What is the population of Addis Ababa?
Addis Ababa has a city population of 3,860,000. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
Capital city · Ethiopia · Africa
Addis Ababa
City population
3,860,000
#1
in Ethiopia
#84
worldwide
9.025, 38.747
About Addis Ababa
Situated at an elevation of 2,405 m in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa was founded in 1886 and has grown into a major African city. The city proper holds 3,860,000 residents, with a metropolitan population of 5,228,000. An annual growth rate of 3.9% reflects ongoing expansion, supported by Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, which serves the region.
The city's density of 9,921 people per km² reflects concentrated urban development. Adanech Abebe currently leads the municipality.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
5,228,000
0.063% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+3.85%
Archive estimateDensity
9,921/km²
527 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Addis Ababa
Founded
1886
Leadership
Adanech Abebe
Coordinates
9.025, 38.747
Record updated
23 February 2026
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 232 in EthiopiaClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Addis Ababa | 3.86M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Addis Ababa Bole International AirportADD
8 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in Ethiopia
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 17,670,412 |
| 1960 | 21,376,693 |
| 1970 | 27,829,128 |
| 1980 | 34,428,514 |
| 1990 | 47,609,755 |
| 2000 | 67,411,494 |
| 2010 | 90,538,514 |
| 2020 | 118,917,671 |
| 2030 | 152,855,357 |
| 2040 | 188,450,902 |
| 2050 | 225,021,875 |
| 2060 | 260,708,340 |
| 2070 | 293,790,938 |
| 2080 | 323,238,508 |
| 2090 | 347,651,463 |
| 2100 | 367,289,596 |
Addis Ababa Population FAQ
Where is Addis Ababa?
Addis Ababa is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Its coordinates are 9.025, 38.747.
How big is Addis Ababa compared with other cities in Ethiopia?
It is the 1st largest of the 232 cities listed in Ethiopia, holding 2.8% of the national population.