Ethiopia's population was around at 51.7 million in 1990. According to the nation's only census, conducted in 1984, Ethiopia's population was about 42 million. But the census was far from comprehensive. The rural areas of Eritrea and Tigray were excluded because of hostilities. In addition, the population in the southern parts of Bale and Harerge could only be around because of the prevalence of pastoral nomadism.

The 1984 census revealed that Ethiopia's population was about 89 % rural, and this %age did not appear to have changed by the late 1980s. This portion included many nomadic and seminomadic peoples. The Ethiopian population always has been predominantly rural, engaging in sedentary agricultural activities such as the cultivation of crops and farm animal-raising in the highlands. In the lowlands, the main activities traditionally have been subsistence farming by seminomadic groups and seasonal grazing of farm animal by nomadic people.

Ethiopia is a mosaic of about 100 languages that can be classified into four groups Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic, and Nilotic. The Semitic languages are spoken primarily in the northern and central parts of the nation; they include Ge'ez, Tigrinya, Amharic, Gurage, and Hareri. Ge'ez, the ancient language of the Aksumite empire, is used today only for religious writings and worship in the Ethiopian Orthodox church. Tigrinya is native to the northern province of Tigray. Amharic is one of the nation's principal languages and is native to the central and northwestern provinces. Gurage and Hareri are spoken by comparatively few people in the south and east.