Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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The Amhara of Ethiopia

The Amhara of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 36,220,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a major Semitic‑speaking ethnic group indigenous to the north‑central Ethiopian highlands. Speakers of Amharic—Ethiopia’s principal working language—they have historically been central to the Ethiopian state and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They mostly adhere to Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity and Amharic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Amhara

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Ethio-Semitic
Primary Language(s): Amharic (amh)
Primary Religion(s): Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Population: 36,220,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011540
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Pray for the Amhara of Ethiopia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tewahedo Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

83%
%
Tewahedo Orthodox Christi… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Amharic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Amharic Speakers

Media Resources in Amharic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Amharic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1962 Bible Society of Ethiopia✓
1988 Common Version✓
New Amharic Standard Version (NASV)✓
Orthodox-Septuagint Deuterocanonical Version✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Amharic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Amhara are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Amhara:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Amhara of Ethiopia

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readMark 10:15

Pray for those who might be trapped in pride, that God will humble them and give them a childlike faith and complete dependence on Him through faith in Christ.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Amhara Across Countries (ROP3 - 100293) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AmharaPG011540AmharaEthiopia36,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedAmharicTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
AmharaPG046497AmharaUnited States189,000Engaged yet UnreachedAmharicTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
AmharaPG042397AmharaGermany23,000Unengaged and UnreachedAmharicTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
AmharaPG047403AmharaCanada14,000No Longer UnreachedAmharicTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
AmharaPG011488AmharaEgypt4,100Unengaged and UnreachedAmharicTewahedo Orthodox Christianity
AmharaPG011482AmharaDjibouti550Engaged yet UnreachedAmharicTewahedo Orthodox Christianity

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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