 37.1 41.5 32.4
Male
13.7 46.3 7.8 38.8 41.6 35.8
Female
16.2 50.4 9.3 35.7 41.4 29.4
The table also shows that about half of the population in urban areas are migrants and the
corresponding figure for rural areas is only about nine percent. The pattern is very similar for males
and females. This unbalanced distribution of migrants between urban and rural areas is partly
because the urban areas provide better opportunities for employment and education than rural areas.
Some of the migrants in urban areas are from nearby rural areas, whose migration to another rural area
even if it is further than the urban area would not have qualified to be called migration if both origin
and destination are within the same Woreda.

About 37 percent of all migrants are recent migrants, having migrated less than five years
ago. The proportion of recent migrants among total migrants in urban areas (41%) is higher than rural
areas(32%). It seems that in recent times there has been more migration to urban areas. Rural recent
migration is higher for males.

8.3. Length of Continuous Residence: Length of continuous residence of of a migrant at the place of
enumeration indicates the period since migrated. The data on length of continuous residence groups
the migrants by the number of years of continuous residence. It should, however, be borne in mind that
due to the effects of mortality and return migration, the percentage of long-term migrants captured at
the time of enumeration can be less than the actual number of migrants in any given period.

Table 8.2 indicates the distribution of migrants by length of continuous residence. The data
shows that 46 percent of migrants have stayed at place of enumeration for more than 10 years. The
remaining 54 percent have arrived during the last decade, i.e., between 2002 and 2012. More than a
third of all migrants were recent migrants, that is, length of their stay at the place of enumeration was
less than five years. In other words, more than a third of the migrants have migrated during the five
years preceding the survey.

52
 Table 8.2: Percentage Distribution of Migrants by Length of Residence at Place of
Enumeration, Place of residence and Sex, ICPS 2012

Total Urban Rural

Length of
residence Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
<1 year 11.2 11.8 10.7 12.6 12.9 12.3 9.7 10.5 9.0
1-4 25.9 27.0 25.0 28.9 28.7 29.1 22.7 25.3 20.4
5-6 6.8 7.0 6.7 7.5 7.9 7.2 6.0 6.1 6.0
7-9 10.5 11.5 9.6 9.3 9.7 9.0 11.7 13.5 10.2
10+ 45.6 42.7 48.1 41.7 40.8 42.3 49.9 44.6 54.4

Examination of the length of residence of the migrants in urban and rural areas of the country
also reveals that about half of migrants in the rural areas had lived for more than 10 years, whereas
only 42 percent of the migrants to urban areas have lived for more than 10 years. Similarly, 42 percent
of urban and 32 percent of rural migrants were recent migrants. The higher proportion of recent
migrants to urban areas of the country indicates that migration to urban areas is increasing.

8.4. Forms of Internal Migration: Table 8.3 presents the proportion of migrants from rural and urban
areas and their sex break up. About 70 percent of the migrants moved out from rural areas, about 30
percent moved away from urban areas. Similarly, majority of the recent migrants (65 percent) moved
out from rural areas. Male and female migrants from urban area forms respectively about 51 percent
and 49 percent, both for all migrants and recent migrants. This seems to indicate that there has not
been any large variation in the male-female distribution of migrants from urban areas in the recent
periods. The corresponding proportion from rural areas are 44 percent for males and 56 percent for
females, indicating relatively more females going out of rural areas. Among recent migrants from the
rural areas, 47 percent were males and 53 percent females. This shows that larger number of rural
females are migrating.

Table 8.3 Percentage of Migrants by place of Previous residence and sex, ICPS 2012

All Migrants Recent migrants

Sex Urban Rural Urban Rural
Percentage of total
migrants 29.9 70.1 34.7 65.3
Percentage of Males 50.9 43.9 50.9 46.6
Females 49.1 56.1 49.1 53.4
Table 8.4 shows the forms of migrations and/or flow of migrants between urban and rural sectors of
the country. The common forms of migration were rural-urban, rural-rural, urban-rural and urban-
urban. The dominant form of migration in Ethiopia was rural-rural constituting 37 percent of the total
migrants, followed by rural-urban (33 percent). The urban-urban form of movement reflected direct
moves among urban areas. It should however be noted that the bulk of these migrants might have
originally moved from the rural areas to the nearby urban centres and stayed there for sometime before

53
moving to the next higher level urban centres. As Okali et. al. (2001)4 noted, these movements are the
common forms of movements or migrations often observed in a country. The table further shows that
migration patterns are similar for males and females, except for a slightly higher proportion of females
migrating to urban areas.

Table 8.4: Percentage Distribution of Migrants by area of Previous Residence, Migration stream
and Sex, ICPS 2012

Migration stream All migrants Recent Migrants

Total Male Female Total Male Female
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Urban to Urban 18.9 19.5 18.3 19.6 19.3 19.9
Urban to Rural 11.0 13.6 8.9 15.0 17.4 12.9
Rural to Urban 33.3 32.2 34.3 38.7 36.0 41.1
Rural to Rural 36.8 34.7 38.5 26.7 27.2 26.1
Among the four migration streams, the common forms of migration among recent migrants in
Ethiopia is rural-urban; it constituted 39 percent of the total recent migrants. The data clearly shows a
shift in migration pattern from rural-rural to rural-urban. It is further seen that unlike migrants of all
durations, greater share of recent female migrants move from rural to urban.

8.5. Inter-regional Migration: At regional level, migration is often the major determinant of
population growth/decline and is also the most difficult component of growth to measure and forecast
as they are subject to much greater volatility than either fertility or mortality. A common constraint in
analysis of interregional migration in Ethiopia is the absence of reliable data. As a result, information
on interregional migration has been scanty. In the 2012 intercensal survey, efforts were made to
minimize the errors made in migration data from questionnaire design to data processing phase.
Traditionally, people move from poorer and job scarce regions with worse public provision to those
which are richer and prospering better both in terms of employment prospects and public goods.

Table 8.5 gives data from 2012 intercensal survey showing the number of people living in
each region who were born or lived in another region. As seen in the table, Addis Ababa is preferable
destination for migrants from all over the country. Being the federal capital of Ethiopia, there is better
employment opportunities and public facilities in Addis Ababa that attracts the migrants to the city.
About 45 percent of the population of Addis Ababa are migrants. Dire Dawa(33%) also has a large
proportion of migrants. These are followed by Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella and Harari where
migrants form about 21-22 per cent of the population. On the other extreme, only about half a percent
of the population of Amhara are migrants. Somali, SNNP, Oromia and Tigray also have low
proportions of migrants (1-3 %).

In Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa about 10 percent of the population are those who migrated in
recently, i.e., five years prior to the survey, while in Gambella and Harari they form about 8 percent.
Recent migrants form less than half a percent in Amhara and Somali. The lower proportion (4%) of

4 Okali, David i, Enoch Okpara and Janice Olawoye (2001). Rural-Urban Interactions and
Livelihood Strategies Series: The case of Aba and its region, southeastern Nigeria, International
Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London
54
recent migrants in Benishangul-Gumuz may be indicating that migration to this region have come
down substantially.

When one looks at out-migration from the regions, it is seen that as a proportion of the
current population of the region, Harari (18%) has the largest proportion of out-migrants followed by
Dire Dawa and SNNP(about 5%). If the recent migrants only are considered, then the out-migrants
form about 5 per cent of the current population of Harari and Addis Ababa. During the recent period
of five years less than a per cent of the current population only have migrated from Oromia, Somali
and Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz. The proportion is below 2 percent in all other regions. The
larger proportion of out-migrants seen from Addis may be due to students who returned after their
studies as well as people who were working in the city and going back after some time.

While in and out migration can impact on the characteristics of the population, it is the net
migration that contributes to the population growth. As seen in the table, Amhara,Tigray and SNNP
regions have net out migration, i.e., more people leave the region to other regions. Amhara region had
the highest net outmigration 64 per 1000 population. Likewise, Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa Gambella,
Benishangul-Gumz, Affar, Harari and Oromia regions had net in-migration, i.e., more people enter the
region from other regions. Addis Ababa had the highest all time net in-migration 430 per 1000
population, followed by Dire Dawa (289), Gambella(209), Benishangul-Gumz (178).

In recent periods, Amhara region had net out-migration, i.e., more people leave the region to
other regions than the number of people coming in from other regions. It had a net out-migration of 11
per 1000 population. This would imply that the annual growth rate of Amhara would be about 0.2
percentage points below the natural growth rate. Likewise, Gambela, Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa,
Benishangul, and Harari regions had net in-migration, i.e., recently more people enter the region from
other regions. Dire Dawa had the highest net in-migration 82 per 1000 population, followed by
Gambella (73) and Addis Ababa (45).

Table 8.5: In-migrants, Out-migrants and Net-migrants by region among all migrants and recent
migrants, ICPS 2012

Rate per 1000 current population of the region

All migrants Recent migrants
In- Out- Net In- Out- Net
migrants migrants migrants migrants migrants migrants
1. Tigray 26 43 -17 8 11 -4
2. Affar 81 15 66 33 12 21
3. Amhara 7 71 -64 4 14 -11
4. Oromia 25 24 1 8 8 1
5. Somali 17 16 1 2 4 -2
6. Benishangul-
209 31 178 44 10 34
Gumz
7. SNNP 20 47 -27 10 13 -3
8. Gambella 220 12 209 82 9 73
9. Harari 224 181 43 76 45 31
10. Addis Ababa 452 22 430 96 51 45
11. Dire Dawa 334 45 289 106 24 82

55
8.6. Age-Sex Composition of Internal migrants

This section attempts to investigate the age-sex composition of the migrants. The analysis of
the characteristics of migrants is more relevant to be done at the time of migration rather than at the
time of survey. Since no data are available in that form, the data from the ICPS can give some
valuable indications regarding the age sex characteristics of the migrants.

Table 8.6 shows the age-sex structure of all- migrants and recent-migrants. Results of the survey
indicate that 40 percent of the all migrants and 60 percent of the recent-migrants were between age
group of 15-29, and 13 percent of the all migrants and 23 percent of the recent-migrants were below
age group of 15. This shows that majority of recent migrants are young and productive. It is also
possible that the migrants who are living at the place of enumeration for longer periods have actually
migrated during much younger ages. Even among all migrants, the migration would have taken place
when they were young. This could be the reason for higher proportions at higher ages.

Table 8.6: Percentage Distribution of Migrants by Age Group and Sex, ICPS 2012
Age group Recent migrants All migrants
Both Males Females Both Males Females
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0–4 5.2 4.7 5.6 1.9 1.8 2.0
5-9 8.7 7.5 9.8 4.8 4.5 5.0
10-14 8.7 7.3 10.0 6.7 6.9 6.5
15 - 19 20.7 16.1 25.0 11.5 10.0 12.7
20 - 24 23.7 22.6 24.8 14.2 13.5 14.8
25 - 29 15.3 18.9 12.0 14.1 14.2 14.0
30 - 34 6.4 8.4 4.5 9.4 9.7 9.2
35 - 39 4.5 5.9 3.2 8.8 9.3 8.5
40 - 44 2.1 2.9 1.4 6.2 7.3 5.3
45 - 49 1.2 1.7 0.8 5.3 5.6 5.1
50 - 54 1.2 1.7 0.8 4.6 4.1 5.1
55 - 59 0.7 0.7 0.7 3.4 3.8 3.1
60 - 64 0.6 0.6 0.6 2.9 2.9 2.9
65 -69 0.3 0.3 0.3 2.1 2.3 2.0
70-74 0.2 0.1 0.2 1.7 1.6 1.7
75+ 0.5 0.7 0.4 2.3 2.4 2.1

The age pyramids depict the age-sex pattern of all migrants and for recent migrants. As can be seen
from Figure8.4 and 8.5, relatively smaller percentages of the migrants were children aged 0 9 years
and people of age 60 and above. Bulk of the migrants were concentrated at the age group 15-29.
There are less recent migrants among people of age 50 and above. The effect of this age distribution
would be felt in areas like Addis Ababa where the proportion of migrants is high.
56
 Figure 8.1: Age Pyramid of All Migrants, ICPS 2012
Distribution of one million migrants

75+
70
65
60
55
50
45
40

Age
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
85000 0
Migrants 85000

Figure 8.2: Age Pyramid of Recent Migrants, ICPS 2012

Distribution of one million Recent migrants

75+
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
Age

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
110000 0 110000
Re ce nt migrants

57
ANNEXURES

58
 Annexure 1

A3.1 Population estimates for Amahara at Woreda level, Census 2007 and ICPS 2012

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007

Amhara Region 19,211 17,116

1 North Gondar-Zone 3,392 2,908
1 Adi Arkay-Wereda 104 93
2 Beyeda-Wereda 108 97
3 Janamora-Wereda 194 167
4 Debark-Wereda 170 158
5 Dabat-Wereda 164 145
6 Mirab Armachiho-Wereda 39 31
7 Tegede-Wereda 85 73
8 Lay Armacho-Wereda 166 157
9 Wegera-Wereda 251 220
10 Gonder Zuriya-Wereda 212 190
11 Dembia-Wereda 302 270
12 Chilga-Wereda 235 220
13 Metema-Wereda 149 108
14 Quara-Wereda 127 93
15 Alefa-Wereda 205 170
16 Mirab Belesa-Wereda 181 142
17 Misrak Belesa-Wereda 125 98
18 Gonder Town -Wereda 249 201
19 Tselemt-Wereda 63 57
20 Tach Armachoho-Wereda 104 89
21 Takusa-Wereda 158 129
(Continued)

59
 Annexure 1

A3.1 Population estimates for Amahara at Woreda level, Census 2007 and ICPS 2012
(Continued)

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007
2 South Gondar-Zone 2,274 2,038
1 Ebinat-Wereda 241 219
2 Libokemkem-Wereda 238 197
3 Fogera-Wereda 270 226
4 Farta-Wereda 266 231
5 Lay Gayint-Wereda 215 205
6 Tach Gayint-Wereda 108 102
7 Simada-Wereda 244 227
8 Misrak Este-Wereda 231 210
9 Dera-Wereda 267 247
10 Debretabor Town-Wereda 62 54
11 Mirab Este-Wereda 133 121
3 North Wello-Zone 1,662 1,493
1 Bugna-Wereda 88 75
2 Kobo-Wereda 252 221
3 Gidan-Wereda 172 158
4 Meket-Wereda 258 226
5 Wadla-Wereda 141 128
6 Delanta-Wereda 142 127
7 Gubalafto-Wereda 145 139
8 Habru-Wereda 200 192
9 Woldiya Town-Wereda 53 45
10 Lasta Wereda 134 117
11 Dawunt-Wereda 74 65
(Continued)

60
 Annexure 1

A3.1 Population estimates for Amahara at Woreda level , Census 2007 and ICPS 2012
(Continued)

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007
4 South Wello-Zone 2,728 2,506
1 Mekdela-Wereda 158 142
2 Tenta-Wereda 175 166
3 Kutaber-Wereda 99 95
4 Ambasel-Wereda 130 122
5 Tehuledere-Wereda 127 117
6 Werebabo-Wereda 109 100
7 Kalu-Wereda 204 186
8 Albuko-Wereda 82 77
9 Dessie Zuriya-Wereda 168 157
10 Legambo-Wereda 183 165
11 Sayint-Wereda 158 145
12 Debresina-Wereda 168 157
13 Kelela-Wereda 148 136
14 Jama-Wereda 134 127
15 Were Ilu-Wereda 116 108
16 Wogidi-Wereda 144 135
17 Kombolcha Town-Wereda 105 84
18 Dessie Town-Wereda 171 148
19 Mehal Sayint-Wereda 79 73
20 Legahida-Wereda 71 67
5 North Shewa-Zone 1,991 1,829
1 Mida Woremo-Wereda 103 94
2 Merhabete-Wereda 135 126
3 Ensaro-Wereda 63 58
4 Moretna Jiru-Wereda 101 93
5 Menz Gera Midir-Wereda 128 120
6 Gishe-Wereda 67 61
(Continued)

61
 Annexure 1

A3.1 Population estimates for Amahara at Woreda level, Census 2007 and ICPS 2012
(Continued)

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007
5 North Shewa-Zone (continued)
7 Antsokiyana Gemza-Wereda 85 79
8 Efratana Gidim-Wereda 121 110
9 Menz Mama Midir-Wereda 92 85
10 Tarma Ber-Wereda 95 84
11 Mojana Wodera-Wereda 75 69
12 Kewet-Wereda 128 118
13 Angolala Tera-Wereda 88 82
14 Asagirt-Wereda 52 48
15 Ankober-Wereda 83 76
16 Hagere Mariam -Wereda 60 55
17 Berehet-Wereda 38 35
18 Minjarna Shenkora-Wereda 142 128
19 Basona Werana-Wereda 130 121
20 Debre Brehan Town-Wereda 70 63
21 Menz Keya Gebreal-Wereda 51 46
22 Menz Lalo Midir-Wereda 19 17
23 Saya Deberna Wayu-Wereda 66 61
6 East Gojam Zone 2,360 2,142
1 Bibugn Wereda 87 82
2 Hulet Ej Enese-Wereda 299 274
3Goncha Siso Enese-Wereda 161 149
4 Enebse Sar Midir-Wereda 145 133
5 Enarj Enawga-Wereda 186 167
6 Enemay-Wereda 178 164
7 Debay Tilatgin-Wereda 136 127
8 Debre Elias-Wereda 92 82
9 Machakel-Wereda 128 118
10 Gozamin-Wereda 146 133
11 Baso Liben-Wereda 154 138
(Continued)

62
 Annexure 1

A3.1 Population estimates for Amahara at Woreda level, Census 2007 and ICPS 2012
(Continued)

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007
6 East Gojam Zone(continued)
12 Awabel-Wereda 131 121
13 Dejen-Wereda 111 102
14 Shebel Berenta-Wereda 120 104
15 Debere Markos Town-Wereda 80 60
16 Sinan Wereda 108 99
17 Aneded-Wereda 99 91
7 West Gojam-Zone 2,385 2,093
1 Semen Achefer-Wereda 227 188
2 Bahir Dar Zuriya-Wereda 210 182
3 Yilmana Densa-Wereda 246 213
4 Mecha-Wereda 353 290
5 Sekela-Wereda 151 138
6 Quarit-Wereda 124 114
7 Dega Damot-Wereda 164 151
8 Dembecha-Wereda 142 128
9 Jabi Tehinan-Wereda 199 178
10 Bure-Wereda 163 142
11 Wenberma-Wereda 115 100
12 Goncha-Wereda 115 106
13 Debub Achefer-Wereda 145 136
14 Finote Selam Town-Wereda 31 25
8 Wag Himra-Zone 498 425
1 Ziquala-Wereda 52 44
2. Sekota-Wereda 130 112
3 Dehana-Wereda 127 110
4 Gazgibla-Wereda 80 71
5 Abergele-Wereda 54 43
6 Sehala -Werada 30 24
7 Sekota Town-Wereda 25 22
(Continued)

63
 Annexure 1

A3.1 Population estimates for Amahara at Woreda level, Census 2007 and ICPS 2012
(Concluded)

Region/Zone Population (in thousands)

2012 2007
9 Awi-Zone 1,130 977
1 Dangila-Wereda 170 157
2 Banja Shekudad-Wereda 121 111
3 Ankasha Guagusa-Wereda 215 199
4 Guangua-Wereda 257 222
5 Fagita Lekoma-Wereda 147 126
6 Jawi-Wereda 127 79
7 Guagusa Shikudad-Wereda 93 84
10 Oromiya-Zone 508 455
1 Dawa Chefa-Wereda 147 133
2 Bati-Wereda 115 107
3 Jile Timuga-Wereda 84 73
4 Artuma Fursi-Wereda 89 83
5 Dawa Harewa-Wereda 46 41
6 Kemise Town-Wereda 26 19
11 Bahir Dar Special-Zone 245 214
1 Bahir Dar Special-Wereda 245 214
12 Argoba Special-Wereda 38 35
1 Argoba Special-Wereda 38 35

64
 Annexure 1

Table A3.2: Estimates of Population, Standard Error and Coefficient of Variation of the Estimates
of Population and 95% confidence interval by Wereda for Amhara Region and sub-
city for Addis Ababa, ICPS 2012

Region/Zone/Wereda Estimate Standard C.V(%) Confidence interval

Error
Lower Upper
Amhara Region 19,211 188 0.98 18,843 19,579
North Gondar Zone 3,392 142 4.17 3,114 3,669
Adi Arkay Wereda 104 19 17.89 68 141
Beyeda Wereda 108 20 18.32 69 147
Janamora Wereda 194 36 18.64 123 265
Debark Wereda 170 32 18.74 108 233
Dabat Wereda 164 33 20.45 98 229
Merab Armachoho Wereda 39 7 17.59 25 52
Tegede Wereda 85 14 16.55 57 113
Lay Armachoho Wereda 166 29 17.42 110 223
Wegera Wereda 251 58 23.13 137 365
Gondar Zuriya Wereda 212 38 17.91 138 286
Dembia Wereda 302 52 17.28 200 404
Chilga Wereda 235 43 18.31 150 319
Metema Wereda 149 26 17.58 98 200
Quara Wereda 127 23 18.22 82 172
Alefa Wereda 205 34 16.35 139 271
Merab Belsa Wereda 181 39 21.68 104 258
Misrak Belesa Wereda 125 22 17.59 82 169
Gonder/Town/Wereda 249 42 16.72 167 331
Tselemet Wereda 63 11 16.98 42 84
Tach Armachoho Wereda 104 21 20.00 63 145
Takusa Wereda 158 26 16.50 107 209
(Continued)

65
 Annexure 1

Table A3.2: Estimates of Population, Standard Error and Coefficient of Variation of the Estimates
of Population and 95% confidence interval by Wereda for Amhara Region and sub-city
for Addis Ababa, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Region/Zone/Wereda Estimate Standard C.V(%) Confidence interval

Error
South Gondar Zone 2,274 125 5.51 2,028 2519
Ebinat Wereda 241 42 17.42 159 323
Libokemkem Wereda 238 43 18.20 153 323
Fogera Wereda 270 48 17.78 176 364
Farta Wereda 266 50 18.76 168 364
Lay Gayint Wereda 215 39 18.36 137 292
Tach Gayint Wereda 108 18 16.45 73 142
Simada Wereda 244 44 17.86 159 330
Misrak Este Wereda 231 41 17.57 151 310
Dera Wereda 267 46 17.24 176 357
Debre Tabor/Town/Wereda 62 10 16.34 42 82
Merab Este Wereda 133 24 18.05 86 180
North Wello Zone 1,662 98 5.89 1,470 1,854
Bugna Wereda 88 14 15.96 61 116
Kobo Wereda 252 44 17.39 166 338
Gidan Wereda 172 31 18.06 111 233
Meket Wereda 258 48 18.76 163 353
Wadla Wereda 141 28 19.73 86 195
Delanta Wereda 142 29 20.04 86 198
Gubalafto Wereda 145 30 20.47 87 204
Habru Wereda 200 36 18.14 129 272
Woldiya/Town/Wereda 53 9 17.05 36 71
Lasta Wereda 134 25 18.26 86 182
Dawunt Wereda 74 12 16.11 51 98
(Continued)

66
 Annexure 1

Table A3.2: Estimates of Population, Standard Error and Coefficient of Variation of the Estimates
of Population and 95% confidence interval by Wereda for Amhara Region and sub-city
for Addis Ababa, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Region/Zone/Wereda Estimate Standard C.V(%) Confidence interval

Error
South Wello Zone 2,728 111 4.08 2,510 2,946
Mekdela Wereda 158 25 16.13 108 207
Tenta Wereda 175 31 17.85 114 237
Kutaber Wereda 99 18 17.76 64 133
Ambasel Wereda 130 25 19.20 81 179
Tehuledere Wereda 127 22 17.33 84 170
Werebabu Wereda 109 18 16.77 73 144
Kalu Wereda 204 42 20.46 122 286
Albuko Wereda 82 13 15.73 57 108
Dessie Zuriya Wereda 168 30 18.06 109 228
Legambo Wereda 183 33 18.33 117 248
Sayint Wereda 158 31 19.51 97 218
Debresina Wereda 168 32 19.31 104 231
Kelela Wereda 148 29 19.70 91 205
Jama Wereda 134 24 17.89 87 181
Were Ilu Wereda 116 20 17.23 77 155
Wegidi Wereda 144 33 23.28 78 209
Kombolcha/Town/Wereda 105 18 17.18 70 141
Dessie/Town/Wereda 171 29 16.88 115 228
Mehal Saynt Wereda 79 13 16.35 54 104
Legahida Wereda 71 11 15.77 49 94
North Shewa Zone 1,990 75 3.79 1,843 2,138
Mida Woremo Wereda 103 19 18.33 66 140
Merhabete Wereda 135 24 17.87 87 182
Ensaro Wereda 62 10 15.80 43 82
Moretna Jiru Wereda 101 18 17.54 66 135
Menz Gera Midir Wereda 128 24 18.69 81 175
Gishe Wereda 67 11 15.94 46 88
Antsokiya Gemza Wereda 85 14 16.46 58 113
(Continued)

67
 Annexure 1

Table A3.2: Estimates of Population, Standard Error and Coefficient of Variation of the Estimates
of Population and 95% confidence interval by Wereda for Amhara Region and sub-city
for Addis Ababa, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Region/Zone/Wereda Estimate Standard C.V(%) Confidence interval

Error
North Shewa Zone(Contd)
Efrata Gidim Wereda 121 23 18.71 76 165
Menz Mama Midir Wereda 92 17 18.30 59 125
Tarma Ber Wereda 95 17 17.60 62 127
Mojana Waderea Wereda 75 12 16.04 51 99
Kewet Wereda 128 24 18.65 81 174
Angolala Tera Wereda 88 15 17.38 58 119
Asagirt Wereda 52 9 16.55 35 69
Ankober Wereda 83 15 17.67 54 112
Hagere Mariam Kesem Wereda 60 12 19.73 37 84
Berehet Wereda 38 6 15.93 26 50
Minjar Shenkora Wereda 143 26 17.92 93 193
Basona Werana Wereda 130 26 20.04 79 180
Debre Berhan/Town/Wereda 69 11 16.52 47 92
Menz Keya Gebreal Wereda 51 8 16.55 35 68
Menz Lalo Midir Wereda 19 4 19.35 12 26
Saya Debirna Wayu Wereda 66 11 16.65 45 88
East Gojjam Zone 2,360 106 4.51 2,151 2,569
Bibugn Wereda 87 14 16.37 59 115
Hulet Ej Enese Wereda 299 53 17.61 196 402
Goncha Siso Enese Wereda 161 28 17.21 107 215
Enebse Sar Midir Wereda 145 29 20.24 88 203
Enarj Enawga Wereda 186 33 17.70 121 250
Enemay Wereda 178 34 18.83 112 244
Debay Tilatgen Wereda 136 23 16.89 91 180
Debre Elias Wereda 92 16 17.30 61 123
Machakel Wereda 128 34 26.53 61 194
Gozamin Wereda 146 27 18.19 94 198
Baso Liben Wereda 154 25 16.52 104 204
(Continued)

68
 Annexure 1

Table A3.2: Estimates of Population, Standard Error and Coefficient of Variation of the Estimates
of Population and 95% confidence interval by Wereda for Amhara Region and sub-city
for Addis Ababa, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Region/Zone/Wereda Estimate Standard C.V(%) Confidence interval

Error
East Gojjam Zone(Contd)
Awabel Wereda 131 25 19.07 82 180
Dejen Wereda 111 20 17.82 72 150
Shebel Berenta Wereda 120 21 17.62 79 162
Debre Markos/Town/Wereda 80 13 16.41 54 106
Sinan Wereda 108 18 16.78 72 143
Aneded Wereda 99 17 17.27 66 133
West Gojjam Zone 2,385 118 4.93 2,155 2,616
Semen Achefer Wereda 227 40 17.50 149 305
Bahri Dar Zuriya Wereda 210 35 16.69 141 278
Yilma Na Densa Wereda 246 42 17.18 163 329
Mecha Wereda 353 58 16.39 239 466
Sekela Wereda 151 25 16.65 102 200
Quarit Wereda 124 23 18.28 80 168
Dega Damot Wereda 164 36 21.65 95 234
Dembecha Wereda 142 26 17.96 92 192
Jabi Tehnan Wereda 199 41 20.42 119 279
Bure Wereda 163 29 17.61 107 219
Wonberma Wereda 115 20 17.70 75 155
Goncha Wereda 115 19 16.75 77 152
Debub Achefer Wereda 145 24 16.42 98 192
Finote Selam/Town/Wereda 31 5 16.61 21 41
Waghemira Zone 498 41 8.30 417 579
Ziquala Wereda 52 10 18.61 33 71
Sekota Wereda 130 28 21.55 75 185
Dehana Wereda 127 23 18.28 81 172
Gazgibla Wereda 80 14 17.60 52 107
Abergele Wereda 54 9 16.74 36 72
(Continued)

69
 Annexure 1

Table A3.2: Estimates of Population, Standard Error and Coefficient of Variation of the Estimates
of Population and 95% confidence interval by Wereda for Amhara Region and sub-city
for Addis Ababa, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Region/Zone/Wereda Estimate Standard C.V(%) Confidence interval

Error
Waghemira Zone(Contd)
Sehala Wereda 30 5 17.19 20 40
Sekota/Town/-Wereda 25 5 20.44 15 35
Awi-Zone 1,130 81 7.18 971 1,289
Dangila Wereda 170 31 18.45 108 231
Banja Shekudad Wereda 121 24 19.53 74 167
Ankasha Guagusa Wereda 215 37 17.29 142 287
Guangua Wereda 257 44 16.99 171 343
Fagita Lekoma Wereda 147 31 20.81 87 208
Jawi Wereda 127 27 21.02 75 180
Guagusa Shikudad Wereda 93 15 16.47 63 123
Oromiya Zone 508 40 7.78 431 586
Dawa Chefa Wereda 147 25 16.84 98 195
Bati Wereda 115 20 17.49 76 155
Jile Timuga Wereda 84 15 18.01 55 114
Artuma Fursi Wereda 89 17 18.90 56 123
Dawa Harewa Wereda 46 7 15.81 32 61
Kemise/Town/-Wereda 26 4 16.99 18 35
Bahir Dar Special Zone 245 43 17.34 162 329
Bahir Dar/Town/Wereda 245 43 17.34 162 329
Argoba Special Zone 38 6 15.74 26 50
Argoba Special Wereda 38 6 15.74 26 50
(Continued)

70
 Annexure 1

Table A3.2: Estimates of Population, Standard Error and Coefficient of Variation of the Estimates
of Population and 95% confidence interval by Wereda for Amhara Region and sub-city
for Addis Ababa, ICPS 2012 (Concluded)

Region/Zone/Wereda Estimate Standard C.V(%) Confidence interval

Error
Addis Ababa 2,992 15 0.51 2,962 3,022
Akaki Kaliti Sub City 207 7 3.24 194 220
Nefas Silk-Lafto Sub City 354 9 2.52 337 372
Kolfe Keraniyo Sub City 496 12 2.35 473 519
Gulele Sub City 285 6 2.16 273 297
Lideta Sub City 198 5 2.34 189 207
Kirkos Sub City 225 6 2.74 213 237
Arada Sub City 209 5 2.26 199 218
Addis Ketema Sub City 272 8 3.11 255 288
Yeka Sub City 388 9 2.33 370 405
Bole Sub City 359 10 2.67 340 378

71
 Annexure 1
Table A 4.1: Distribution of Literate Population 10 years and above by Highest grade completed,
place of residence and Sex, ICPS 2012

Highest Grade Completed

New Old
Urban Rural Grade Secondary Secondary Above Non-
Residence Sex Total 1-8 (9-10) (9-12) Secondary Regular
COUNTRY TOTAL
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 75.8 4.2 9.7 6.8 3.5
Males 100.0 74.2 3.9 9.6 7.2 5.0
Females 100.0 78.1 4.5 9.7 6.2 1.5

Urban Total 100.0 53.5 7.9 20.5 16.8 1.4

Males 100.0 50.2 7.6 21.0 19.3 1.9
Females 100.0 57.2 8.1 19.9 13.9 0.9

Rural Total 100.0 85.5 2.6 5.0 2.5 4.5

Males 100.0 83.1 2.6 5.4 2.7 6.1
Females 100.0 89.4 2.6 4.2 2.0 1.8

TIGRAY
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 71.0 9.3 6.1 7.0 6.5
Males 100.0 68.1 8.4 5.6 7.2 10.8
Females 100.0 75.0 10.6 6.9 6.8 0.8

Urban Total 100.0 52.8 14.0 12.9 18.8 1.5

Males 100.0 49.4 13.8 12.2 22.4 2.2
Females 100.0 56.2 14.1 13.5 15.4 0.9

Rural Total 100.0 78.1 7.5 3.5 2.4 8.4

Males 100.0 74.0 6.6 3.4 2.4 13.5
Females 100.0 84.4 8.9 3.6 2.5 0.7

AFFAR
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 75.8 1.4 6.5 4.8 11.6
Males 100.0 71.2 1.6 7.2 5.6 14.4
Females 100.0 83.3 1.0 5.3 3.4 7.0

Urban Total 100.0 71.6 2.2 14.5 10.1 1.7

Males 100.0 64.3 3.1 16.8 12.8 3.0
Females 100.0 80.5 1.1 11.7 6.7 -
(Continued)

72
 Annexure 1
Table A 4.1: Distribution of Literate Population 10 years and above by Highest grade completed,
place of residence and Sex, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Highest Grade Completed

New Old
Urban Rural Grade Secondary Secondary Above Non-
Residence Sex Total 1-8 (9-10) (9-12) Secondary Regular
AFFAR (Continued)

Rural Total 100.0 77.8 1.0 2.7 2.3 16.2

Males 100.0 74.0 1.0 3.4 2.7 18.9
Females 100.0 85.1 0.9 1.4 1.4 11.2

AMHARA
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 73.9 3.5 9.0 5.6 7.9
Males 100.0 70.2 3.3 8.8 5.6 12.0
Females 100.0 79.0 3.9 9.2 5.6 2.3

Urban Total 100.0 51.4 9.6 19.8 16.2 3.1

Males 100.0 48.3 9.4 20.0 17.8 4.5
Females 100.0 54.8 9.7 19.5 14.4 1.6

Rural Total 100.0 81.4 1.5 5.5 2.1 9.5

Males 100.0 76.5 1.5 5.6 2.1 14.2
Females 100.0 88.4 1.6 5.2 2.1 2.6

OROMIA
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 81.1 4.2 7.3 5.3 2.1
Males 100.0 79.9 3.9 7.4 6.2 2.6
Females 100.0 82.9 4.7 7.2 4.0 1.2

Urban Total 100.0 60.4 9.1 15.8 13.7 1.0

Males 100.0 55.7 8.8 16.5 17.3 1.7
Females 100.0 65.9 9.5 15.0 9.4 0.1

Rural Total 100.0 88.2 2.5 4.4 2.4 2.5

Males 100.0 86.9 2.5 4.8 2.9 2.9
Females 100.0 90.3 2.5 3.8 1.6 1.7
(Continued)

73
 Annexure 1

Table A 4.1: Distribution of Literate Population 10 years and above by Highest grade completed,
place of residence and Sex, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Highest Grade Completed

New Old
Urban Rural Grade Secondary Secondary Above Non-
Residence Sex Total 1-8 (9-10) (9-12) Secondary Regular
SOMALI
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 83.3 0.8 9.2 2.4 4.3
Males 100.0 81.4 0.9 10.1 3.0 4.6
Females 100.0 86.6 0.6 7.5 1.4 3.9

Urban Total 100.0 68.2 1.3 23.3 4.5 2.8

Males 100.0 65.1 1.3 25.2 6.0 2.5
Females 100.0 73.1 1.3 20.2 2.2 3.2

Rural Total 100.0 85.9 0.7 6.8 2.0 4.6

Males 100.0 84.1 0.8 7.7 2.5 4.9
Females 100.0 89.0 0.5 5.2 1.2 4.1

BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 79.6 3.1 8.3 8.6 0.4
Males 100.0 77.4 3.1 9.7 9.2 0.6
Females 100.0 82.9 3.2 6.2 7.7 -

Urban Total 100.0 57.9 8.1 12.8 20.9 0.3

Males 100.0 53.6 8.3 14.3 23.2 0.5
Females 100.0 63.1 7.8 11.0 18.1 -

Rural Total 100.0 88.6 1.1 6.5 3.5 0.4

Males 100.0 86.0 1.2 8.1 4.1 0.6
Females 100.0 93.0 0.8 3.8 2.4 -

S.N.N.P
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 82.2 4.1 7.1 5.8 0.7
Males 100.0 81.2 4.0 7.8 6.2 0.8
Females 100.0 83.8 4.3 6.1 5.3 0.5

Urban Total 100.0 54.9 10.4 14.8 19.4 0.5

Males 100.0 54.2 8.9 14.3 21.8 0.7
Females 100.0 55.7 12.3 15.5 16.3 0.2
(Continued)

74
 Annexure 1
Table A 4.1: Distribution of Literate Population 10 years and above by Highest grade completed,
place of residence and Sex, ICPS 2012 (Continued)

Highest Grade Completed

New Old
Urban Rural Grade Secondary Secondary Above Non-
Residence Sex Total 1-8 (9-10) (9-12) Secondary Regular
S.N.N.P (Continued)
Rural Total 100.0 88.2 2.8 5.5 2.9 0.7
Males 100.0 86.6 3.1 6.4 3.1 0.8
Females 100.0 90.7 2.3 3.9 2.5 0.6

GAMBELLA
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 76.9 5.1 9.0 8.7 0.4
Males 100.0 73.3 5.3 10.2 10.6 0.6
Females 100.0 82.1 4.7 7.2 6.0 *

Urban Total 100.0 66.6 6.5 13.0 13.7 0.2

Males 100.0 61.1 6.8 14.7 17.1 0.3
Females 100.0 73.5 6.0 10.8 9.6 0.1

Rural Total 100.0 87.0 3.7 5.0 3.8 0.5

Males 100.0 83.9 4.0 6.3 5.0 0.8
Females 100.0 92.2 3.1 2.9 1.8 -

HARARI
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 57.6 6.6 18.2 15.5 2.1
Males 100.0 56.8 6.6 18.0 15.4 3.2
Females 100.0 58.8 6.5 18.5 15.6 0.7

Urban Total 100.0 47.9 8.1 23.2 19.6 1.1

Males 100.0 45.6 8.5 23.7 20.5 1.6
Females 100.0 50.6 7.6 22.7 18.5 0.6

Rural Total 100.0 83.4 2.5 4.8 4.6 4.7

Males 100.0 79.4 2.8 6.5 5.0 6.3
Females 100.0 92.8 1.7 0.7 3.7 1.1
(Continued)

75
 Annexure 1
Table A 4.1: Distribution of Literate Population 10 years and above by Highest grade completed,
place of residence and Sex, ICPS 2012 (Concluded)

Highest Grade Completed

New Old
Urban Rural Grade Secondary Secondary Above Non-
Residence Sex Total 1-8 (9-10) (9-12) Secondary Regular
ADDIS ABABA
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 44.5 3.4 31.1 19.9 1.1
Males 100.0 40.7 3.5 32.8 22.1 0.9
Females 100.0 48.2 3.4 29.4 17.6 1.3

Urban Total 100.0 44.5 3.4 31.1 19.9 1.1

Males 100.0 40.7 3.5 32.8 22.1 0.9
Females 100.0 48.2 3.4 29.4 17.6 1.3

DIRE DAWA
Urban+Rural Total 100.0 60.0 6.0 16.6 15.8 1.6
Males 100.0 56.2 6.4 17.8 17.6 2.0
Females 100.0 65.1 5.4 15.0 13.3 1.2

Urban Total 100.0 55.5 6.2 19.6 17.7 0.9

Males 100.0 50.6 6.9 21.4 20.0 1.1
Females 100.0 61.8 5.3 17.4 14.7 0.8

Rural Total 100.0 82.3 4.6 1.6 6.4 5.1

Males 100.0 80.7 3.9 2.1 7.3 6.0
Females 100.0 85.1 5.7 0.6 5.0 3.5

76
 Annexure 1

Table A4.2: Percentage of Never Married, Currently married, Divorced/Separated, and Widowed in selected age groups by
sex, ICPS 2012

Marital status Percentage of persons in the age group with the marital status
Total 10 - 14 15 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 - 64 65 - 69 70 - 74 75+
Country Total
Never married 46.7 99.3 88.7 57.9 26.7 12.6 5.9 3.8 2.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.7 2.9

Currently married 45.0 0.4 9.6 37.6 67.0 80.0 85.2 84.8 81.8 77.1 74.1 68.3 63.3 58.0 51.6
Divorced/Separated 3.6 0.2 1.5 3.9 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.8 6.4 7.0 6.8 6.3 6.3 4.9
Widowed 4.5 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.0 1.9 3.4 5.5 9.6 14.9 17.3 23.1 28.8 34.0 40.3
Cohabiting 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.3
Country Total - Males
Never married 53.3 99.8 97.7 77.1 38.5 17.4 7.7 4.3 3.6 1.8 1.1 1.8 1.5 1.5 2.2
Currently married 43.6 0.1 1.5 20.0 57.6 78.6 88.0 91.3 93.0 93.4 92.7 92.3 89.9 87.9 78.3
Divorced/Separated 1.8 0.1 0.7 2.2 3.3 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.2 2.4 3.1 1.5 3.1 2.1 3.8
Widowed 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.0 1.3 1.1 2.1 2.8 3.8 5.4 8.4 15.3
Cohabiting 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.6 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.4
Country Total - Females
Never married 40.1 98.8 79.5 39.7 16.3 8.2 4.2 3.3 1.9 1.3 1.8 1.1 1.6 1.8 3.7
Currently married 46.4 0.8 17.9 54.2 75.1 81.3 82.3 77.4 71.0 63.8 54.8 44.0 36.4 25.2 21.0
Divorced/Separated 5.4 0.3 2.4 5.5 6.8 7.2 7.5 8.6 9.3 9.6 11.0 12.1 9.6 10.9 6.2
Widowed 7.9 0.0 0.0 0.4 1.6 3.2 5.8 10.4 17.8 25.2 32.4 42.7 52.4 62.0 69.1
Cohabiting 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1
(Continued)
77
 Annexure 1
Table A4.2: Percentage of Never Married, Currently married, Divorced/Separated, and Widowed in selected age groups by
sex, ICPS 2012
(Concluded)
Marital status Percentage of persons in the age group with the marital status
Total 10 - 14 15 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 - 64 65 - 69 70 - 74 75+
Country Total -Urban - Males
Never married 59.2 100.0 99.0 89.3 56.9 35.2 19.8 10.9 8.0 4.8 3.2 2.6 2.4 6.2 3.6
Currently married 36.4 0.0 0.7 8.7 40.1 58.4 72.5 80.2 84.1 87.1 85.5 90.3 87.1 74.5 64.8
Divorced/Separated 2.3 0.0 0.2 0.5 2.1 3.3 5.5 4.9 5.3 5.6 7.8 3.3 4.1 4.5 7.0
Widowed 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 1.0 2.0 2.3 2.2 3.4 3.6 6.3 14.6 24.3
Country Total -Urban - Females
Never married 48.1 99.7 87.8 57.0 30.9 16.4 12.6 5.7 4.7 2.6 4.3 1.7 2.0 2.3 3.9
Currently married 35.2 0.2 10.3 36.3 58.3 66.9 63.0 62.4 59.3 48.4 42.9 30.1 26.2 21.1 9.4
Divorced/Separated 8.0 0.0 1.4 5.9 8.9 11.9 15.7 17.1 16.6 18.3 16.1 16.4 13.3 17.0 15.5
Widowed 8.4 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.6 4.5 8.5 13.3 19.3 30.5 36.6 51.6 58.4 59.6 71.2
Country Total -Rural - Males
Never married 52.1 99.8 97.4 73.4 33.0 12.9 4.7 3.0 2.7 1.2 0.8 1.6 1.4 0.7 1.9
Currently married 45.1 0.1 1.7 23.5 62.8 83.7 91.8 93.5 94.7 94.6 93.9 92.6 90.4 90.1 80.4
Divorced/Separated 1.7 0.1 0.8 2.7 3.6 2.5 2.2 2.1 1.6 1.8 2.3 1.2 2.9 1.7 3.3
Widowed 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.6 1.0 1.1 0.8 2.1 2.7 3.9 5.2 7.4 13.9
Country Total -Rural - Females
Never married 38.2 98.7 76.9 33.8 12.4 6.2 2.4 2.9 1.4 1.0 1.3 1.0 1.5 1.7 3.7
Currently married 49.1 0.9 20.2 60.4 79.7 84.7 86.4 80.1 73.2 66.9 57.2 47.6 38.5 26.3 23.7
Divorced/Separated 4.8 0.4 2.7 5.4 6.2 6.1 5.8 7.1 7.9 7.8 10.0 11.0 8.8 9.3 4.0
Widowed 7.8 0.0 0.0 0.4 1.6 2.9 5.3 9.8 17.5 24.1 31.5 40.4 51.2 62.6 68.6

78
 Annexure 1
Table A5.1: Percentage of the Economically Active and Inactive Population Aged Ten Years
and Above and Their Distribution by Sex, ICPS 2012

Place of residence Place of Economically Active Economically Inactive

% of Economically % of Economically
residence % to total % to total
Active inactive
population population
Males Females Males Females

Country Total Total 62.2 55.6 44.4 37.8 40.6 59.4

Urban 57.9 52.9 47.1 42.1 39.2 60.8
Rural 63.2 56.1 43.9 36.8 41.0 59.0

1. Tigray Total 58.8 55.8 44.2 41.2 36.4 63.6

Urban 56.9 49.6 50.4 43.1 33.9 66.1
Rural 59.3 57.3 42.7 40.7 37.0 63.0

2. Affar Total 58.0 61.4 38.6 42.0 36.3 63.7

Urban 53.5 54.8 45.2 46.5 33.5 66.5
Rural 58.8 62.5 37.5 41.2 36.9 63.1

3. Amhara Total 56.6 56.3 43.7 43.4 41.6 58.4

Urban 52.7 51.2 48.8 47.3 41.1 58.9
Rural 57.3 57.2 42.8 42.7 41.7 58.3

4. Oromia Total 65.0 56.1 43.9 35.0 38.0 62.0

Urban 59.9 53.3 46.7 40.1 37.0 63.0
Rural 65.9 56.6 43.4 34.1 38.2 61.8

5. Somali Total 53.3 59.4 40.6 46.7 50.4 49.6

Urban 50.8 55.5 44.5 49.2 53.1 46.9
Rural 53.5 59.7 40.3 46.5 50.2 49.8
(Continued)

79
 Annexure 1
Table A5.1: Percentage of the Economically Active and Inactive Population Aged Ten Years
and Above and Their Distribution by Sex, ICPS 2012 (Concluded)

Place of residence Economically Active Economically Inactive

% of Economically % of Economically
Active inactive
Place of % to total % to total
residence population Males Females population Males Females
6. Benishangul-
Gumuz Total 71.6 52.4 47.6 28.4 46.3 53.7
Urban 65.1 53.8 46.2 34.9 41.5 58.5
Rural 73.1 52.2 47.8 26.9 47.7 52.3

7. S.N.N.P Total 67.8 53.3 46.7 32.2 42.5 57.5

Urban 54.4 57.8 42.2 45.6 44.4 55.6
Rural 69.4 52.9 47.1 30.6 42.2 57.8

8. Gambella Total 51.4 55.7 44.3 48.6 45.9 54.1

Urban 53.4 53.4 46.6 46.6 45.5 54.5
Rural 50.1 57.2 42.8 49.9 46.1 53.9

9. Harari Total 70.3 51.4 48.6 29.7 43.7 56.3

Urban 63.9 51.5 48.5 36.1 41.4 58.6
Rural 77.8 51.4 48.6 22.2 48.0 52.0

10. Addis Ababa Total 62.1 52.1 47.9 37.9 36.8 63.2
Urban 62.1 52.1 47.9 37.9 36.8 63.2

11. Dire Dawa Total 65.8 54.1 45.9 34.2 39.8 60.2
Urban 62.0 54.0 46.0 38.0 41.6 58.4
Rural 74.7 54.2 45.8 25.3 33.4 66.6

80
 Annexure 1

Table A5.2 Percentage Distribution of the Economically Inactive Population by Reasons of

Inactivity, ICPS 2012

Region Total Student/ Home Disa- Illness/ Too Old Age/ Other
Training Maker bled Injury Young Pensioner/ Reasons
Remittance
Country Total 100 48.6 27.6 0.8 3.2 5.6 7.5 6.8
Urban 100 63.6 15.9 0.5 3.4 1.9 8.4 6.2
Rural 100 44.7 30.6 0.9 3.1 6.5 7.2 6.9

1. Tigray 100 50.1 26.7 0.5 5.2 4.2 9.1 4.2

Urban 100 60.0 21.2 0.2 4.5 1.9 8.1 4.0
Rural 100 47.5 28.1 0.6 5.4 4.8 9.3 4.3

2. Affar 100 36.9 42.3 1.0 2.1 6.5 4.0 7.3

Urban 100 57.9 31.7 0.0 2.3 0.8 3.5 3.7
Rural 100 32.6 44.4 1.2 2.1 7.7 4.1 8.0

3. Amhara 100 48.6 25.6 0.9 3.1 5.7 8.4 7.8

Urban 100 64.1 16.1 0.7 2.9 2.2 7.9 6.1
Rural 100 45.5 27.4 1.0 3.1 6.4 8.5 8.1

4. Oromiya 100 48.2 29.9 0.6 3.5 4.8 8.0 4.8

Urban 100 68.8 13.5 0.1 4.1 1.4 7.8 4.3
Rural 100 43.9 33.4 0.7 3.4 5.5 8.1 5.0

5. Somali 100 35.5 28.6 1.1 1.0 12.9 2.5 18.4

Urban 100 65.6 14.6 1.5 1.3 4.3 3.3 9.5
Rural 100 32.8 29.9 1.1 1.0 13.7 2.4 19.2
(Continued)

81
 Annexure 1

Table A5.2 Percentage Distribution of the Economically Inactive Population by Reasons of

Inactivity, ICPS 2012 (Concluded)

Region Total Student/ Home Disa- Illness/ Too Old Age/ Other
Training Maker bled Injury Young Pensioner/ Reasons
Remittance
6. Benishangul 100 57.2 19.0 0.7 1.6 7.2 6.7 7.6
Gumuz
Urban 100 64.7 9.9 0.0 0.7 5.1 4.1 15.5
Rural 100 55.0 21.7 1.0 1.9 7.8 7.5 5.2

7. SNNP 100 52.7 28.8 1.0 2.9 5.2 5.3 4.1

Urban 100 68.2 19.1 0.5 2.4 1.2 5.1 3.6
Rural 100 49.9 30.6 1.0 3.0 5.9 5.4 4.2

8. Gambella 100 70.7 17.0 0.6 0.7 2.9 3.4 4.7

Urban 100 77.9 8.5 0.9 0.7 1.4 3.7 6.8
Rural 100 66.3 22.2 0.4 0.7 3.8 3.2 3.5

9. Harari 100 59.9 15.2 0.4 4.1 4.2 11.8 4.4

Urban 100 63.9 14.8 0.4 3.3 3.0 11.1 3.5
Rural 100 52.3 16.0 0.3 5.6 6.6 13.2 6.0

10. Addis Ababa 100 54.6 15.5 0.5 3.6 2.5 12.9 10.4

11. Dire Dawa 100 56.3 19.2 0.9 4.8 2.6 10.6 5.4
Urban 100 61.6 12.5 0.9 4.8 2.9 11.2 6.1
Rural 100 37.7 42.6 1.0 5.1 1.9 8.7 3.0

82
 Annexure 1

Table A5.3 Percentage of employed population among the economically active and
Unemployed Rate, ICPS 2012

Region Percentage of employed Unemployment rate (%)

Total Male Female Total Male Female
Country Total 96.2 97.3 94.7 3.8 2.7 5.3
Urban 83.4 89.5 76.5 16.6 10.5 23.5
Rural 98.8 98.9 98.7 1.2 1.1 1.3

1. Tigray 95.3 96.9 93.2 4.7 3.1 6.8

2. Affar 97.7 98.7 96.1 2.3 1.3 3.9
3. Amhara 96.3 97.1 95.2 3.7 2.9 4.8
4. Oromiya 97.3 98.5 95.8 2.7 1.5 4.2
5. Somali 93.4 93.5 93.2 6.6 6.5 6.8
6. Benishangul-
Gumuz 97.8 98.5 96.9 2.2 1.5 3.1
7. SNNP 98.3 98.5 98.0 1.7 1.5 2.0
8. Gambella 97.6 98.1 97.0 2.4 1.9 3.0
9. Harari 92.7 95.4 89.8 7.3 4.6 10.2
10. Addis Ababa 80.3 87.4 72.5 19.7 12.6 27.5
11. Dire Dawa 85.8 91.3 79.4 14.2 8.7 20.6

83
 Annexure 1

Table A7.1: Distribution of Elderly Population By Age, Sex and Region, ICPS 2012

Region Population aged 60+ as percentage of total population Distribution of aged population by age group

Total Males Females

Total Males Females 60-69 70-79 80+ 60-69 70-79 80+ 60-69 70-79 80+

Country Total 4.7 4.8 4.6 56.6 29.2 14.2 55.3 30.1 14.6 58.0 28.2 13.8
1. Tigray 5.8 6.0 5.7 56.9 32.1 10.9 55.3 32.8 11.9 58.5 31.5 10.0

2. Affar 2.0 2.4 1.7 74.7 20.5 4.8 78.4 16.9 4.7 69.1 25.9 5.0

3. Amhara 6.2 6.5 6.0 53.8 30.9 15.3 53.2 31.0 15.8 54.5 30.7 14.8

4. Oromia 4.6 4.7 4.5 56.8 28.7 14.5 54.2 30.8 15.0 59.5 26.4 14.1

5. Somali 1.4 1.6 1.0 66.6 21.1 12.3 69.8 18.6 11.6 60.6 25.9 13.5

6. Benishangul-Gumuz 3.4 3.9 2.9 52.3 33.5 14.2 49.8 34.9 15.3 55.7 31.6 12.7

7. S.N.N.P 3.9 4.0 3.9 59.2 26.8 14.0 58.1 27.6 14.3 60.4 25.9 13.7

8. Gambella 2.1 1.9 2.3 68.5 25.9 5.6 66.6 27.0 6.4 70.2 24.9 4.9

9. Harari 4.9 4.4 5.4 55.4 30.9 13.7 62.5 24.5 13.0 49.7 36.0 14.3

10. Addis Ababa 6.3 6.4 6.2 56.6 30.0 13.4 57.0 31.0 12.0 56.3 29.0 14.7

11. Dire Dawa 5.1 4.3 5.8 57.8 30.1 12.1 54.1 33.4 12.5 60.5 27.7 11.8

84
 Annexure 1

Table A7.2: Percentage of Population 60 Years and above By Main Source of Earning in Money or Goods by Region, ICPS 2012

Work/ Retired Interest/ Association/ Children/ Son or Friends/ Other From

Age group/Region Business money Deposit Share Spouse Daughter-in-law Family rents Others
COUNTRY TOTAL 48.2 14.1 9.4 9.4 12.8 39.3 11.7 16.0 26.1
Age group
60-69 54.9 12.3 8.2 8.3 11.9 33.5 10.0 13.6 25.2
70-79 44.2 15.1 9.7 9.5 12.4 42.1 12.4 17.5 26.2
80+ 29.4 19.7 13.8 13.5 17.1 56.7 17.1 22.2 29.3
Region
1. Tigray
44.5 6.1 4.9 4.6 8.9 37.3 5.8 16.6 26.1
2. Affar
45.9 15.7 14.8 15.3 19.1 51.3 24.8 16.2 26.2
3. Amhara
47.3 16.9 11.2 11.2 14.8 33.1 12.5 20.6 29.7
4. Oromiya
47.5 9.4 7.5 7.3 10.3 41.3 10.4 12.1 24.6
5. Somali
54.1 39.6 39.9 37.8 40.0 59.1 42.3 38.9 51.8
6. Benishangul
Gumz
56.5 10.4 7.1 7.4 10.2 34.9 10.1 15.0 12.2
7. S.N.N.P
57.2 10.1 8.1 8.2 12.3 43.3 11.0 10.3 22.0
8. Gambela
44.8 17.8 17.1 16.5 18.7 43.7 25.3 18.5 36.7
9. Harari
50.4 30.2 10.4 11.1 12.0 51.0 15.6 15.6 18.7
10. Addis Ababa
30.5 46.6 13.1 13.2 15.4 42.9 14.9 25.7 21.0
11. Dire Dawa
42.1 30.8 9.4 10.0 14.3 52.3 13.7 15.8 28.5
85
 Annexure 1

Table A7.3: Proportion of elderly population requiring help in various activities, by Age Group and
Region, ICPS 2012

Defecate/ Eating/ Preparing

Region Age group Dressing Urinate Bathing Drinking Food

COUNTRY TOTAL 60+ 9.1 8.3 14.5 8.1 35.9

60-69 6.1 4.6 8.5 5.3 27.6
70-79 9.4 8.6 15.7 8.9 41.8
80+ 20.9 22.9 37.1 18.5 58.4
1. Tigray 60+ 7.7 8.8 12.1 8.1 28.7
60-69 4.9 4.9 8.1 6.3 21.1
70-79 7.9 9.8 11.0 5.9 33.4
80+ 22.9 28.0 39.4 25.3 59.1
2. Affar 60+ 5.4 8.8 10.6 6.8 26.4
60-69 4.5 6.3 9.8 4.3 21.1
70-79 7.4 9.3 11.6 2.2 39.8
80+ 11.4 43.1 18.7 61.8 52.6
3. Amhara 60+ 9.1 8.7 16.3 8.6 37.5
60-69 5.4 4.7 9.3 4.9 28.4
70-79 9.8 9.0 18.4 9.7 42.2
80+ 21.1 22.9 37.6 20.2 61.3
4. Oromia 60+ 9.4 8.6 14.1 8.1 38.3
60-69 6.5 4.9 7.7 5.3 29.4
70-79 9.6 8.8 14.9 9.4 45.2
80+ 21.0 23.5 39.2 16.9 61.3
5. Somali 60+ 20.9 19.8 29.5 22.0 49.2
60-69 18.1 16.7 23.0 19.6 45.0
70-79 28.7 26.1 43.2 27.4 63.8
80+ 23.9 27.5 43.4 27.1 48.7
6. Benishangul- 60+ 3.5 3.7 7.5 5.8 28.5
Gumuz 60-69 0.7 1.6 5.2 3.9 21.5
70-79 6.1 5.1 9.0 4.8 32.0
80+ 9.9 9.9 14.2 18.1 51.9
7. S.N.N.P 60+ 8.4 5.9 12.6 6.5 31.9
60-69 6.3 2.4 7.9 4.4 25.2
70-79 7.5 5.8 12.9 6.5 38.6
80+ 19.5 20.7 31.9 15.4 47.8
(Continued)

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 Annexure 1

Table A7.3: Proportion of elderly population requiring help in various activities, by Age Group and
Region, ICPS 2012 (Concluded)

Defecate/ Eating/ Preparing

Region Age group Dressing Urinate Bathing Drinking Food
8. Gambella 60+ 5.1 5.2 9.2 3.8 26.4
60-69 2.6 2.0 8.0 1.5 25.1
70-79 9.7 11.5 11.5 7.8 25.1
80+ 14.7 14.7 14.7 14.7 51.5
9. Harari 60+ 4.1 3.2 6.5 3.3 18.6
60-69 2.4 2.4 2.4 1.6 9.4
70-79 1.4 1.4 6.2 3.3 20.0
80+ 16.9 10.1 24.3 10.2 53.6
10. Addis Ababa 60+ 8.8 7.8 13.9 8.0 32.0
60-69 4.9 4.2 7.3 4.6 23.4
70-79 9.9 8.5 16.3 9.3 37.0
80+ 23.5 21.8 37.1 19.9 57.5
11. Dire Dawa 60+ 7.5 4.4 10.0 3.4 27.6
60-69 3.4 1.2 5.1 1.2 19.0
70-79 14.4 8.4 11.2 6.6 33.7
80+ 9.4 9.3 30.4 6.1 53.4

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Annexure 2

Extracts from the Report of David Megill, Consultant who reviewed the Sampling Plan

(Pages 11-12)
In order to determine the level of precision by region that can be expected from the recommended
adjustments in the sample size, the simulated CVs were calculated again based on the proposed
number of sample EAs for each region. Table 9 summarizes these results and compares the new CVs
to those based on the previous sample allocation. It can be seen that there would be a modest decrease
in the CVs for Affar and Gambela, and a slight increase in the CVs for Oromiya and S.N.N.P.

Table 9. Distribution of Sample EAs by Region in Original Proposal and

Recommendations for Possible Adjustment of Sample Allocation, with
Corresponding CVs for Estimates of Total Population

Original No. Adjusted

Population, of sample Approximate No. of Approximate
Region 2007 census EAs CV Sample EAs CV
Tigray 4,136,988 70 0.027 70 0.027
Affar 1,390,273 50 0.082 60 0.075
Amhara 17,221,976 4,170 0.006 4,170 0.006
Oromiya 26,993,933 140 0.022 120 0.024
Somalie 4,445,219 1,560 1,560
Benishangul-Gumuz 784,345 50 0.052 50 0.052
S.N.N.P 14,929,548 140 0.017 120 0.018
Gambela 307,096 40 0.161 60 0.131
Harari 183,415 40 0.042 40 0.042
Addis Ababa 2,739,551 2,970 0.006 2,970 0.006
Dire Dawa 341,834 40 0.043 40 0.043
Total 73,474,178 9,270 0.005 9,260 0.005
It is also important to evaluate the preliminary plans to use a short form in the 2012 ICS for
the regions of Amhara, Somalie and Addis Ababa, for enumerating all of the households that were not
selected in the long form sample within each sample EA. The study of the sampling errors was also
used for evaluating the statistical efficiency of this approach. It was found that most of the sampling
error comes from the first sampling stage, so collecting information for all the households in the
sample EAs will only result in a small reduction in the sampling errors. The design effects from
interviewing an average of about 180 households per cluster would be very high.

Another disadvantage of the ICS short form is that it would increase the cost of the data
collection considerably, with a total sample size of approximately 2,192,100 households, compared to
278,100 households for using the long form sample only. There is also a concern that the sample of
more than 2 million households implied by using the short form could considerably increase
nonsampling errors in the ICS data, since it will be more difficult to control the data quality with such
a large data collection operation. Any bias from the nonsampling errors will make the comparison with
the 2007 census results more problematic. The short form methodology will require different weights
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for the short form and long form data in each sample EA, making the analysis of ICS data more
complex.

Given these disadvantages of using the ICS short form in three regions, it is recommended to
drop the ICS short form, and use only the long form for the sample of 30 households in eachsample
EA for the 2012 ICS. This would also standardize the methodology across all regions. The smaller
sample for the long form will make it possible to invest more resources in training and quality control
to reduce the nonsampling errors. In this case the smaller sample for the long form may provide more
accurate results than a much larger sample with short form data. The high quality of the listing data is
more important than the additional data from the short form. Therefore the savings from dropping the
short form can be invested in more rigorous training and quality control for the listing, in order to
produce more accurate estimates of the total population by domain.

The recommendation to drop the ICS short form is based on a statistical evaluation of the
preliminary ICS methodology. There would only be a small gain in precision for ICS results from
adding the short form data, while the corresponding costs would be much higher and the data quality
may be lower. However, the CSA staff indicated other reasons for using the short form, so there may
also be a political dimension in the final decision. For example, in case there are any large differences
between the results for the 2012 ICS and the 2007 Census for some areas, the complete enumeration
of the persons in sample EAs using the combined short and long form data can be used as evidence in
a more thorough analysis involving the matching of households and persons. Of course, this would be
more challenging given the changes in the population during the 5 years between the Census and the
ICS. The complete listing of households that will be available for each sample EA could also be used
for a general comparison with the households enumerated in the 2007 Census

(Page 15-16)
9. ICS Listing Operation
The field operation to list all households in the sample EAs is important for updating the
frame at the second stage. Given that one objective of the 2012 ICS will be to compare the results to
the 2007 Ethiopia Census, the high quality of the listing operation in sample EAs will be critical for
obtaining accurate ICS estimates. The sampling consultant discussed two alternatives for the listing
operation with the CSA staff, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative.

The first alternative would be to have a separate listing operation by specialized enumerators
2 to 3 months prior to the ICS data collection. The second alternative would be to conduct the listing
immediately prior to the ICS data collection, followed by the selection of sample households by the
supervisors in the field.

The advantages of the first listing alternative would be that it would make it possible to have
more qualified listing staff with specialized training. It would also be possible to use CSA staff with
cartographic experience in the field as supervisors. This dedicated listing staff and supervisors could
focus on controlling the quality of the listing in order to ensure complete coverage of all the
households in the sample EAs. The disadvantages of this option would be that some households will
move in and out of the sample EAs during the period between the listing and the ICS data collection,
and the cost would be higher to have separate field operations for the listing and data collection for the
ICS.

The advantages of the second alternative for the listing operation would be the reduced cost
of having one integrated field operation for the listing and ICS data collection, and minimizing the
movement of households between the listing and the interviewing of the selected households. The
main disadvantage of this approach is that it would be more difficult to control the quality of the
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listing, since it would be carried out by over 9000 enumerators. Two or three levels of cascaded
training would be required for this large number of field staff, making it more difficult to maintain the
standards of the training and supervision. Since the enumerators would be responsible for interviewing
the sample households following the listing, they may focus less on the quality of the listing.

The CSA should carefully study the advantages and disadvantages of each listing alternative.
The primary criterion for choosing the most effective alternative is the quality of the listing. A
preliminary review by the sampling consultant favors the first alternative, since it would make it easier
to control the quality of the listing

90