Total population | |
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36,290,000 (2020)[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Somali (98.4%), Afar (95.3%), Dire Dawa (70.9%), Harari (69%), Oromia (47.5%), Benishangul-Gumuz (45.6%)[2] | |
Religions | |
Sunni Islam |
Islam by country |
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Islam is the second largest religion in Ethiopia behind Christianity, with 31.1 to 35 percent of the total population of around 120 million people professing the religion as of 2024.[3][4] Ethiopia is mentioned in the Qur'an as Abyssinia (Al-Habash).[5]
Islam in Ethiopia dates back to the founding of the religion; in 615, when a group of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to Ethiopia via modern-day Eritrea, which was ruled by Najashi, a pious Christian king. It is agreed by Islamic scholars that Najashi gave shelter to the Muslim refugees around 615–616 at Axum.[6][7] Bilal ibn Ribah, the first Muezzin, the person chosen to call the faithful to prayer, and one of the foremost companions of Muhammad, was born in Mecca to an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) mother.