A visual guide to Ethiopia’s ethnic groups and conflict areas

Ethiopia volition caput to the polls connected June 1 for its archetypal nationwide elections since the ceremonial extremity of the Tigray war, a devastating two-year struggle from 2020 to 2022 that concluded with a bid statement betwixt the Ethiopian national authorities and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

With a colonisation of astir 135 million, Ethiopia is Africa’s second-most populous state and the 10th astir populous successful the world.

More than 50.5 cardinal voters person registered to enactment successful the vote, which is held each 5 years, with each 547 parliamentary seats up for grabs. Since 2018, the state has been tally by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose Prosperity Party holds 457 retired of the country’s 547 seats.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) is apt to denote the authoritative results connected June 11.

Ethiopia astatine a glance

Ethiopia is simply a landlocked state successful the Horn of Africa, covering an country of 1,104,300sq km (426,400sq miles) and bordered by Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti.

The state has sustained notable economical maturation implicit the past 2 decades, with the IMF projecting a 9.2 percent enlargement successful 2026, the highest connected the continent. Yet persistent challenges remain, including precocious ostentation (11.7 percent arsenic of April 2026), overseas speech shortages, and the costly load of post-war reconstruction.

The state has 5 authoritative languages – Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Somali and Tigrinya. Roughly two-thirds of the colonisation are Christian and one-third Muslim, with tiny communities of Ethiopian Jews and adherents of accepted faiths.

Ethiopia’s taste groups

The East African state is 1 of the astir ethnically divers countries successful the world, with much than 80 chiseled groups.

The Oromo are the largest, making up astir 35 percent of the population, concentrated mostly successful the southbound and cardinal regions. The Amhara are the second-largest, astir 24 percent, and person historically been the politically ascendant group.

Other important groups see the Somali (7 percent), successful the east; the Tigrayan (6 percent), concentrated successful the bluish Tigray region; and the Sidama (4 percent), successful the confederate highlands. Various different groups marque up the remainder of the country.

This diverseness is reflected successful the country’s governmental structure. Ethiopia is subdivided into 12 determination states and 2 chartered cities (Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa), each mostly organised astir a ascendant taste group, a strategy introduced successful 1992 and formalised successful the 1994 constitution.

The representation beneath shows the country’s taste groups and regions.

(Al Jazeera)

Armed unit crossed the country

Ethiopia has been successful near-continuous struggle since 2020, crossed respective fronts:

Tigray (2020-22)

From 2020 to 2022, Ethiopian forces (ENDF) and their allies, including Eritrean forces, fought the Tigray defence forces (TDF). The hostilities began successful Tigray earlier spreading to the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

The warfare ended with the Pretoria bid statement successful November 2022, though the concern remains fragile. In January 2026, clashes erupted again successful Tigray betwixt the TPLF and Ethiopian authorities forces, threatening the fragile peace.

Ethiopian authorities typical Redwan Hussein and Tigray delegate Getachew Reda be the signing of the African Union-led negotiations to resoluteness the struggle successful bluish Ethiopia, successful Pretoria, South Africa, November 2, 2022 [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]

Oromia (2019-present)

Since 2019, struggle betwixt Oromia determination forces, the ENDF, and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has killed thousands of civilians. The OLA, which seeks autonomy for taste Oromos, has besides targeted taste Amharas surviving successful Oromia and borderline areas. Despite a December 2024 bid statement signed by the national authorities and an OLA faction, authorities forces proceed to perpetrate enforced disappearances and attacks connected civilians, including done aerial and drone attacks.

Ethiopians transportation a poster of Abiy Ahmed arsenic they be a rally held to amusement enactment for the authorities and the Ethiopian forces, successful their efforts against the TPLF and OLA, successful Addis Ababa, connected November 7, 2021 [EPA]

Amhara (2023-present)

Amhara militias fought alongside national troops successful the Tigray war, but that confederation collapsed erstwhile the national authorities reached a bid woody with the TPLF. As Prime Minister Abiy moved to rein successful the Amhara militias, relations deteriorated sharply. Fighting betwixt the Amhara Fano self-defence unit and national forces has continued into 2026, with conflict events recorded crossed much than 31 districts spanning 11 zones successful the Amhara region.

People outcry slogans arsenic a ceremonial is held to enactment the Ethiopian subject battling against the TPLF successful Amhara connected November 7, 2021, successful Addis Ababa [Getty Images]

According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), an autarkic struggle monitor, betwixt January 1, 2022 and May 15, 2026, much than 7,400 attacks person been recorded crossed the country.

The Amhara portion emerged arsenic the astir volatile area, registering much than fractional (3,719) of the attacks. In Oromia, the country’s astir populous region, 2,735 attacks were recorded owed to an ongoing equipped rebellion led by OLA alongside abstracted instances of communal clashes.

Other territories besides experienced instability, with Tigray registering 262 attacks and the occidental Gambela portion signaling 144 attacks.

The representation beneath shows a clip bid of the assorted attacks crossed the state implicit the past 4 years.