Amhara people
Amharas (Amharic: አማራ, romanized: Āmara; Ge'ez: ዐምሐራ, romanized: ʾÄməḥära) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which is indigenous to Ethiopia, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly inhabiting the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amharas numbered 19,867,817 individuals, comprising 26.9% of Ethiopia's population, and they are mostly Oriental Orthodox Christian (members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church).
Amhara woman with a Gabi clothing in the background | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Ethiopia | 19,870,651 (2007) |
| United States | 195,260 |
| Canada | 18,020 |
| United Kingdom | 8,620 |
| Australia | 4,515 |
| Finland | 1,515 |
| Languages | |
| Amharic | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church) • Islam (Sunni) • Judaism (Haymanot) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Agaw • Argobba • Beta Israel • Gurage • Tigrayans • Tigrinya • Zay • other Ethiosemitic and Cushitic peoples | |
They are also found within the Ethiopian expatriate community, particularly in North America. They speak Amharic, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Semitic branch which serves as the main and one of the five official languages of Ethiopia. As of 2018, Amharic has over 32 million native speakers and 25 million second language speakers.
The Amhara and neighboring groups in North and Central Ethiopia and Eritrea, more specifically the diaspora refer to themselves as "Habesha" (Abyssinian) people.
Historically, the Amhara held significant political position in the Ethiopian Empire. They were at the origin of the Solomonic dynasty and all the Solomonic emperors were Amhara with the exception of Yohannes IV since the rise of the dynasty in 1270.